Is Downtown L.A.’s New Center?
It’s Got the Hype, the Hot New Restaurants, Growing Political Clout, and More and More People on the Streets—and Its Growth Shows No Sign of Slowing Down
This year, GQ called downtown Los Angeles “America’s next great city” and “the cool capital of America,” and The New York Times included downtown on its list of “52 Places to Go in 2014.” At a “Thinking L.A.” event co-presented by UCLA at MOCA Grand Avenue, a panel of people who have developed, designed, lived, worked, and played downtown asked whether downtown actually lives up to this (admittedly East Coast) hype—and whether downtown’s revival is shifting power and influence away from L.A.’s wealthy Westside.
Architect Thom Mayne cautioned against the hype. …
