When most east coasters think of Los Angeles, they think of the beach and Hollywood. Its glamorous and hot. Its beautiful people in bikinis playing volleyball. It’s a sidewalk with the name of stars. Yes, Los Angeles is that and much more. There is a seedier, underside to Hollywood. There is skid row. There is Compton. There is the crowded freeway. Well, many do think of that as well. We have all seen the car chases that occur on the LA freeways on CNN. There are also neighborhoods upon neighborhoods of warehouses. People forget that Los Angeles is a port city. Goods are trucked in and out of here. Hence, the 1000s of warehouses. This to me was shocking. You know what else was shocking to me as a New Yorker,recently relocated to Los Angeles? The lack of a cohesive downtown.
I live downtown and that is apparently a daring move. I didn’t pick the beach areas to live in. I didn’t pick an area near work. I picked downtown. As a New Yorker, it sort of made sense. In New York, I had lived in Gramercy Park and Battery Park. I had lived amongst the walk ups and high rises. Now, here is the funny thing about downtown Los Angeles. Until recently, it was empty and dark. Not many people lived in downtown other than the homeless. I imagine that Kurt Russell movie Escape from LA when I hear people describe the downtown of yesteryear. I also think of how the meatpacking district of New York used to be. I do not know what downtown LA really looked like before but I know how it is today.
There are highrises upon highrises. There are construction cranes everywhere. There are new stores, bars and eateries. There is a Whole Foods with a bar in it as well as a Ralph’s supermarket with a wine bar in it. And at 5:30pm, there are people actually perched at the win bar stools at the supermarket. I must admit, I never saw such a drinking scene in New York.
Downtown is vibrant. It is not colorful in its vibrancy. It is tall, varied and lighted-up. It is going through a renaissance. You see people jogging now. You see people walking their dogs. It is an amazing feel to be right in the middle of a change. It appears to be a seismic shift. People didn’t live downtown before. Now, us apartment dwellers, are here and we are building up the area.
Right after 9/11 happened, I moved down to the area near ground zero. It was weird being there on the weekends because it was pretty dark and lonely. It was a financial district area that didn’t have many residents. The area was usually teeming with commuters during the weekday. I was able to see the enormous growth of the area of Ground Zero. People had flocked down to it because everywhere else was full, out of nostalgia and because rents had been lowered.
I am not too sure what has driven the move to Downtown Los Angeles. Perhaps a ton of us New Yorkers have moved out here and wanted to build something familiar. There is also space here in Downtown and it is one of the few areas in LA that has concentrated public transportation. To me this makes the area perfect place to live. Here is to a continually vibrant-growing downtown. Urban dwellers delight!
Categories: Culture, new york, photography, Psychology, Travel
Yes it is changing. It is waking up.
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And it looks like no stopping that at this point…. my main thing now is to find a school for my son. 🙂
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That can be challenging. No schools in downtown. Though a lot can be found within 5 miles, I think. My husband and I were just talking about that. One still needs to drive from downtown to an elementary school.
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A new generation with new ideas. When I visited L.A. some 20 years ago, downtown was pretty weird. It is great to see the inner cities become home and not just a working place.
Neil diamond once wrote ” LA’s fine the sun shines most the time, and the feeling is lay back” from “I am I said”- could he singing of you Mimi ?B
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Mimi – Neil Diamond once wrote in his song “I am I said” : ‘ LA’s fine the sun shines most the time and the feeling is lay back.’
Do you think ND may have written this song anticipating your move from NY to LA ?B
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Oh my. Sounds perfect for me. Will look it up. Thx 🙂
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You should see your old neighborhood now! The FiDi is booming, construction everywhere,residents, restaurants and bars. I saw very little of downtown LA last trip but I’m going to make it a must-see next time!
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Indeed. change is everywhere. that is for sure. Downtown LA still has a long way to go in terms of being a destination but I hope to see that happen 🙂
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Welcome to DTLA!! I live here too…well…Chinatown 🙂
So many cool new things opening up and happening here.
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How cool! thanks for the welcome. Ive been to chinatown. There are some new condos going up there as well, I saw. I have to check them out.
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