prettyugly.

Over the course of the past few years, I’ve noticed a trend: omitting mention of LA in architecture and urban discussions. Now, if it is one’s opinion that LA isn’t as urban as say..New York City, or Paris, that’s fine, as there is definitely some truth to that. However, many people aren’t fine with saying that, or acknowledging LA’s urbanism. Instead, many go great lengths to snub the city, with the preferred diss saying all of the city is sprawling and woefully un-urban. Now, as anybody who’s read this blog knows (or has seen), that just isn’t true, and for good reason.

Though many are hesitant to admit it, LA is indeed urban. Simply put, LA is a city that dwells both worlds. With a foot in the door of the pre-WW2 world: with the dense apartment blocks, and immaculate street grid that were characteristic of that era; but also a foot in the world post-WW2 world: with sprawling, more suburban-oriented developments…kind of like the ones that sprouted up all over the country following the death of cities. I mean, have you seen LA’s grid? It’s hardly Sunbelt sprawler, and is in fact, home to several of the densest nabes in the country (outside of Manhattan, of course). Needless to say, such ridiculous inanities definitely serve do a good job at surfacing and exposing false pre-conceived notions about the city.

The LA I know, and am intimately familiar with, east of La Brea, is unabashedly dense. It is, without question, more of a New York-style city, than say..Tampa. With some of the highest densities outside of the former, and one of the largest concentrations of art deco and beaux art structures anywhere, it’s hard to deny this fact. For one, the amorphous urban architectural gem-laden urban sprawl along Wilshire Blvd comes to mind… spanning from the Miracle Mile, through the undefined Koreatown and Westlake nexus, and onto to Downtown? What do other locales, including the world famous Hollywood; America’s best small city, Santa Monica; as well as hotbeds of creativity, such as Silverlake, Echo Park and Los Feliz have in common? They are all undeniably urban. That’s pretty much the tip of the iceberg, as I haven’t even done as much mentioned places like the Pico-Union District, Boyle Heights, Jefferson Park, South Vermont, or even my beloved Leimert Park. Lastly, have we forgotten that LA is the densest metropolitan area around? That alone should mean a little something; at least, I’d tend to believe that it would.

That, of course leads me to next gripe, the myth that people don’t walk in LA. Now, that is, one of the biggest crocks of bs I’ve ever had to “pleasure” of hearing. It’s not about people walking, because as so beautifully illustrated in my photos, many people do, it’s just the people who DO walk aren’t considered people – at least not in the eyes of popular culture and media.

Admittedly, everybody has their initial impressions, which often include outmoded stereotypes. However, only so many of these can be couched under the naivety umbrella. After that very fine line is crossed, it is rightfully labeled libel or propaganda. Thankfully, LA is a city that doesn’t keep it up with the joneses and doesn’t need or seek outside approval or validation. And luckily, us as a people are thick-skinned enough where we don’t let such scurrilous accusations get to us – however, every once in a while, it doesn’t hurt to take time aside to debunk them.

Posted by Devan at 11:52:00 PM Comments

Ahh..with summer nearing, heralding in what is probably Our City’s best asset: summer, I couldn’t be happier.


>Aside from the sometimes oppressive rays from the sun, there really couldn’t be a better time to be in my fair city. Literally, there’s so much going on; I’m talking one can’t even walk a few blocks without seeing an advertisement for a beach bonfire, house party or some get-together or sorts, or even better, being invited to one. Same applies for the ubiquitous Southern California BBQ, whose aroma can be found (or smelled!) wafting out of backyards, balconies, patios, and green spaces throughout the city. Now, of course, no entry or mention about summer in Los Angeles is complete or total without even a mention of the plentiful supply good-looking women, all donning their summer-best outfits and bods. That and the sheer amount of general positivity and good vibes that just seem to spill out onto the streets, are good enough reasons for Angelinos like myself to be in a festive mood right about now.

Now, for some photos that are anything but "sunny"..haha

Posted by Devan at 8:59:00 AM Comments

Posted by Devan at 6:16:00 AM Comments

..So today, partially to satiate my friend Daniel’s budding curiosity and interest about the urban aesthetics of Downtown Los Angeles, but also the so-called “hipster” culture of the locales Echo Park and Silverlake, and also, to allow me to stock up on new photo material, we took a trip to aforementioned nabes – camera and appetite in tow.

