Here's what I think:

Luxury and affordable hi-rise living (in the process) however there isn't a "Trump" like building anywhere, mostly low-rise lofts

Better shopping

Need for more high end restaurants

Maybe more theatres to complement the Disney Concert Hall

Fill all of the parking spaces

Address the homeless population

Address the eyesores

Try to draw more major businesses to the area to really define it

Address the LA River problem

More parks/recreation near the River

Remove the repulsive warehouses with vandalism all over it

Not to be racist but try to diversify the downtown area more

And just keep building and building


Actually, we could have one large downtown. We have the Wilshire Corridor and that kinda connects downtown with Century City. There seems to be a building boom in the Mid-Wilshire area so I expect many more projects on the way.

Agreed. But what does "diversify the downtown area" really mean?

Agreed. But what does "diversify the downtown area" really mean?
Because seriously, at these prices right now, mostly only rich, young, white people can afford to move in. I've been downtown and walked by a few lofts and that's all I see, and they're out walking their dogs and everything. There seriously needs to be some diversity or Downtown wouldn't appeal to other people. Oh yeah, and belive it or not, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS. If they want to have a walkable environment, they can't build every restaurant as Chateau De La Cruz or whatever. Not everybody can afford those or likes those. I think if they had a few McDonalds and Burger Kings downtown that'd be dope. Oh, and if they had an In N Out near a Metro Stop that'd be heaven!

All of these needed. I think the most important is to get more people living, working and playing downtown.

You funny Carson. Eventhough their is a consensus against fast food these days, they do make an area more lively and affordable to the masses. In the end, I believe that is what is meant by "diversifying" downtown.

Better shopping - yes.. the "shopping" district that it has now is crap

Need for more high end restaurants - yes yes

Maybe more theatres to complement the Disney Concert Hall - ehh. yeah but thats not so much of a deal

Fill all of the parking spaces - yes! ive had it w/ those

Address the homeless population - yes, they should build homes for them :)

Address the eyesores - definetly, and the smells too..

Try to draw more major businesses to the area to really define it - yup

Address the LA River problem - definetly, the LA 'river' is a disgrace to LA, it's a big concret pool w/ ugly buildings next to it

More parks/recreation near the River - yeah

Remove the repulsive warehouses with vandalism all over it - yes

Not to be racist but try to diversify the downtown area more - haha, yeah

And just keep building and building - the more the merrier!

density, density, density [on the way]
definately cleaner [maybe sometime in the future]
get rid of the parking lots [on the way]
affordable housing [not sure]
get rid of the homeless [on the way]
fast food [probably]
build taller[ probably]
Dt is gonna be cool in a few years.

Besides the above mentioned excellent ideas, I would say more color and palm trees instead of those ugly trees that cover wall signs. Get rid of those annoying one ways streets, I hate them. The dash bus is great to get around downtown, but is so boxy and un-welcoming, we need like a open city bus. Something that lets you check out Downtown LA with out graffity down windows. A huge sky light window on top would also be so great.

Because seriously, at these prices right now, mostly only rich, young, white people can afford to move in. I've been downtown and walked by a few lofts and that's all I see, and they're out walking their dogs and everything. There seriously needs to be some diversity or Downtown wouldn't appeal to other people. Oh yeah, and belive it or not, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS. If they want to have a walkable environment, they can't build every restaurant as Chateau De La Cruz or whatever. Not everybody can afford those or likes those. I think if they had a few McDonalds and Burger Kings downtown that'd be dope. Oh, and if they had an In N Out near a Metro Stop that'd be heaven!

Actually, I think what he's trying to say by diversifying downtown, is that there's a huge Latino population... specially in the Historic Core.

Oh also i forgot to mention transportation. The mayor intends on the Angelenos of the future to ride the subway. It would be great for more public transportation such as something similar to the blue line bus that runs through santa monica. But it will take years for the major subway system to come about. Ten years eh? Give it time. It's safe to say that Los Angeles is just starting to form. I mean there isn't really a definite purpose for this city. This city really only embodies a culture that is synonymous with Southern California- sandy beaches, great sunshine, entertainment, autos, etc. What i hope for in the next 10 years is to see a vibrant city with a definite purpose and an attractive downtown surrounded by residential neighborhoods filled with green palm trees. The Los Angeles River would be void of any concrete and vandalism and river cruises would take place adjacent to people walking in the park or eating at an outdoor cafe. This may just happen.

Actually, I think what he's trying to say by diversifying downtown, is that there's a huge Latino population... specially in the Historic Core.

Yep that's diverse.

that's exactly what i meant. downtowns are usually very diverse but not in LA.

that's exactly what i meant. downtowns are usually very diverse but not in LA.


I think economic diversity is the way to go. But in defense of LA's downtown, by sight you seem to have a large black population assumingly in transition, a latin pop assumed immigrant status, Japanese in Little Tokyo, Chinese in Chinatown and smatterings of whites( assumed artists) in various parts.

Economic diversity as well. Basically downtown needs more of a downtown feel. Unlike other cities most of downtown's upscale assets are located in the suburbs. I'm not hoping for a NYC or Chicago. But NYC has time square and Chicago has Navy Pier...we don't have anything like that really. But LA Live will be our Time Square, our Grand Avenue Park will be our Central Park, and hopefully the Disney Concert Hall and the Civic Center will become the future theatre district of Los Angeles.

Okay but what I'm saying is once all these goes up, I'd say 90% of everyone that will move in will be rich young white men. There needs to be a mix of everybody so it feels like a real Downtown. I'm not trying to be racist, but I don't think poodle-walking, Sports car driving people will do more to create a more pedestrian environment to DTLA. We also need some middle class people, because they ride the trains and buses more than rich people. We need diversity, there's already too many poor people, we need SOME middle and SOME upper class.

Okay but what I'm saying is once all these goes up, I'd say 90% of everyone that will move in will be rich young white men. There needs to be a mix of everybody so it feels like a real Downtown. I'm not trying to be racist, but I don't think poodle-walking, Sports car driving people will do more to create a more pedestrian environment to DTLA. We also need some middle class people, because they ride the trains and buses more than rich people. We need diversity, there's already too many poor people, we need SOME middle and SOME upper class.

I would think that would draw many Asians to the area. But i'm also willing to bet that some lofts will not be as pricey as others so that will help diversify. Also, we can put all the people on the streets into low income housing units. The culture in downtown is not going to change completely. I'm sure there are also wealthy Asians, Latinos, African Americans, etc. that are going to relocate in downtown.

I would think that would draw many Asians to the area. But i'm also willing to bet that some lofts will not be as pricey as others so that will help diversify. Also, we can put all the people on the streets into low income housing units. The culture in downtown is not going to change completely. I'm sure there are also wealthy Asians, Latinos, African Americans, etc. that are going to relocate in downtown.
Yeah, but wealthy is the point. If they're all wealthy, downtown might not be much more urban than one of those condo communities.

I still would like to see the essence of what LA is, a multi-polar city, I don't want that to go away. I like having 3 or 4 real skylines. I want to see Century City still do its thing, as well as Hollywood and of course Central City(downtown). I don't want LA to carbon copy NYC or Chicago when it comes to how the city is laid out. Besides, Griffith Park is our "Central Park" and it's a lot bigger.

I think Downtown should be more dense, just keep building. And I think the Skid Row area should be adressed. Because Downtown was really never a tourist destination and I don't think it won't be until the homeless problem is taken care of. Usually the Downtowns in any city is a huge tourist destination, but thats not the case for our downtown.

i agree with you klamedia... LA should be more centralized but not too much as to totally destroy the way of life there is now, LA's isnt bad as it is now, it just needs some improvements, we shouldnt try to emulate NY or Chicago 'cause thats not what LA is

I think Downtown should be more dense, just keep building. And I think the Skid Row area should be adressed. Because Downtown was really never a tourist destination I don't think I won't be until the homeless problem is taken care of. Usually the Downtowns in any city is a huge destination, but thats not the case for our downtown.

haha thats true.. LA's downtown is more of a "take a picture of it from the freeway" kind of a place

haha thats true.. LA's downtown is more of a "take a picture of it from the freeway" kind of a place

You have a good point. Downtown L.A. is just good for taking pictures from far away as the Griffith Observatory! But hopefully that will change for the better.

Less clothing stores.

I'm sure there will be affordable housing in the downtown area. The LA real estate market is expensive overall but some units are going to be less expensive than others.

Less clothing stores.

definetly.. the "fashion" district is distasteful

^^^Ha, it's funny, because that's one of the reasons the historic core is full of people. If you take those clothing stores out a lot of the people would not go dt al all. It's a key element.

^^^Ha, it's funny, because that's one of the reasons the historic core is full of people. If you take those clothing stores out a lot of the people would not go dt al all. It's a key element.

But we can do way better than that

But we can do way better than that
....how? Whats' better than clothing stores? I mean, really, WHAT IS BETTER?

