A lot of what is built in LA is heralded by boosters as being the start of some new epic in this city: Dorothy Chandler Pavillon, Disney Hall, Citywalk, Getty, Disneyland. But do these mega-projects contribute to our daily life?
Quietly and almost in an un-LA way, the construction of apartments along the MTA Red Line is remaking Los Angeles and bringing new life into formerly derelict sections of the city. No celebrities or celebrated starchitects are screaming about these structures. That lack of publicity may be part of their appeal…
This development, at the corner of Vermont and Wilshire, could be just as important at the construction of the “Miracle Mile” shopping area in the 1920s which drew shoppers from downtown to “suburbia”. Because here is proof, built in steel and concrete, that Los Angeles is shedding its old skin of cars, cars, cars and allowing a new way of life to emerge based on walking and public transportation and urban street life and amenities.
The brilliant truth about LA, one that runs counter to its stereotype, is that it is indeed amorphous in the way it evolves. It is not a stagnant city, it is open and enlightened.
Sometimes, not always. We might live stylishly, but some of us also die senselessly.
This urbane design is a hopeful development.
Here in Van Nuys 