Talk:Downtown Los Angeles

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[edit] Research

Hi there, I'm researching Downtown LA. I'm interested in any opinions or stories, or statistics about the area or the people who live in it. I'm also interested in the current issues that are pressing in Downtown, either in the economy or any other social situation. Please help to create this discussion arena. Thank you.

[edit] This article needs a map badly

For those of us living outside of, and unfamiliar with, Los Angeles, this mapless article is disorienting. Someone should do a map, especially of the downtown's various neighborhoods ... c'mmon geographers! ...

FurnaldHall 09:32, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Building height

  • The buildings date from the early 1900s, with the topmost floors of most of the office buildings at mostly 14 and 15 stories. This was enforced because of the earthquake risk; thus, the Los Angeles City Hall was the tallest building for decades at 454 ft., until the development of Century City, in the western part of the Los Angeles basin.

I've that this is an urban legend, and that the law restricting heights was actually designed to keep the City Hall the tallest building in L.A. Can anyone find a source to settle it one way or another? -Willmcw 01:42, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

I dunno---will research when I have the time. My library here in NorCal allows remote access to ProQuest Historical Newspapers which has scanned NYT articles for 1851-2001. Hooray! --Coolcaesar 04:54, 16 September 2005 (UTC)
The first height limit ordnance in Los Angeles was enacted following the completion of the 13 story Continental Building (about 175 feet tall, if I recall correctly- I can't find confirmation on the Internet) at 4th and Spring Streets. The purpose of the height limit was to limit the density of the city. There was great hostility to skyscrapers in many cities in these years, mainly due to the congestion they could bring to the streets, and height limit ordinances were a common way of dealing with the problem. I believe the original L.A. ordinance established a limit of 13 storeys but no specific limit in feet. In 1911, the city passed an updated height limit ordinance, establishing a specific limit of 150 feet. Exceptions were granted for decorative towers such as those later built on the now-demolished Richfield building and the still-extant Eastern-Columbia Building.
Though there is a common belief that the limits were imposed due to the risk of earthquakes, it is notable that the first limit was imposed in 1904, two years before the San Francisco earthquake, and that even after that seismic event it was long believed in Los Angeles that Southern California (despite historic evidence to the contrary) was not subject to such violent temblors. The motivation behind height limits was primarily to limit congestion in the city. I recall discussions about the height limit from the period that were cited or quoted in books and articles I read many years ago, but unfortunately I do not now have access to those publications, and I read so many books about Los Angeles that I can't even remember which books and articles contained those discussions. They are out there, though. I'm sure somebody could find them.
It's also notable that the height limits were first imposed long before the 1928 City Hall was built, so the story that they were enacted in order to keep the City Hall the tallest building in town are also mere legends. The 1911 ordinance was repealed in 1957. The first private building to exceed the old limit was the 18 story California Bank Building at 6th and Spring. Whyaduck 04:56, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

This is my first attempt at wikipedia so I do not know if I am posting this correctly. I was contacted by the local paper, the Downtown News, due to the vast number of factual errors in this listing. And, looking it over, it needs far more than just an edit. It needs a top to bottom rewrite. What is the policy on this? I might add I am the former president (and current VP) of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, on the board of the Historic Core BID, have just started the Los Angeles Museum and my family has been Downtown for four generations - Bradywestater July 2007

[edit] Image problem

The previous image of "Bunker Hill as viewed from a parking ramp at USC" did not show Bunker Hill. As a former resident of both USC and Bunker Hill, I can say without doubt that it is not visible from campus. Rather, the view is of the Financial District. Bunker Hill lies on the opposite side (North) of the Financial District and is impossible to see from the USC campus (South). I have corrected the image's caption and added images of two notable landmarks from Bunker Hill towards the bottom. Bobak 20:55, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

   * Los Angeles Travel Guide (WikiTravel article)
   * Become an LA insider with Orbitz podcasts.
   * City of Los Angeles Official Web Site
   * LA INC.: Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau
   * Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
   * Los Angeles: Historic Sites Online, from the University of Southern California
   * Los Angeles: Past, Present and Future, from the University of Southern California
   * Communities of the City of Los Angeles, and unincorporated communicities within the City of Los Angeles , Los Angeles Almanac
   * Los Angeles Travel Guide (WikiTravel article)
   * Become an LA insider with Orbitz podcasts.
   * City of Los Angeles Official Web Site
   * LA INC.: Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau
   * Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
   * Los Angeles: Historic Sites Online, from the University of Southern California
   * Los Angeles: Past, Present and Future, from the University of Southern California
   * Communities of the City of Los Angeles, and unincorporated communicities within the City of Los Angeles , Los Angeles Almanac
   * Los Angeles Travel Guide (WikiTravel article)
   * Become an LA insider with Orbitz podcasts.
   * City of Los Angeles Official Web Site
   * LA INC.: Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau
   * Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
   * Los Angeles: Historic Sites Online, from the University of Southern California
   * Los Angeles: Past, Present and Future, from the University of Southern California
   * Communities of the City of Los Angeles, and unincorporated communicities within the City of Los Angeles , Los Angeles Almanac

[edit] Editing first sentence

"Downtown Los Angeles is the center of metropolitan Los Angeles, California, if not necessarily its heart."

I think a better sentence would be, "Downtown Los Angeles is the geographic center of metropolitan Los Angeles, California." More concise, and the "heart" comment seems slightly irrelevant. I'm changing it--I'm a novice at Wikipedia, though, so if I've violated some protocol, please change it back!

Mcgillionaire 15:13, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] (Central) City West

It looks like the Westlake neighborhood article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlake%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California) has claimed City West (although not by name) as its own. Does anyone know where City West ends and Westlake begins? If so, maybe the argument can be made to correct that article. --Alika 00:35, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Downtown Los Angeles

This news article indicates that Downtown Los Angeles may be in need of a once over. Would you mind reading through Downtown Los Angeles to see whether any changes need to be made. Thanks. -- Jreferee (Talk) 15:54, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article is very disorganized and needs complete overhaul

I propose the following outline (which could certainly include many more sub headings):

  • Physical Location (include discussion already posted)
  • Sub-Districts (the ones listed already plus more)
  • History (this could include the height-limit part)
  • Transportation (regional hub for train, intra- and inter-regional bus, DASH, Metro lines, freeways, . . .)
  • Residential Community (increase in downtown living through loft conversion)
  • Employers (public and private)
  • Tourist Attractions
  • Architecture/Historic Preservation (Adaptive reuse, LA Conservancy, etc.)
  • Cultural Institutions (museums, music center, etc.)
  • Educational Institutions (USC, UCLA Extension, Colburn School, FIDM, SCI-Arc, etc.)
  • Athletic Venues
  • Shopping (e.g., Fashion, Jewelry, Olvera Street, Electronics, Beads, . . . )
  • Downtown Los Angeles in Films/Popular Culture (people will love to add their own favorite film to this section)
  • Media (located in and/or serving downtown, e.g. La Opinion, LA Daily Journal, Downtown News, LA Times, Garment & Citizen, etc.

I don't know the wiki-etiquette for this, but the current entry really needs to be scrapped and re-worked from the ground up. I will volunteer to do it, but I don't want to get myself into trouble if I take down the stuff that's already there. I could certainly work in a lot of what is there now, but it really, really needs a lot of work. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Poodle90254 (talk • contribs) 00:35, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

I completely agree that this needs an overhaul. As a transportation planner, the entire History section is filled with unsubstantiated assertions that are at best controversial. The history of transportation in L.A. reads much differently, and "History" should encompass much more than transportation anyway. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.229.138.16 (talk) 04:07, 18 April 2008 (UTC)