^^^Ha, it's funny, because that's one of the reasons the historic core is full of people. If you take those clothing stores out a lot of the people would not go dt al all. It's a key element.

lol i guess you're right but it's just ugly really, i mean it is

....how? Whats' better than clothing stores? I mean, really, WHAT IS BETTER?

We need more high end stores as found in downtowns across the country. Usually the very expensive stores are located in the busiest downtown area however not for Los Angeles. We should think about that aspect.

We need more high end stores as found in downtowns across the country. Usually the very expensive stores are located in the busiest downtown area however not for Los Angeles. We should think about that aspect.
Isn't that what Beverly Hills, NoHo, Hollywood, 3rd Street Promenade, etc. for? I mean, do we REALLY need another high end shopping district in LA?

Isn't that what Beverly Hills, NoHo, Hollywood, 3rd Street Promenade, etc. for? I mean, do we REALLY need another high end shopping district in LA?

Why not? We may not need it but Beverly Hills is pretty far from dtla and we want tourism in both areas don't we? DTLA needs to feel more like an upscale downtown.

^^ i agree

LA needs for all of the buildings in the inner city basin area that are not used or that are decayed or illegal to be torn down!!! The result will be more open space that will at least make parts of the city look better and not an eye sore. Afterwards the areas could be developed better.

Isn't that what Beverly Hills, NoHo, Hollywood, 3rd Street Promenade, etc. for? I mean, do we REALLY need another high end shopping district in LA?

Well so you like it the way is it? full of junk stores? why would people move downtown if its all junk? high end stores/restaurants are incentives to move down here.

Yeah, but wealthy is the point. If they're all wealthy, downtown might not be much more urban than one of those condo communities.

I don't see the masses of poor in downtown disappearing overnight, if there is anything downtown needs its more wealthy and more middle class.

As I said before, dtla needs a more upscale feel to it. We must:

Build tall(i would like that) but also with great quality

More major businessess

Fill all the parking lots

Address homeless population

Close down all the junk stores

Make streets like Broadway have a fresher look to it

More entertainment/nightlife

Better shopping

Better restaurants

More hotels

Public transportation

Luxury/affordable hi-rises and low-rises

Replace all the unused warehouses and buildings

Spruce up LA River

Continue building along Wilshire

And since the existing downtown buildings are touching each other, we probably should continue to build that way since it would look odd if we didn't...

Well so you like it the way is it? full of junk stores? why would people move downtown if its all junk? high end stores/restaurants are incentives to move down here.

It's probably all the brown people that bother you? The Fashion District is one of the greatest urban experiences the nation has to offer... Chain stores are nothing special, look at a Michigan or Fifth avenue, they have the same shit that you can find in an upper class shopping mall in bumblefuck Iowa.

It's probably all the brown people that bother you? The Fashion District is one of the greatest urban experiences the nation has to offer... Chain stores are nothing special, look at a Michigan or Fifth avenue, they have the same shit that you can find in an upper class shopping mall in bumblefuck Iowa.

Downtown Los Angeles, in my opinon, needs a Rodeo Drive/Fifth Avenue/Michigan Avenue/Worth Avenue

Downtown Los Angeles, in my opinon, needs a Rodeo Drive/Fifth Avenue/Michigan Avenue/Worth Avenue

Of course it does, but every large successful DT in America has to include a mixture of retail to be successful. No Banana Republic, or Armani will challenge the crowds the Fashion District has on a regular weekend, unless it has matured a la Michigan Avenue where it's actually become a destination...

Of course it does, but every large successful DT in America has to include a mixture of retail to be successful. No Banana Republic, or Armani will challenge the crowds the Fashion District has on a regular weekend, unless it has matured a la Michigan Avenue where it's actually become a destination...

We must "clean up" downtown. There is much work involved in doing so. First we must address the homeless population(in the process), we are building luxury lofts which will bring more people in and give it more of a downtown feel, then we must continue to build and build and build to create more of a downtown really, and finally the hotels come in for accommodating the tourists. With new restaurants (high end), shopping, entertainment, we can turn DTLA into one of this nation's great downtowns. But i definitely see where you are coming from. I wouldn't expect to see a Rodeo Drive in DTLA in the next few years. But give it time.

Well so you like it the way is it? full of junk stores? why would people move downtown if its all junk? high end stores/restaurants are incentives to move down here.
But like I said, it can't be all high end stores. I mean, I hate that feeling walking in Beverly Hills in some of the most upscale areas. Downtown LA needs balance thats all.

But like I said, it can't be all high end stores. I mean, I hate that feeling walking in Beverly Hills in some of the most upscale areas. Downtown LA needs balance thats all.

Of course. Just like there has to be a blend of luxury and affordable living in downtown. This will further diversify the area and give it a cosmopolitan atmospehre. Attracting people of all races and classes will create a strong and vibrant downtown that we so would desire. Unfortunately, we won't be able to see those things tomorrow. I imagine it would take ten years before something even close to that is visible to the naked eye.

They need an Ikea in Downtown LA.

An Ikea?I think they should have that away from the metropolitan area. But we need high end department stores there.

They already have a Macy*s and still a Robinson`may. Or do you mean like Kenneth Cole, Donna Karen, Coach store/boutique. Eventually big chain stores will return to the Downtown area. You know Ikea is really not that bad of an idea, with all those apartments/loft popping up every where.

There is nothing wrong with Ikea. There is a Macy's there and a Robinson's may? You must think i'm some sort of an idiot for not knowing this. but i seldom visit dtla and don't know much about it yet i have lived in Los angeles for my whole life.

Dude, no one said your an Idiot nor it was meant in any harm. I just seem to like to have an Ikea somewhere where there would be a lot of apartment. Since that's what they mainly focus on, and you some Downtown apartment are not that big.

^An Ikea might not be a bad idea, as long it resembles the normal urban retail style of placing the storefront facade right against the street and positioning the parking lot behind the building.

Isn't that what Beverly Hills, NoHo, Hollywood, 3rd Street Promenade, etc. for? I mean, do we REALLY need another high end shopping district in LA?

In DTLA??? Hell yeah.

How ironic is it you guys are saying you want a high end shopping center, yet are saying it'd be a good idea to build an IKEA there?

Dt should have high end shopping, and an Ikea. Who said it can't have both?

http://www.dpz.com/project.aspx?type=4&Project_Number=9025&Project_Name=Downtown+Los+Angeles

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.grandlofts.com/assets/images/Grand_th10.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.grandlofts.com/&h=294&w=200&sz=39&tbnid=ncpkeby6C68J:&tbnh=111&tbnw=75&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddowntown%2Blos%2Bangeles%2Blofts%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2004-45,GGLD:en

Check out LA Live

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.conway.com/ssinsider/images/sf030929a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.conway.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf030929.htm&h=170&w=300&sz=15&tbnid=4sWjL7akmpcJ:&tbnh=62&tbnw=111&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddowntown%2Blos%2Bangeles%2Bdevelopment%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

None of the above is LA Live.

None of the above is LA Live.

click on the middle one and go to the left side of the screen and click on Developers Envision 'Time Square West'

Article is interesting, when will we actually see new imformation?

also, click on the first link; notice how large downtown los angeles is and how much potential we are not maximizing. just think that that whole "white" portion of the picture be filled with skyscrapers.

there's a ton of white.. what's the red ??

there's a ton of white.. what's the red ??

Yes, can't get enough of that red. But just imagine if all that white was red.

^An Ikea might not be a bad idea, as long it resembles the normal urban retail style of placing the storefront facade right against the street and positioning the parking lot behind the building.
Like all big box stores, IKEA stores draw consumers from a very large area. Because they are perceived as fascinating and exotic in the U.S., they often draw consumers from out of state. In turn, the handful of American cities which accepted IKEA stores were delighted by the subsequent surge in sales tax revenue, and dismayed at the accompanying surge in traffic congestion.

For example, when an IKEA opened in 1999 in Emeryville, California, the traffic was so severe that most local traffic lights were rendered useless. Emeryville police were forced to manually direct traffic daily for three months (for which they were reimbursed). When an IKEA opened in Tempe, Arizona in 2004, the traffic jams on Interstate 10 were so severe that the Arizona Department of Public Safety had to close the nearest off-ramp to the store just to spread out the traffic among other nearby off-ramps.

IKEA's most popular store in Brent Park, London frequently has traffic jams on the weekends.

The new store opened in Edmonton, North London at midnight on 10th Feb 2005. It attracted over 6,000 visitors and resulted in a number of casualties as people were crushed in the rush to get around the store. The store was closed to allow time for adequate policing (due to the customer overflow only 2 officers were on site for the launch) and to evacuate the six wounded. The store was re-opened at 5pm with no additional incident.

from Answers.com

I just don't want them to have a huge parking structure out front, they can put subterranean parking that would be good. I remember when Kmart came to Manhattan. Everyone thought it was the end of the world. Now everyone goes there.

