Walking Tour Assignment Part Ii

WalkingTourAssignment

PartII

Kelly Cass

Walking Tour Pictures

Five Things That Most Stood Out to Me 1.  The dense housing stood out to me. There were no single-family

houses, but instead lots of high-rise apartment buildings, specifically mixed-use apartment buildings.

2.  LA Live stood out. All of the advertisements and bright colors used for its signs really set it apart from the rest of the places we saw on the walk.

3.  The deterioration of once beautiful architecture really stood out. It was apparent that efforts were being made to create new architecture and new high-rise buildings, but the once beautiful architecture of the paste appeared to be dirty and in desperate need of repair.

4.  Santee Alley stood out because of the compactness of its stores. The alley was filled with numerous smalls stores and vendors.

5.  The designs of the new apartments being built also stood out. The new apartments being built had much larger individual units than those of the past.

Kelly Cass

Image of LA City

The ‘image of LA City’ has definitely changed since Lynch wrote the book. One of the main changes has been the addition of dense housing. Lynch described people as knowing the city due to working there, not living in it. However, today LA is full of numerous apartments and mixed-use housing. The city also now has quite a few more memorable buildings such as LA Live. I think now that the city should be described as having numerous districts with different features, but an overall theme of dense housing.

Kelly Cass

Walking Tour

by Julian Tarula

Points of Interest •  The dichotomy of the city walking past grand and olive

street in terms of people •  Additionally the buildings changed as well. New high rise

V. old historical •  The clear property lines of some of the buildings, public

V. private sidewalks •  Many “bum proof” seats etc. similar to Mike Davis

Fortress City •  The use of side walks for vending. Many owners would

have their merchandise out on the sidewalk

Image of the City •  The image of LA has greatly changed since Lynch’s

observations of the city . Pershing square is no longer a vibrant point of interest. The bunker hill area is now the new business sector for financial elite. However the image is still changing. We saw many new condos being built throughout the city encouraging more people to live there. Also place such as LA live and the Disney Concert Hall are attracting more and more people all the time. Yet there are still some striking similarities such as the existence of skid row, Placita Olvera and the free ways. I imagine that over the next 50 years Downtown LA will be seen a very different manner. I believe there will be a revitalization the downtown and it will no longer be just a place of business and tourism but also a place of residence.

Private property sign on sidewalk Melisa Olivieri

Pershing Square – Armrests prevent homeless from sleeping on bench Melisa Olivieri

Indoor mall with many cheap items

Melisa Olivieri

Crosswalk with pattern

Things that stood out to me

1.  Many sidewalks have private property division lines.

2.  Old buildings have beautiful architecture, but they are run-down.

3.  Signs and awnings at ground level of beautiful old buildings make

the whole block unsightly.

4.  Homeless people were on almost every block.

5.  Pershing square was the only quiet outside place.

Melisa Olivieri

Image of LA City

Changes since Lynch’s book –  New Pershing Square design –  More pullution –  Older office buildings have been converted for residential use. –  More high-rise buildings

50 years from now hopefully… –  Better public transit system and almost no cars –  No homeless people because better social care exists –  Less crime and a feeling of safety that will encourage more people to

walk at night

Melisa Olivieri

Matt Wolfrom

PPD245

5 Things That Stood Out to Me •  The gold lines between

public and private space. •  The difference in

atmosphere between the newer and older downtown.

•  The use of space vertically. (ex.stores on the bottom of condo’s)

•  The use of buildings for advertisements.

•  The modern buildings tended to have more windows while the older buildings contained more details.

Lynch/ 50 Years •  I think that when Lynch wrote his book it was

easier for him to distinguish between landmarks, nodes, districts, and paths than it is now. When he wrote his book these points of interest were much more defined than they are today given that the downtown has evolved so much. In 50 years I think that we will have developed so much of downtown that we won’t even recognize it. I predict that high rise buildings will take over much of downtown in order to bring things as close as possible.

WALKING TOUR ASSIGNMENT

CANDICE ASSIL PROFESSOR BANERJEE

NOVEMBER 13, 2009

1) Add 3-4 pictures that you took from the walking tour to a PowerPoint presentation.

2) Add 5 things that stood out to you during your tour of downtown LA regarding the built environment.

•  Camera’s in public areas: “eye’s on the streets.” •  Art structures in the middle of a meeting place. •  Chairs, tables, and benches in sunlight vs. no sunlight. •  Street food in front of business areas. •  Using animals to maintain a property: goats take care of the grass

at a local park.

3) In a few sentences, describe how you think the 'Image of LA City' has changed since Lynch wrote the book, and how you think it should be described 50 years later. Try not to repeat what others have added.

•  The city of Los Angeles has changed drastically over time. With the advances in technology, the city life experience has come into full effect. The city is now filled with high rise buildings, lights, public transportation, landmarks, and restaurants. I feel as though, throughout the next 50 years, technology will take over the world. Downtowns public transportation system will advance with less use of fossil fuels and become a top priority. It will be the number one means of transportation--subways, trains, and railways. Buses and cars will become extinct, or limited. The city will still carry the same patterns: nodes, landmarks, walls, paths, etc. with even more hopes to more involvement within the community/city.

Walking Tour Pictures

5 things that stood out •  Sidewalks – as shown (2nd image) - the use of sidewalks for private/public

use (mentioned in readings) protest/labor disputes/demonstration

•  On the first image, the notion and ideas of intended use of surveillance.

