The great sprawling mass that is America’s second largest city is developing a downtown, and this year there are several cranes on the skyline and more construction than I can ever remember. Once a ‘no man’s land’, Downtown LA has become one of my favourite places to visit in California. It’s fascinating to watch a fine city evolve.
<The old Central Market – best ice cream, best coffee, a must for foodies>
<Super graphics are everywhere – this one features actor Anthony Quinn, and has just been given a fresh coat of paint>
<The LA Phil performs at Grand Avenue’s Walt Disney Concert Hall; the Broad Museum is next door and the Museum of Contemporary Art is across the street.>
<The Bradbury Building – a Los Angeles architectural treasure> Downtown Los Angeles has more 1920’s, 30’s. and 40’s buildings than any other North American city. Many have been lying dormant for half a century or more. They’re coming back to life, and some are being earthquake-proofed. (A newly discovered fault lies beneath the city centre.)
<The Hotel Cecil is still there. This was home base during my first visit to LA in the 1960’s. It has quite a shady past.>
<One of those wonderful La La Land sidewalks on Broadway. This street is home to several old movie palaces, which are either locked up or repurposed.>
<The juxta-positioning of buildings all over Los Angeles reminds me of TORONTO> On Spring Street musicians, artists and gallerists are hanging on by their fingernails as developers move in. LA’s Gallery District is rather short on galleries these days. Also, I was told, Skid Row is expanding as more of the homeless find themselves on the streets. But overall, things seem to be looking up.
<Los Angeles Central Library>
<One of several LRT lines spanning out from Downtown – this one goes to Santa Monica and the beaches. More are on the way.>
<ABOVE TWO PHOTOS by Ross Winter, another Downtown Los Angeles fan>
<On the freeway, this little sign popped up in a forest of warehouses>
<Of course it wouldn’t be Los Angeles without a freeway. Downtown is encircled by several of them.>