Dt LA needs to look less like a ghost town during the weekends. It's good they're working on that.

Dt LA needs to look less like a ghost town during the weekends. It's good they're working on that.

Well that depends on what part of Downtown your visiting. As far as working to make it a 24/7 city, it will change for the best. The Financial District well that's a different story, since most people just work from 9-5. I could be wrong, So don't quote me on that one.

I think they should take care of the homeless problem first; its be killing Downtown L.A. for many years and nothing is being done about it.

I'm really looking forward to the revilitation of Broadway. It will be cool if they open all those theartre again.

DTLA simply needs to be better overall.

Well that depends on what part of Downtown your visiting. As far as working to make it a 24/7 city, it will change for the best. The Financial District well that's a different story, since most people just work from 9-5. I could be wrong, So don't quote me on that one.

yeah i agree.. i think that the city will become more 24/7 in some areas like the financial district won't change much

A few suggestions for improving downtown. (my definition of downtown includes the areas bounded by Elysian Park/ Dodger Stadium, Chinatown on the north; the 110 freeway on the west, Exposition park/ Colluseum on the south, and the LA river on the east.)

1. Fix Angel's flight already!!

2. Run red car from Elysian park, Dodger stadium, down the hill to Chinatown along Hill Street then over to Olvera St, east to the cathedral and the MUsic Center, down Grand, past Disney Hall and LAMCA down the hill to the library than past Staples, the Convention Center, down Figueroa past the Shrine, USC, and Exposition Park to the Colusseum.

3. Create entertainment district by developing Broadway on Broadway. There are about 12 underutilized theaters in the Broadway theater district including some real beauties,(Orpheum, Million Dollar, Los Angeles etc.) With the three stages at the Los Angeles Theater Center, three more at the Music center, the redcat, the Variety arts, the Mayan, the Belasco, the East-West Players, etc, should allow more than 20-25 plays in the downtown area at any time.

Los Angeles has a reputation as a bad theater town but it actually is able to support between 120-170 productions in the southern CA area at any time. There are probably more talented actors, musicians, and other performers here just looking for an opportunity to show what they can do. The theater in New York and London are largely supported by tourists. Theater in LA is supported mostly by locals. When I go to the theater in London or New York, half the time I find myself sitting next to folks from LA. Creating a lively theater district will bring tourists into the city and provide employment for a lot of our underemployed performers. Tax breaks should be given to producers and theater operators who want to bring back the broadway theater district. The city could relight Broadway with bright lights. The theaters could be filled with productions developed at smaller theaters in the city that have had successful runs and good reviews and are ready to move to bigger venues. Productions that have finished their runs at the music center, the Pasadena Playhouse, and the South Coast Rep could be brought to the Broadway theaters so those who missed the first run could have a chance to see what they missed. There would be enough theaters so that plays could have open ended productions. With a similar development of the theaters in Hollywood, LA could surpass toronto as a theater town and rival New York.

4. Create additional parkland downtown. Don't develop every parking lot. Try to aggregate enough open land for park development. Parking lots could go underneath the parkland similar to the Pershing square garage. Other possibilities could include a park over the freeway between Olvera Street and the Cathedral. Seattle HAs experimented with parks built over the freeways in their downtown and they work fairly well.

5. Consider tearing down some of the less attractive buildings downtown to create open spece for parkland. The courthose next to the music center comes to mind.

6. Develop Parisian style open air cafes in the parks. (Cornfield, Elysian Park, Exposition Park, Civic Center MAll etc.

7. There is a large underdeveloped parking lot between the old church at Olvera Street and Chinatown. This would be a great place to develop a Bazar del Mundo type attraction similar to the one next to San Diego's Old Town. Of course this one might have to transition between a Hispanic and an Asian Theme. but outdoor restaurants with musicians and performers, and shops selling folk art from around the world connecting the empty spaces between Olvera street, Chinatown, and the Cathedral.

8. Develop a museum of Los Angeles History in the old Post Office next to Union Station.

9.Develop the air rights over the train yards next to the LA River. This could yeild space for both new parkland an d High rise residences.

10. Develop open air theaters and bandshells similar to the greek and Hollywood bowel for summertime concerts and performances. Frank Geary has just completed one for the city of Chicago in its new Millenium park. This might be considerd as part of the Cornfield development, in the proposed park between the Music Center and City hall or in new parkland over the railyards next to the river.

11. Dam the LA river to create a series of permanent lakes. Have mosquito boats cruise the newly navigatable river bed all the way to Universal City. Develop riverfront restaurants, wine halls, and dance clubs. Use the change in elevation of the river as a chance to create waterfalls adjacent to the locks that would be necessary to allow the boats to travel up and down the river.

12. Move the social facilities and shelters for the homeless, addicts, and socially needy south of the 10 freeway. Better yet scatter these agencies so the needy are evenly distributed thoughout the county rather than concentrated where they are.

13. Plant more trees and other plants throughout the downtown area. Plant flowering cherry trees in Little Tokyo and Chinatown.

14. Create a Dodgertown entertainment area next to Dodger stadium. Include a Dodger hall of fame, and some baseball themed restaurants and clubs. Maybe
a few batting cages and gardens with statues of Dodger All Stars. Have more big concerts at the stadium in the off season.

15. Connect Dodger Stadium to Chinatown/downtown by Funicular or trolley.

16. Clean up the areas around the garment district. Better lights, More attractive signage, make it clearer which shops accept retail customers, consider a museum of fashion in the district.

17. Ditto for cleaning the flower district.

18 Double ditto for the Toy district.

19. Consider setting up routes for horse carts to run from the music center to Olvera street, Japan town, and Exposition park.

20. Better and Brighter lighting throughout downtown.

A few suggestions for improving downtown. (my definition of downtown includes the areas bounded by Elysian Park/ Dodger Stadium, Chinatown on the north; the 110 freeway on the west, Exposition park/ Colluseum on the south, and the LA river on the east.)

1. Fix Angel's flight already!!

2. Run red car from Elysian park, Dodger stadium, down the hill to Chinatown along Hill Street then over to Olvera St, east to the cathedral and the MUsic Center, down Grand, past Disney Hall and LAMCA down the hill to the library than past Staples, the Convention Center, down Figueroa past the Shrine, USC, and Exposition Park to the Colusseum.

3. Create entertainment district by developing Broadway on Broadway. There are about 12 underutilized theaters in the Broadway theater district including some real beauties,(Orpheum, Million Dollar, Los Angeles etc.) With the three stages at the Los Angeles Theater Center, three more at the Music center, the redcat, the Variety arts, the Mayan, the Belasco, the East-West Players, etc, should allow more than 20-25 plays in the downtown area at any time.

Los Angeles has a reputation as a bad theater town but it actually is able to support between 120-170 productions in the southern CA area at any time. There are probably more talented actors, musicians, and other performers here just looking for an opportunity to show what they can do. The theater in New York and London are largely supported by tourists. Theater in LA is supported mostly by locals. When I go to the theater in London or New York, half the time I find myself sitting next to folks from LA. Creating a lively theater district will bring tourists into the city and provide employment for a lot of our underemployed performers. Tax breaks should be given to producers and theater operators who want to bring back the broadway theater district. The city could relight Broadway with bright lights. The theaters could be filled with productions developed at smaller theaters in the city that have had successful runs and good reviews and are ready to move to bigger venues. Productions that have finished their runs at the music center, the Pasadena Playhouse, and the South Coast Rep could be brought to the Broadway theaters so those who missed the first run could have a chance to see what they missed. There would be enough theaters so that plays could have open ended productions. With a similar development of the theaters in Hollywood, LA could surpass toronto as a theater town and rival New York.

4. Create additional parkland downtown. Don't develop every parking lot. Try to aggregate enough open land for park development. Parking lots could go underneath the parkland similar to the Pershing square garage. Other possibilities could include a park over the freeway between Olvera Street and the Cathedral. Seattle HAs experimented with parks built over the freeways in their downtown and they work fairly well.

5. Consider tearing down some of the less attractive buildings downtown to create open spece for parkland. The courthose next to the music center comes to mind.

6. Develop Parisian style open air cafes in the parks. (Cornfield, Elysian Park, Exposition Park, Civic Center MAll etc.

7. There is a large underdeveloped parking lot between the old church at Olvera Street and Chinatown. This would be a great place to develop a Bazar del Mundo type attraction similar to the one next to San Diego's Old Town. Of course this one might have to transition between a Hispanic and an Asian Theme. but outdoor restaurants with musicians and performers, and shops selling folk art from around the world connecting the empty spaces between Olvera street, Chinatown, and the Cathedral.

8. Develop a museum of Los Angeles History in the old Post Office next to Union Station.

9.Develop the air rights over the train yards next to the LA River. This could yeild space for both new parkland an d High rise residences.