We met up sometime around 3:30PM in what is pretty much the southern fringe of Downtown (Broadway/Olympic); a no-man’s land comprised of abandoned, hollowed-out shells of buildings and sprawling, ocean-esque surface parking lots. Eventually, we worked our way up Broadway, itself a street reminiscent of contemporary Detroit in the sense that it is flanked by rows of boarded-up brick buildings; themselves representative of the squandered opportunity has come to define The Motor City. As we traversed Downtown’s flagship corridor, and as any decent soul would be, we were both in a constant, almost simultaneous state of shock and awe (ha!), when fathoming the boundless potential the thoroughfare has, but also how low the area has sank. After indulging and immersing ourselves into the endless realms grit and architecture porn for a bit, we delved off and visited other side streets, namely Main and Spring – themselves pretty much comprising the de-facto loft district of Downtown. Now, this area should be praised as a poster child for what Downtown should be: a functional, vibrant entity that strikes the perfect balance between old and new, grit and charm, and most importantly, maintains character. Later, after a bit of a transit misunderstanding, we boarded the Metro Red Line and were finally headed to the Vermont/Santa Monica station, the gateway to Silverlake, aka Hipsterville.

Silverlake, as mentioned in other posts, is without doubt, LA’s crown jewel when it comes to hipster neighborhoods. I mean, the name Silverlake is pretty much synonymous with the ill-defined, misunderstood and definitely overused, maybe even a tad bit dreaded “hipster”. I don’t want to get onto that tangent, but while we’re on that note, I’ve been periodically adding text to a mega-post on the topic in mention (hipsters), so one can expect that to drop soon. Moving on… with Daniel craving the ubiquitous killer LA taco, I decided it would be best to go hit up the quaint Tacos Delta stand. Needless to say, it was a hit. The place, in all of its unassuming, under-the-radar glory, has been spoken rather highly of by people in the Greater Silverlake area, precisely because of its bargain-basement prices and unpretentious nature (something kind hard to come by in that part of town!). We both ordered x3 tacos de carne asada, a dish myself and Angelinos as a whole are so fond of, that it could be shortlisted for the quintessential LA food and nobody would blink as much as even an eye. With our taste buds as witnesses, I can safely vouch that they are, indeed, the real deal. Oh, yeah..excellent house salsa to boot. Perhaps the best part of this totally no-nonsense place was the cozy backdoor patio and the sheer socioeconomic/class diversity present at this taqueria – a tell-tale sign that it is well enjoyed by people of all creeds and walks of life. After scarfing down the delicious tacos, we decided to trek over to neighboring Echo Park; perhaps my favorite and most celebrated “Eastside” nabe.

Even though only a hill separate the nabes, it doesn’t take long for one to note the stark differences between the 2 places. It’s true; Echo Park is indeed a grittier, humbled down, less-pretentious version of Silverlake. With greater urban cohesion, far less gentrification, oh, and plenty of more Mexicans (and no, there’s nothing wrong with that), it’s safe to say EP has carved a unique urban identity for itself – something that makes it readily identifiable from even neighboring locales. All of this is just even more proof why LA is a collective patchwork of unique neighborhoods. Anyways, after exploring the sites of the main drag, we strolled into American Vintage to thrift shop --- which, btw, unsurprisingly has dizzying collection of vintage clothes. Tired from hopping from store to store in the Angelino urban jungle, we set off to Chango’s, Echo Park’s locally renowned coffee shop. A fine coffee shop and neighborhood space, I ordered the overly-friendly barista’s recommendation, a mint-flavored iced mocha. Yum. With Daniel getting an Italian Vanilla soda, complete with whipped cream, we ended our day on the table-filled quaint sidewalks of North Echo Park Blvd, people-watching and discussing the virtues of Midwestern life, traveling to far-flung foreign capitals and the events that led up to that very moment. A day well spent, yo.

Pics below in chronological order:

Posted by Devan at 8:46:00 AM Comments