•  3rd picture – Shopping center at below grade level is something I think most people are not used seeing often

•  The difference in factors relating to diverse places – Certain plazas were more functional and displayed a more vibrant and attractive environment. They differed in their relation to the street, amount of sunlight coming in based on the angles and heights of buildings and the architectural design in general. Those plazas were in result more crowded and more crowded

•  The type of art displayed in various locations stood out as being more of a coerced requirement to fill a void rather more spontaneous and artistic emergence of art.

5 Things That Stood Out

•  Skyline reveals few architecturally distinct buildings

•  Lack of green space throughout •  Many new mixed-use buildings •  Many public art displays •  Built environment mix of very old and very

new

Change

•  LA is much more people friendly than it was during the time Lynch described it. No longer just a place to drive into for work, Los Angeles in 50 years will be a walkable, vibrant, visually pleasing city with restaurants, cafes, shops, and movie theaters. It will be a dense community dominated by pedestrian traffic and public transportation.

Walking Tour

Jimmy Diaz

Downtown Art Sculpture

Spanish Steps

Underground Mall

Bonaventure Hotel

5 Things That Stood Out •  Art sculptures: I thought it was interesting that the developments had to spend

1% of their budget on public art. Knowing this, all the art sculptures in front of the buildings stood out a lot more to me.

•  Spanish steps: This stood out to me because it is a nice walking space available to the entire public. It was a good example of an area that is not clearly public or private.

•  The Underground mall: The mall was interesting because it was generally hidden from the public view. It appeared as if it was more “private” compared to sidewalk shops since you had to be “in the know” to even realize that there were shops down there.

•  Bonaventure Hotel: The walkway around the hotel stood out to me because it appears to be a segregated walkway for the hotel guests while the workers in Downtown LA use the normal sidewalk by the street. This walkway also does not make the hotel to appear very appealing from the street-level.

•  Park next to Angels Flight: This park stood out the most because it provided green space in the middle of high rise buildings. This area had families with children relaxing and enjoying the sunlight.

Changes in LA…

•  I think that the core of Downtown LA has moved Westward towards the Bunker Hill area. This new district has the tall buildings that serve as landmarks for Downtown LA that can be seen from miles around. These districts appear to be more integrated social classes than they did during the time when Kevin Lynch studied the area.

Image of the city •  Lynch studies pertained in many cased exclusively to the downtown area of

Los Angeles, which has undergone major structural changes (after the 80’s) since Lynch conducted his research with his book being published in the 60’s. Many landmarks have been maintained and inhibit today s stronger sense of place, together with an effort to improve the distinctive detailing of the boulevards and streets However, the “Lynchian districts” are today more visible than ever with its edges noting a strong distinction/segregation between the new corporate downtown, vs. the public sector and the Hispanic communities in the various areas of downtown. In terms of identity and structure, I believe the city is making a positive development to exhibit a greater sense of place with art, landmarks, developing districts and paths. However, although it is interesting to enter a world with different characteristics, the effort should be to put together the various components of downtown to create the whole. I think that the city being fueled by American ideal of a downtown, will continue to sustain and re-promote it self and become more imageable as a result with its inhabitants and tourists finding it more enjoyable and natural to take a tour in Los Angeles Downtown.

Walking Tour Observations

It was pointed out that the structure of the Bonaventure functions as a fortress, with huge cement walls

isolating it from the street, keeping everyone else out.

I noticed that the steps leading up to the US Bank building function both as a path (taking people up and down) and

a public space of their own. (The curving shape of the stairs ensures that one can sit on them without interrupting the main flow of people who take the fastest, direct route up and down, and

the flow of water adds something interesting and aesthetically pleasing.)

The pedestrian plaza at the top of Angel's flight features restaurants, water, sound and stage equipment, everything needed for a successful public space. It manages to maintain an active relationship with the street, while at the same time repelling many of the street's negative aspects (noise, transients, etc.).

The Disney Concert Hall, it was pointed out, was built partly by the money left in honor of Mr. Disney, and partly by a donation from a USC alumnus. Frank Ghery designed it when one of his assistants wrapped a previous design in foil and he liked the result. A new cultural building is going in across the street soon.

The Cathedral is a stunning piece of work. Its proximity and view of

the freeway make it the most striking, visible landmark in north

downtown. It represents an architectural, religious, and cultural

center of Los Angeles.

How has the city’s image changed?

Since Lynch wrote his book, the center of Los Angeles has shifted from the historic

part of downtown to the northwest. The new skyscrapers have become LA's center. Also, the city has continued to spread itself. So I think that the new image of Los Angeles is bigger, since people are more familiar now with a larger area, and since important and

heavily-used areas have sprung up all around the city, and that the new image is

centered more in bunker hill than in the historic core.

Built Environment •  New loft and apartment construction to bring people into

the city for purposes other than work •  Street Vendors around Santee Alley in the Fashion

District •  How wide Broadway is and all of the shops on the first

floor with renovated apartments above •  The numerous theaters along Broadway •  The recycling of old buildings into apartments and lofts.

Image of LA City •  Lynch had noted that people were familiar with Downtown Los Angeles, not

because of residence, but because of their work. This is beginning to change as many old buildings are being converted into apartments and lofts as well as new buildings being constructed so more people can live downtown. Also Lynch talked about how there is the central downtown, but there are also several basic cores or cities. This is still true, but these "basic cores" are becoming connected as the Los Angeles region grows and infill becomes more prominent. In 50 years the image of Los Angeles will be more focused on density and infill and the reflection by many as Los Angeles being spread out or spacious will not be as common. 50 years ago when Lynch wrote the book, Pershing Square was much more prominent as a landmark, however today as the center of downtown has moved west Pershing Square is not as recognizable of a district or landmark as it once was. The smog and air quality will continue to be noted in 50 years and will most likely be more common of a response when people are asked to describe Los Angeles.