10. Develop open air theaters and bandshells similar to the greek and Hollywood bowel for summertime concerts and performances. Frank Geary has just completed one for the city of Chicago in its new Millenium park. This might be considerd as part of the Cornfield development, in the proposed park between the Music Center and City hall or in new parkland over the railyards next to the river.

11. Dam the LA river to create a series of permanent lakes. Have mosquito boats cruise the newly navigatable river bed all the way to Universal City. Develop riverfront restaurants, wine halls, and dance clubs. Use the change in elevation of the river as a chance to create waterfalls adjacent to the locks that would be necessary to allow the boats to travel up and down the river.

12. Move the social facilities and shelters for the homeless, addicts, and socially needy south of the 10 freeway. Better yet scatter these agencies so the needy are evenly distributed thoughout the county rather than concentrated where they are.

13. Plant more trees and other plants throughout the downtown area. Plant flowering cherry trees in Little Tokyo and Chinatown.

14. Create a Dodgertown entertainment area next to Dodger stadium. Include a Dodger hall of fame, and some baseball themed restaurants and clubs. Maybe
a few batting cages and gardens with statues of Dodger All Stars. Have more big concerts at the stadium in the off season.

15. Connect Dodger Stadium to Chinatown/downtown by Funicular or trolley.

16. Clean up the areas around the garment district. Better lights, More attractive signage, make it clearer which shops accept retail customers, consider a museum of fashion in the district.

17. Ditto for cleaning the flower district.

18 Double ditto for the Toy district.

19. Consider setting up routes for horse carts to run from the music center to Olvera street, Japan town, and Exposition park.

20. Better and Brighter lighting throughout downtown.

great suggestions...sounds good.

great suggestions. a lot of those are being studied and have a chance to actually happen.

12. Move the social facilities and shelters for the homeless, addicts, and socially needy south of the 10 freeway. Better yet scatter these agencies so the needy are evenly distributed thoughout the county rather than concentrated where they are.

Maybe scatter them all in locations south of the 10 freeway?

Leave them where they are, resources are better distributed within close proximity. Build a few 50-60 story transitional housing complexes. Being downtown they will have better chances at becoming part of the community. As their recovery begins to work they will be able to rejoin society anonymously instead of shipping them out to Santa Clarita where their every move would be watched by single family dwelling homeowners who think these people are the devil's spawn. Also they will be closer to subways and a network of public transport to take them throughout the county.

Way to go (svs) :righton:

Please don't make downtown sterile!

Leave them where they are, resources are better distributed within close proximity. Build a few 50-60 story transitional housing complexes. Being downtown they will have better chances at becoming part of the community. As their recovery begins to work they will be able to rejoin society anonymously instead of shipping them out to Santa Clarita where their every move would be watched by single family dwelling homeowners who think these people are the devil's spawn. Also they will be closer to subways and a network of public transport to take them throughout the county.
In other words, build projects in LA? Tenements? Do we really need those in LA?

I don't like the word tenaments. But LA has to build something better for the homeless.

Transitional housing dowtown. Places like NYC are peppered all over with projects. So what???

A few more suggestion in addition to my last post.

1. Develop corner business stands, flower stalls, newsstands, food stands, ?pushcarts, and scatter them throughout the downtown area. Possibly these could provide relatively easy job entry for some of the homeless population as well as color up the neighborhood.

2. There is relatively little for kids to do downtown. There is nothing wrong with setting up a few playgrounds downtown. Consider setting up a few simple carnival rides such as merry-go-rounds or pony rides at selected street corners to give little kids something to do.

3. Set up selected corners for street musicians and other performers similar to the Santa Monica promenade or the Venice boardwalk. The open spaces near the cathedral, Olvera street, Litttle tokyo, etc. would be naturals for this. So would the space near Saint Vibiana's once it is fully developed.

4. Develop a Japanese style open air market similar to those in Tokyo and Kyoto in the empty field/parking lot between the Japanese American Museum and the Buddist temple on first street.

5. Develop the old city produce Market into a Covent Garden/Les Halles type marketplace. The old green stalls have a lot of character and are totally underutilized right now.
Develop a market adjacent to the produce market aimed more at retail customers than the wholesale produce market is. Keep it open to at least 6:00PM. Include stalls selling fish, baked goods, cheese and other dairy products, etc. A mix similar to that in the olf ferry building in S.F. would be perfect. Residential development adjacent to the market could follow.

6. Create a district for the pinata makers who are currently assigned to a fairly run down district on the edge of downtown.

7. Put some lights in the underpasses beneath the 10 freeway which are currently dark and creepy and which tend to cut the downtown area in pieces.

8. Open up the area around the Mercado "La Paloma". Make it an attractive walk from South Park and Exposition Park.

9. Get rid of the fast food signage adjacent to churrigesque St. Vincent's church and the AAA headquarters. There is an extremely pretty square that could be developed there but the fast food restauants just kill the mood.

10. Try to develop a network of public squares where folks could congregate and socialize out doors. Set up fountains for hot days and covered benches for rainy ones.

11. Try to develop more of a sense of the cities history by erceting statues of some of the important figures who were born and who lived in the Southern California area. Include all political and social ideas in the selections. Among the candidates ciuld be Earl Warren, George Patton, Aldous Huxley, Upton Sinclair, Albert Michealson (first man to acurrately measure the speed of light at Cal-Tech), Igor Stravinsky, L. Frank Baum, Donald Douglas, Biddy Mason, Ronald Reagan, John Cage, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, and Charles Mingus among many others.

12. Build a museum of Lapidary art (that's jewelry) in the jewelry district.

13. Build out the subway/rapid transit system until rapid transit is re-established in the city. This would include extending the Wilshire red line to Santa Monica and then to the Airport; extending the red line in the other direction to Orange county; establishing rapid lines to Ventura, Santa Clarita, Riverside, San Bernardino, and the Harbor. This cannot be done using surface streets that share traffic with cars, trucks, and buses. Consider a surtax on high rise buildings or gasoline to help subsidize rapid transit.

^^ agreed

Can't wait for part 3, dude.

hey whats angels flight???

hey whats angels flight???
The world's shortest funicular railway. It ran between Grand Central Market and the top of Bunker Hill. After a long hiatus, it was put back into service and after a few years, it had a brake failure, trashing the railroad and leaving a few fatalties. There is no reason a safe rebuilt Angel's flight should not run. There is a similar system in Debuque Iowa of all places which appears to run fine. For pictures go to this site.

http://world.nycsubway.org/us/losangeles/angels.html

It sucks that Angels Flight closed. Who gives a crap about that person that died long time ago. We want Angels Flight.

agreed.. they should just fix it and get it over w/ .. so a guy died oh well.. planes crash and ppl die and airplanes dont stop flying

they didnt stop it becuase someone died, they stopped it to study the reasons why it failed to prevent another accident like that again. there is now funding for it and it will open next year.

^^ Really that's gret news. But you know what would be better? If they build a scraper in that grassy area where Cali Plaza 3 would stand.

Okay here's my third list of projects for downtown.

1. Get Chickenboy out of storage and put him up someplace like Pershing square.

2.US Bank building/library tower is the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Set up a public observation deck on the top floor (now closed to the public). An outdoor observation area on the roof would add. (This is where the Angelenos met the aliens in Independence day.

3. Build the Children's museum in Japantown or reopen the old Childrens museum in the city mall.

4. Develop a park in the cement triangle lot in front of the Temporary Contemporary Art Museum and behind the storefronts on First street in Little Tokyo. Open entrances to the stores on first that open on the new park. Set up an outdoor cafe Japanoise style in the park.

5. Members of the Little Tokyo community have proposed building a gym instead of the Children's museum. Since there is a lot of open land in the Little Tokyo community, why not build both? In fact connect the gym to an arena-dojo where there could be Asian style atheletic competitions; judo, sumo wrestling, kendo, tai-kwan-do etc.

6. Build an addition to the temporary contempory Art museum and put the permanent collection which is usally in storage on full time display.

I'm definately with numer 2. Howcome all the other cities have an observation deck an LA doesn't have one. Plus it is the tallest building =west of the Missisipi, plus imagine how popular the building would be.

I got interrupted midway through List three.

7. As long as we are talking about museums, the LA Natural History museum has a fabulous collection, second only to the Smithsonian and American Museum of Natural History but very little is on diplay. There are plans to build a new museum which I have not seen yet. I would suggest separating the museum's collections into four parts, each of which is worthy of a museum in its own right; Natural history with emphasis on the natural history of California and the west; Ethnology-Museum of Man; California History; and Hollywood history. Move the latter collection to Hollywood; build the natural history museum where the current museum is; Put the history museum somewhere near Olvera street.

8. Build a permanent butterfly house that would be open all year like the one in Fort Lauderdale. Add wings for the Spider house, and Insect zoo.

9. Build a real bandstand near Olvera street for Mariachi, banda, ballet folklorico dance troops and other hispanic performers. Schedule regular concerts most nights in the summer.

10. Set up areas all through downtown for street performers similar to those in Santa Monica and Venice, at least in summer. Give people a reason to be downtown when the offices are closed.

11. Have regular Sunday Craft markets in Pershing square and Exposition park. Let local artisans come and display and hopefully sell their work. Add some food vendors and musicians and you have a regular party. The Sunday markets in Chapultepec park in Mexico City are wonderful.

12. Make the Winter ice skating rink in Pershing square available year round.

13. The cities of Chicago and Milwaukee have ethnic "fests" in the summer. Irishfest, Greekfest, etc. where different ethnic group set up in a downtown park and serve ethnic foods, sell ethnic crafts, and perform music of their heritage. Every week a different ethnicity is featured. This could be adapted to downtown here.

14. We used to have movie theaters that would show Japanese and Chinese movies downtown. How about building a multiplex just north of Olvera street at the edge of Chinatown to show Hong Kong, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish language movies? Subtitled of course. Actually there is a facility of this type in Artesia that shows mostly Bollywood movies.

15. Bring back the police rodeo. Maybe it could go in the underused Sports Arena.

16. While we are at it, bring Mexican style rodeo (Charro) to the Sports Arena as well. I know there is a facility for this sport in Pico-Rivera.

17. Take one of our local Soccer teams, probably the Chivas and move them to the Mexican Soccer league. LA is after all the second biggest Mexican city in the world. Let them play in the Colluseum. If you look at the sports pages in LA Opinion, you can see, that there are a lot of Mexican and Central American League soccer fans in LA. Maybe we could get some of the better European and South American teams to play exhibition games out here as well.

18. There are quite a few beatiful Japanese gardens scattered throughout the county. How about building a classical Chinese garden in the Chinatown area? I know they are building one in San Marino, but a second one downtown, maybe as part of the Cornfield project would be lovely.

Why is every other thing Japanese/Chinese/Mexican orientated? I thought this was the city of diversity?

Because Chinatown, Japantown, and Olvera street are big parts of the downtown area. Actually rediscovering the Italian heritage of that part of town would not be a bad idea either.

Their are also plenty Koreans here, Middle Easterners and Black Americans. The history of LA's Afro-Mestizo heritage is very strong. Pio Pico an Afro-Mexicano was the first mayor here. And what about the indigenous folk? You know the ones that were here before the Spanish bastards forced them to take "Catholic"names like Gonzales and Martinez and then forced them to learn their European language, namely Spanish?? These people should get really get the most attention.

Well, the idea of this thread as I understand it was "ideas to make downtown more attractive: not to get politically incorrect. If you want to start a thread for Hollywood we can talk about augmenting Little Armenia, Thai Town and little Odessa. If you want to talk about the West side, we can talk about improving Little Teheran. Ditto Long Beach and Little Cambodia. Olvera street, Little Tokyo, and China town already exist as part of downtown. Koreatown is west of downtown. Most would include Pio Pica and other Mexicans of partly or even completely Mexican descent as Mexican, but the point is not to get overly sensitive, its to talk about ways to make downtown more interesting and fun. If you have ideas of your own, you should post them.

[QUOTE=svs]Okay here's my third list of projects for downtown.

1. Get Chickenboy out of storage and put him up someplace like Pershing square.

Chicken Boy, that's too funny, are you talking about the one that was on Broadway across from Zodys? Man, everyone and their mother went there.
anyhow, the rest of your ideas were really great.

Another thing, I noticed that the Holiday Inn was right next to LA Live. That needs to be torn down immediately and replaced with something like a Westin hotel.LA Live is surrounded by vacant parking lots and underdeveloped land, and if it's going to be a tourist destination, we need to provide hotel accommodations in close proximity to LA Live...

Dude, Holiday Inn Hotel is beautiful compare to Hotel Figueroa. Know that's an eye soar, if ask me. So is the car wash and that ugly little apartment building right next door. YuK!!!!

Dude, Holiday Inn Hotel is beautiful compare to Hotel Figueroa. Know that's an eye soar, if ask me. So is the car wash and that ugly little apartment building right next door. YuK!!!!

The Holiday Inn and Hotel Figueroa won't do. The key is to attract tourists and do you think they would want to stay at either hotel? No. You need something fresh, something modern. Again, there needs to be hotels surrounding the whole LA Live area for convenience as well as hi-rise apartments. It not only needs to cater to the locals but function as a tourist destination.

i think downtown needs to be more transit friendly like getting the downtown connector put in....that would be awesome

The Holiday Inn and Hotel Figueroa won't do. The key is to attract tourists and do you think they would want to stay at either hotel? No. You need something fresh, something modern. Again, there needs to be hotels surrounding the whole LA Live area for convenience as well as hi-rise apartments. It not only needs to cater to the locals but function as a tourist destination.

I'm with you on this one...... Something new and modern would do.

i think downtown needs to be more transit friendly like getting the downtown connector put in....that would be awesome

So you don't think the Blue, Gold and Red are enough?

When they build out the Exposition line, it should directly connect with the gold line so the folks in Santa Monica could ride directly to Pasadena and the folks in East La could ride directly to the beach.

When they build out the Exposition line, it should directly connect with the gold line so the folks in Santa Monica could ride directly to Pasadena and the folks in East La could ride directly to the beach.

Agreed.

^^ nice idea. Wonder if they would take taht into consideration.

Q: What does downtown LA need?
A: A lot of high density residential buildings for all the classes. A LOT! LA has the population & growth to fill up hundreds of mid-hi rise buildings.

Everything else (more commercial towers, entertainment, restaraunts, shopping establishments, beautification) will follow.

Q: What does downtown LA need?
A: A lot of high density residential buildings for all the classes. A LOT! LA has the population & growth to fill up hundreds of mid-hi rise buildings.

Everything else (more commercial towers, entertainment, restaraunts, shopping establishments, beautification) will follow.

Very true.

Downtown to me being 18 seems like a place strictly for business. Theres nowhere that someone like me can go other then staples center and thats only from time to time. I think with LA LIVE well underway it should help to bring more of the young guns like me to that area.
Point is, there should be places to go and things to do for folks like me other then to work at starbucks serving the people of the citigroup building.

Id also like to note that LA will be LA. LA wont be NY. It wont be Chi. We dont need to copy those cities to make us great(ala calling LA LIVE some sort of times square of the west) LA LIVE is just how we do it here in LA.

We dont need to copy those cities to make us great(ala calling LA LIVE some sort of times square of the west) LA LIVE is just how we do it here in LA.

:yes:

One of these? :)

http://www.dcist.com/attachments/dcist_sommer/2006_0828_trader-joes-1.jpg

Id also like to note that LA will be LA. LA wont be NY. It wont be Chi. We dont need to copy those cities to make us great(ala calling LA LIVE some sort of times square of the west) LA LIVE is just how we do it here in LA.[/QUOTE]

Exactly!! LA it's a very rare beast...

How about one of these?

http://www.herzogcompanies.com/images/experience/rrconst/SanPedro_Trolley_cal.jpg

^^ OK we need a lot of those...

I say a casino with topless waitress....running 24/7!!!

I say a casino with topless waitress....running 24/7!!!

Well there's already a couple Gentleman's Clubs in the Industrial District...

^ But is not a Casino where you can make some serious cash. LA Live would of been an excellent location.

Downtown to me being 18 seems like a place strictly for business. Theres nowhere that someone like me can go other then staples center and thats only from time to time. I think with LA LIVE well underway it should help to bring more of the young guns like me to that area.
Point is, there should be places to go and things to do for folks like me other then to work at starbucks serving the people of the citigroup building.

Id also like to note that LA will be LA. LA wont be NY. It wont be Chi. We dont need to copy those cities to make us great(ala calling LA LIVE some sort of times square of the west) LA LIVE is just how we do it here in LA.

I agree

There is The Smell, warehouses that have parties, art galleries, sushi restaurants, Dennys, etc.

^^ Yeah but we need more of them, and Denny´s doesn´t count... c´mon now

^^ Yeah but we need more of them, and Denny´s doesn´t count... c´mon now

We already have two Dennys' in Downtown.

But I think he means 24-hour restaurants, which I do agree...

Damn, this is an old thread.

^ and still going just like the energizer bunny*

A row of bars and clubs. Like 12 all right next to one another that do not close at like 10pm. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: . An observation tower or floor among the tall buildings.

^Actually, there are plans for something like that along 7th St.

Downtown can really use a huge mega 24 hour Walmart....

Downtown can really use a huge mega 24 hour Walmart....

Please, Walmart is the last thing we need. I can't stand that store.

Please, Walmart is the last thing we need. I can't stand that store.

Thank you. Walmart is for suburban hicks.

I think downtown needs their Rite Aids to stay open 24 hours. I'm glad Famima has arrived and they should be open 24 hours too. I think not just downtown, but LA in general, needs a lot more cabs. It seems like they're very sparse and you can never hail one from the curb. You hafta call and order one, and wait at least 10 minutes. On holidays you hafta wait longer, like Halloween last year, we waited an extra 45 minutes for a cab.

I think downtown needs their Rite Aids to stay open 24 hours. I'm glad Famima has arrived and they should be open 24 hours too. I think not just downtown, but LA in general, needs a lot more cabs. It seems like they're very sparse and you can never hail one from the curb. You hafta call and order one, and wait at least 10 minutes. On holidays you hafta wait longer, like Halloween last year, we waited an extra 45 minutes for a cab.


^^ This is an excellent example why you have to radio in a cab. Usually their parked on designated areas waiting to be called on. Since L.A. City has a law banning curve pick up. Which in my understanding it was to be removed for not benefiting cab driver nor passengers....

Lately i haven't heard anything in that respect.....
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e124/fnee1901/BunkerHill3.jpg

Yo Turkeys,
As far as Walmart goes, it surely would benefit Downtown in the long run...

^^How do you figure?

Downtown LA needs to be less nasty.
(i'm talking about the surrounding areas)

^^How do you figure?


^ It's simple Little Man.... everyone likes to save a buck or two. The convenience of being open 24 hours, what else do you need?

fuck walmart

fuck walmart


I'm sure Walmart has the same feelings towards you!

Downtown needs more Housing,Shopping,Dining,Entertainment or in other words more Revitilization Projects.

^ It's simple Little Man.... everyone likes to save a buck or two. The convenience of being open 24 hours, what else do you need?

Stores that don't make LA look cheap. :cheers:

Stores that don't make LA look cheap. :cheers:



FYI there's a Big Lots on Broadway and Seventh. What do you have to say about that one?

Get rid of it.

a wallmart does not belong in downtown

A target would be better

Walmart = :down:

a wallmart does not belong in downtown

A target would be better

Yeah, I can see a Target...besides "Urban Target" stores have been done in many cities. Locally, the ones in WeHo and Pasadena are some examples.

With the prices people are paying to move into Downtown L.A,the area definately needs to look more upscale.

With the prices people are paying to move into Downtown L.A,the area definately needs to look more upscale.

Go down 11th Street east of Figueroa sometime. Without looking at the skyline, you'd swear you're in another city.

A Walmart eh? Might as well stick a huge stripmall with football-field-sized parking lots in there also. :lol:

A Target would be really nice.

A Pinkbe...oh wait, one's already opening up in Little Tokyo... :)

downtown needs less snobs. Some semi-affordable housing would be nice. Nightcubs would be nice. And reliable dart service would seal the deal.

I would like to see the Financial District look less like an office park and more like a 24/7 place with lots of retail. I've noticed that just about every building in the Financial District has no ground-floor retail.

Downtown needs to stop building every single project accompanied by a plaza. I think that's the most important phase to make downtown gaps disappear.

Some more street landscaping to beautify the streets. Also have a law pass where solicitors cannot hand out flyers that eventually end up on sidewalk...:ohno:

Downtown needs to stop building every single project accompanied by a plaza. I think that's the most important phase to make downtown gaps disappear.

You're forgetting that the skyscrapers were made primarily for the people who actually work in them, and the plazas are part of their function, creating public spaces that have uses and benefits. The aesthetic aspect of skyscrapers for the sake of those who ogle them at a distance is secondary.

Seriously. More affordable livingggg.

Some more street landscaping to beautify the streets. Also have a law pass where solicitors cannot hand out flyers that eventually end up on sidewalk...:ohno:

Are you serious? So what, you have to force someone to keep it with them?

Are you serious? So what, you have to force someone to keep it with them?



Nooooooooooooooo, the ban is so no hand outs on public streets should be allowed. Since I would say 95% end up on the the floor making some streets look horrible. I've walked in the Financial District and I would collect atleast 5 business flyers. Ranging from spiritual readings to love potions that are guarantee to work. there's no need for all that mess!

Damn! What kind of society do you people want to live in?? Where you can't express your views via the written word or audibly? A pretty dead and lifeless society indeed! And as far Bunker Hill goes, um most financial districts that I've been to don't compare in "life" to the entertainment districts. The Wall St section of NYC is horribly dead after dark compared to let's say, Times Square which is the entertainment zone. What many of you are wishing for in downtown LA is just unrealistic, shows a certain lack of exposure to other city downtowns, etc. etc.

Damn! What kind of society do you people want to live in?? Where you can't express your views via the written word or audibly? A pretty dead and lifeless society indeed! And as far Bunker Hill goes, um most financial districts that I've been to don't compare in "life" to the entertainment districts. The Wall St section of NYC is horribly dead after dark compared to let's say, Times Square which is the entertainment zone. What many of you are wishing for in downtown LA is just unrealistic, shows a certain lack of exposure to other city downtowns, etc. etc.

This is true, I've heard about how well-planned Portland is, but after 6 or 7pm, their central business district is more dead than ours! The surrounding neighborhoods are alive though, because people actually live in them.

But I wouldn't count Bunker Hill out though -- it does have California Plaza, which is open to many events, particularly in the summer, and don't forget that Disney Hall and at 2/3 of the Grand Avenue Project lies within Bunker Hill.

Nooooooooooooooo, the ban is so no hand outs on public streets should be allowed. Since I would say 95% end up on the the floor making some streets look horrible. I've walked in the Financial District and I would collect atleast 5 business flyers. Ranging from spiritual readings to love potions that are guarantee to work. there's no need for all that mess!

I predict that ban would be just as strongly enforced as our existing anti-litter laws. :lol:

^^ This is an excellent example why you have to radio in a cab. Usually their parked on designated areas waiting to be called on. Since L.A. City has a law banning curve pick up. Which in my understanding it was to be removed for not benefiting cab driver nor passengers....

Lately i haven't heard anything in that respect.....
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e124/fnee1901/BunkerHill3.jpg

Yo Turkeys,
As far as Walmart goes, it surely would benefit Downtown in the long run...

Walmart benefit something? Are you serious, walmart does no one good, it´s the frigging devil

A Wal Mart downtown would hogg all the retail. I would rather see dozens of mom and pop stores. Plus, with most of the new proposed projects having their own retail, who would go walk four blocks to a store where you could purchase the same thing a couple of cents cheaper?
All these rich people movin in to downtown probably won't use it at any time. I would not be surprised to see a homeless sleeping in aisle two.

I would like to see the Financial District look less like an office park and more like a 24/7 place with lots of retail. I've noticed that just about every building in the Financial District has no ground-floor retail.

Well..it is a Financial District after all. Aside from cafes and small restraunts, you are not going to find too many things to do. On the other hand, Cal Plaza's food court is pretty cool and that underground mall under the Arco Plaza is downright awesome.

Anyway, I always think about designing something somewhere in LA and while I don't have the funds, I have a brain. So welcome into my mind:

Make a height limit in the Arts District 15 stories. I would encourage designers to add lots of blank concrete walls so that starving graffiti artists could leave their mark. I don't know how many of you have wandered around but the Arts District is really cool. I would also give the Arts District a good scrub down as it is very dirty. Lots of outdoor cafes, vintage clothing stores, music stores, clubs, and galleries scattered all througout.

In terms of building design, I would encourage architects to go bold. Designs like Artisan, Savoy, and Mura would look great out here in Riverside but not in a urban area like downtown. I would love to see some Dutch style lofts and office buildings scattered among the brick buildings. Such as this (an apartment building in Copenhagen http://*************************/copenhagen/jpgs/orestad_building_aug06_aw60.jpg) or this (Dyson School for Design http://www.businessinnovationinsider.com/Dyson%20School%20Design%20Innovation.jpg

I would design a very boldly designed building on the corner of 1st and Alameda called the LArts Building. It would totally take over that parking lot and it would be the main art gallery for all of downtown LA.

All throuout downtown, I would install xeon streetlights. Those amber lights are not very powerful and the homeless are vampires. Lights scare them.

Little Tokyo..I would so totally remodel Japanese Village Plaza. I would fly to Japan, and see what I could recreate in LT. I would try to make LT into a more modern LT as opposed to what it is now. I would still have common retail like sushi restraunts and boba cafes but I would love to hire Japanese retail like Milk and Evoke and also L.A.M.B. and Ice Cream as well.

I'd burn all the homeless.

I would whitewash every single building in the OBD.

In the Financial District, I would totally remodel Pershing Square. I would make a new park.. It would have lush plantlife with cool hidden art. The art would be cool stacks of color changing glass that would echo Park 5th. I would make a 'club/restraunt row' all along 7th. Hours would extend to 3am. All sorts of music would be played.

Grand Hope Park needs to be destroyed. Seriously..who makes a caged park? I would make that into a more kid friendly park. South Park is hot right now but to keep it warm, you have to have things to do. Outdoor restraunts, shopping, and things that'll lead you to LA Live is what would keep things flowing smoothly.

I have more ideas but I'm tired.

One thing I'm worred about is that there won't be enough to see and do in Downtown. All of LA's attractions are spread out where as all the attractions of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York are all in close proximity. We can't physically move the Getty Center, LACMA, Hollywood Walk of Fame, etc. to Downtown.

One thing I'm worred about is that there won't be enough to see and do in Downtown. All of LA's attractions are spread out where as all the attractions of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York are all in close proximity. We can't physically move the Getty Center, LACMA, Hollywood Walk of Fame, etc. to Downtown.

Hmmm. you mean you can walk from the SF Zoo to AT&T Park in Frisco?

Milwaukee Ave is right next to the Navy Pier in Chicago?

Coney Island is not too far away from Yankee Stadium?

But I do agree, there needs to be more entertainment and attractions in DTLA (that are not LALive!)

One thing I'm worred about is that there won't be enough to see and do in Downtown. All of LA's attractions are spread out where as all the attractions of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York are all in close proximity. We can't physically move the Getty Center, LACMA, Hollywood Walk of Fame, etc. to Downtown.

Even if you put all sorts of stuff in downtown, people are still going to go to Hollywood or the Getty Center for the simple fact that they're there. Hollywood is still going to be a huge tourist attraction and the Getty will still remain LA's Acropolis.

LA's best museums, shopping, and attractions are located outside of Downtown.

- Union Square is located in Downtown San Francisco, no?
- The Art Institute is conveniently located on Michigan Avenue, no?
- Broadway is located in Midtown, no?

You're talking about attractions that are at most 2 miles apart from one another, whereas LA's attractions are seperated by distances that reach up to 13 miles (Downtown and Getty Center)!

Of course, this problem would be alleviated if there were a more efficient mass transit system in place. I have no doubt that Downtown will become more of a regional center for all of Southern California. But I just don't see Downtown playing the same role as other major downtowns. Some areas where Downtown will hold strong in are:

- Theater
- Nightlife
- Sports
- Architecture

Let's use Downtown Chicago as our primary case study.

- Shopping (North Michigan Avenue, State Street)
- Parks (Millennium, Grant, Lincoln)
- Museums (Art Institute, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Theatre
- Navy Pier
- Architectural Cruise
- Lake Michigan Cruise (I've GOT to do that again!)
- Beaches
- Nightlife

Even if you put all sorts of stuff in downtown, people are still going to go to Hollywood or the Getty Center for the simple fact that they're there. Hollywood is still going to be a huge tourist attraction and the Getty will still remain LA's Acropolis.

Hollywood is not that far from Downtown Los Angeles, and regarding the transit issue, duh, there's been a subway there since 1999. The Pacific Electric ran there too back in the day.

Getty Center was built by a private foundation, not by the city.

Sorry to bring up walmart again but the ones on the east coast rock. Walmarts out west are completely ghetto and awful. Can I get an amen?

The Walmart at the Long Beach Town Center is nice. I went in there once to purchase a carpet cleaner because the one closest to me didn't have any in stock. It was the only time I was actualy impressed with a Walmart. The customers weren't ghetto, and even the employees at the Walmart was nice and prefessional. Never have I seen this at their establishment.

... an everyone is making a big deal over a super dupper walmarrt Downtown. When there's a dirty Big Lots on seventh that resembles JJ Newberrys... :puke:

~~~ AMEN~~~

Sorry to bring up walmart again but the ones on the east coast rock. Walmarts out west are completely ghetto and awful. Can I get an amen?

I'm a city boy, I've only been to a Wal Mart twice in my life, one out in the SGV, the second in suburban Houston, TX.

Definately there needs to be things that draw and keep people downtown on weekends and nights because right now it is dead at night and especially weekend nights. LA Live will help solve this but there needs to be more cafes, internet cafes, bookstores, galleries, and clubs to create a lively street scene. Also despite the pedestrian friendly appeal of downtown, the area around Bunker Hill (namely between Figueroa and Grand & between 2nd and 5th) is definately not pedestrian friendly. The recent proposal to make Broadway into a Transit Mall would be pleasant and it would be nice to have the old theaters restored and used as either live theatres, film theatres, or something else. I would like to see all the parking lots covered with buildings. South Park will be very cool in about a decade with all the lots covered with mixed-use residential/retail especially with the Ralph's. DASH needs to run later (even in downtown Phoenix, Arizona the DASH buses run until 11 pm). Transit-oriented development directly on top of the Pershing Square station (the north east entrance) would be convenient. Pershing Square itself is a bit dead. There needs to be vendors selling snacks and ice cream and what not and more events in the park especially on weekends. More security and toilets would be nice since I have seen people doing drugs and defecating in the square on more than one occasion. I would like to see more middle-range housing available since it seems downtown housing is either for the very well-off or the very poor and desperate. More hotels and eateries around the convention center will cause more planners to choose LA for their conventions (maybe even ComicCon will be held here someday).

Let's use Downtown Chicago as our primary case study.

- Shopping (North Michigan Avenue, State Street)
- Parks (Millennium, Grant, Lincoln)
- Museums (Art Institute, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Theatre
- Navy Pier
- Architectural Cruise
- Lake Michigan Cruise (I've GOT to do that again!)
- Beaches
- Nightlife

This is all bullshit~LA city's main attractions are no more spread out than in any other city.
Please let's not use Chicago as an example, at only 212 sq miles it just isn't comparable to LA's 469. I think a better example would be NYC, eventhough it is only 309 sq miles many of its attractions are spread out and huddled together in some spots, similar to LA(the city).
Arriving at JFK how far is downtown Manhattan?
From their you would have to board a ferry to take you to the Statue Of Liberty.
You want to see the Empire State Building..about the same distance from downtown to Hollywood.
You want to go from there to Coney Island? About the same distance from Hollywood to the ocean.
The majority of all of the museums are within 2 sq miles of each other w/ Wilshire being the center and w/the one exception of the Getty.

Anyway, I'm so tired of beating these untruths over the head. If you would look at a Google map and compare it w/ cities that are COMPARABLE to LA(not some anti-growth provincial towns of yor)like Sao Paulo or Mexico City you will see that the city is decently centralized but w/ multiple nodes, which in my opinion is much much more interesting. After leaving the downtowns of some of those centralized cities, their isn't much left. On top of that, LA's metro area rocks, even the suburbs like Pasadena, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Long Beach. Their is just so much to do within the city and the metro area for some it is just too overwhelming leading many to believe that "the city is spread out", but how can the city be spread out when you're not even in the city anymore?

Westsidelife---a lot of Chicago's nightlife is located outside of downtown.

The Walmart at the Long Beach Town Center is nice. I went in there once to purchase a carpet cleaner because the one closest to me didn't have any in stock. It was the only time I was actualy impressed with a Walmart. The customers weren't ghetto, and even the employees at the Walmart was nice and prefessional. Never have I seen this at their establishment.

You mean the one Downtown next to the Blue Line? Hah. you probably went at the wrong time.

Westsidelife---a lot of Chicago's nightlife is located outside of downtown.

Yeah that's what I meant by Milwaukee Ave. Rush Street is in Downtown but from what I hear it's mostly overpriced upscale crap that's not that popular anymore....kind of like our Sunset Strip!

This is all bullshit~LA city's main attractions are no more spread out than in any other city.
Please let's not use Chicago as an example, at only 212 sq miles it just isn't comparable to LA's 469. I think a better example would be NYC, eventhough it is only 309 sq miles many of its attractions are spread out and huddled together in some spots, similar to LA(the city).
Arriving at JFK how far is downtown Manhattan?
From their you would have to board a ferry to take you to the Statue Of Liberty.
You want to see the Empire State Building..about the same distance from downtown to Hollywood.
You want to go from there to Coney Island? About the same distance from Hollywood to the ocean.
The majority of all of the museums are within 2 sq miles of each other w/ Wilshire being the center and w/the one exception of the Getty.

Anyway, I'm so tired of beating these untruths over the head. If you would look at a Google map and compare it w/ cities that are COMPARABLE to LA(not some anti-growth provincial towns of yor)like Sao Paulo or Mexico City you will see that the city is decently centralized but w/ multiple nodes, which in my opinion is much much more interesting. After leaving the downtowns of some of those centralized cities, their isn't much left. On top of that, LA's metro area rocks, even the suburbs like Pasadena, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Long Beach. Their is just so much to do within the city and the metro area for some it is just too overwhelming leading many to believe that "the city is spread out", but how can the city be spread out when you're not even in the city anymore?

I have friends from the Philippines who are all excited about coming to Los Angeles for the first time. Fair enough, then I ask them where they will be staying and 99% of the time they mention a place in the SGV or IE.

I already know they're not gonna enjoy their visit. :ohno:

I believe there was some dude from the Philippines who posted on here a few months ago that fit that description accurately.

I must also add that many immigrant cultures are exposed to a class stratification that's even worse than the U.S. In America, a homeless man can win the Lotto and get lots of press, respect and attention for being a "Rags to Riches Story." You can change your social status overnight literally. In many other countries, a person who grew up poor who instantly becomes rich through either chance or hard work is still treated as a poor person. The point I'm trying to make is that many immigrant cultures live in the 'burbs because they feel it represents a better rung in the income ladder, and that The City is for poor people and never want to look back. I constantly hear older, educated but not enlightened, immigrants put down The City and discourage others from going there. That is the attitude that suburban middle class/upper middle class immigrants have.

The poorer immigrants learn to adapt and deal with their current condition -- but once the opportunity arises for them to make more income, they wanna get the hell out.

So that leads to a bigger problem -- who takes ownership of the city?

....So that leads to a bigger problem -- who takes ownership of the city?

...the "gentros" right? your term not mine....:) A recent study of new DTLA residents show that their median age is 31 and average annual income is $99,000.00. Most are professionals or buisness owners and hold managerial positions. Although this demographic is good news for most businesses in the DTLA area, it's always great to have a diverse, mixed-income group living in DT. To see immigrants leave the city is to see a city that will be culturally deprived...it is the immigrant population that keeps the city vibrant and livable. Regarding the new developments, I still don't see the connection between Bunker Hill/Grand Ave., LA Live, Broadway/7th street and the Jewelry District? Will there ever be a chance that people on opposite sides actually mingle and interact? or is the City creating a series of "segregated" places each defined by income or race?

Most likely the latter.

You mean the one Downtown next to the Blue Line? Hah. you probably went at the wrong time.


No I'm talking about the Walmart on Carson Street near the 605 Freeway in the Towne Center.

I know about the other one downtown because I live a few block from it. Its at the CityPlace complex, and yes its ghetto. Everytime I go there (where is very rare) I want to hit somebody. Many of the customers come from outside areas of the city, but also they get the tourists visiting Long Beach, as as well as the yuppies over in the towers on Ocean Blvd.

The are around the Coliseum needs to be cleaned up...tear down the Ghetto Sports Arena maybe build a nice park in its place. Maybe if we can fix up the area around the Coliseum and do a major renovation of the Coliseum we can get a NFL team here. I know the Coliseum is a landmark, but they have to do some major renovation to it.

Also, DT needs to improve the nightlife...put some more clubs near Staples. Saturday nights after a King game, there is no one for miles out on the streets.

The are around the Coliseum needs to be cleaned up...tear down the Ghetto Sports Arena maybe build a nice park in its place. Maybe if we can fix up the area around the Coliseum and do a major renovation of the Coliseum we can get a NFL team here. I know the Coliseum is a landmark, but they have to do some major renovation to it.


If you've been here more than 10 years, or actually took a look at the place, it HAS been cleaned up. That stretch of Exposition Park along Vermont looks like freaking Paris now compared to my college days.

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I really think tearing down the sports arena and rebuilding dodger stadium at the site would be a great idea. the stadium would face the same location it does currently and would have a great view of downtown, like in pittsburgh or san diego. It would also have a transit stop and have many more options for getting in and out of the area, including close proxomity to atleast 2 freeways.

I know that the current dodger stadium is a classic, but its not especially aesthetically pleasing and i think the city could do much better. the only problem i foresee would be parking. but hey, if san diego can do it, so could LA. parking strucutes downtown could be accessed the by expo line, busses, and shuttles. also, parking structures used by usc students druing the day and other new lots that would be built, could handle all the people commuting in by car.

Think about it, the Lakers, Kings, USC football, the Dodgers, and any future NFL team would all play within a few minutes of eachother!!!!

EL That's sooooooo true... maybe "Vaheboronian" meant south of Vernon, East of Broadway and West of Vermont. Some of those hoods have been cleaned up but they still have ways to go....

[QUOTE=solongfullerton;13551941]I know I'll get flamed for this, but I really think tearing down the sports arena and rebuilding dodger stadium at the site would be a great idea. the stadium would face the same location it does currently and would have a great view of downtown, like in pittsburgh or san diego. It would also have a transit stop and have many more options for getting in and out of the area, including close proxomity to atleast 2 freeways.

^^ Full or Ten that's an excellent idea by the way.... Chavez Ravine is not too parking/transit friendly anyways!

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I really think tearing down the sports arena and rebuilding dodger stadium at the site would be a great idea. the stadium would face the same location it does currently and would have a great view of downtown, like in pittsburgh or san diego. It would also have a transit stop and have many more options for getting in and out of the area, including close proxomity to atleast 2 freeways.



FOX thought up this plan nearly 10 years ago...But nothing happened and nothing likely will in this regard since they no longer own the team.

i would do that in a second. i love Dodger Stadium, but its not practical. imagine the possibilities with DS in Expo Park!!

i would do that in a second. i love Dodger Stadium, but its not practical. imagine the possibilities with DS in Expo Park!!


Lest anyone forgets, the Los Angeles Dodgers first made their home in Exposition Park before they went on to Elysian Park.

I would support the plan as far as transit accessibility, but the primary problem with the Exposition Park stadium idea is that, at least in the FOX proposal, the replacement stadium would have to be smaller than our existing Dodger Stadium as the land footprint surrounding the Sports Arena property is considerably smaller. For a baseball team in the Los Angeles market, that would mean a smaller seating capacity and higher ticket prices. Also impractical, in another way, for a team that consistently rakes in 3,000,000+ fans per year in their 56,000-capacity stadium.

Even sinking the stadium wouldn't help?

Lest anyone forgets, the Los Angeles Dodgers first made their home in Exposition Park before they went on to Elysian Park.

Lets not also forget that our other favorite baseball team, the LA Angels of Anaheim also played at the Coliseum for a short period. How do you think they got their name?

Lets not also forget that our other favorite baseball team, the LA Angels of Anaheim also played at the Coliseum for a short period. How do you think they got their name?

That's not correct. They played at Wrigley Field (Los Angeles, which was about a mile east of the Coliseum) for their first season and played at Dodger Stadium (referred to during Angels games as "Chavez Ravine") for their next few years before moving to The Big A.

Even sinking the stadium wouldn't help?

That would actually increase the stadium space, as you'd need more structure to support the earth surrounding the stadium "bowl."

Shouldn't we move this discussion to the "How Iconic is Dodger Stadium?" thread?

Let me straighten this out about the Angels. Before the Dodgers ever came to Los Angeles, there was a Pacific Coast League and one of the teams was the Angels who played in Wrigley Field. When the Dodgers came over, it started the westward movement of MLB. After that, the PCL folded. Gene Autry wanted to make a team, and he named in the Angels in memory of the PCL Angels. They played at Dodger Stadium while Angel Stadium was under construction.

So if any Angels fan tells you that the Angels were in LA first, you tell them this and while you're at it, tell them to go back to that hell-hole they call Orange County.

whatever, lets move dodger stadium to expo park!!!!

Think about it, the Lakers, Kings, USC football, the Dodgers, and any future NFL team would all play within a few minutes of eachother!!!!

But isn't Dodgers stadium the same distance from downtown as it would be if were located to the Coliseum area? Besides, won't that new park have access to Dodgers from the Chinatown station stop?

If you've been here more than 10 years, or actually took a look at the place, it HAS been cleaned up. That stretch of Exposition Park along Vermont looks like freaking Paris now compared to my college days.

My mistake...I have to check it out the area again....

Let me straighten this out about the Angels. Before the Dodgers ever came to Los Angeles, there was a Pacific Coast League and one of the teams was the Angels who played in Wrigley Field. When the Dodgers came over, it started the westward movement of MLB. After that, the PCL folded. Gene Autry wanted to make a team, and he named in the Angels in memory of the PCL Angels. They played at Dodger Stadium while Angel Stadium was under construction.

So if any Angels fan tells you that the Angels were in LA first, you tell them this and while you're at it, tell them to go back to that hell-hole they call Orange County.

The Angels played at Wrigley Field for the 1961 season and 1962-1963 at Chavez Ravine/Dodger Stadium.

The PCL did not "fold." the Pacific Coast League still exists today as a Triple-A class Minor League: www.pclbaseball.com (http://www.pclbaseball.com) The Dodgers' affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s and the Angels' affiliate, the Salt Lake City Bees, are part of today's PCL.

I thought this discussion was going to be moved to the Dodger Thread???

whatever, lets move dodger stadium to expo park!!!!

As Grady Little would say, "I tell you what." - Buy the Dodgers from Frank McCourt first and then we'll talk.