[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Sebisebster

Sopas ej: You said it right: moltíssimes gràcies per la teva benvinguda (in catalan) or muchisimas gracias por tu bienvenida (now in spanish), which it means: thank you so much for your welcome.

I really don't know why I feel this fascination and attraction for L.A. I guess it could have been any other city from all over the world... On tv they show us that L.A. is the perfect city where anything can happen, just as it was the perfect set to shot a movie, where everything seems to be a fake.
But no way.
What we see on tv or in the movies is the real fake, not the real L.A.
Yes, I have been in L.A. in 2006 and 2008 as a tourist. My first time in America, and guessing not to be the last time. Walking around Downtown (yes, first time the tour was by car, then for next time I wanted and I needed to walk) I started to feel all these things we are talking about on this thread. I felt the vibrations of a vanished past on Broadway, and all those art-decó buildings made me think that in the past, that part of the city was alive, plenty and full of life. Not to mention Bunker Hill: as a foreigner, those towers could have seen fascinating but my imagination was asking me for a major question: what was there before the towers were built. When I got home, to Spain, I started to search on the net old pics or vintage pics of L.A. like these ones:



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Once I found out what was behind of such pics like all shown above, I thought to my self: what has happened there? How is it possible that in just one man life, landscape has changed so much and why did it happen?
And so simple, I felt in love with Downtown. I like history and I wanted to know as much as I could, from L.A. history but especially Downtown. Here's the explanation.
Apologizes for my grammar or spelling mistakes.

I see your point of view. I would imagine since you are from Europe, that it seems very crazy that in the US, many cities have torn down whole sections and neighborhoods for "redevelopment," essentially erasing their history. I imagine that many of the cities in Europe have essentially stayed the same for a long time, well, in the sense that many buildings were allowed to remain over many centuries, while of course new buildings are also built. It seems to me that in Europe, buildings don't really get destroyed unless of course because of a man-made (example, war or explosion) or natural disaster; please do correct me if I'm wrong. Well, I guess of course in the case of Paris, a lot was destroyed in the 19th Century to create those wide avenues and boulevards, but maybe Paris is an exception? I wouldn't imagine many Spanish cities to have destroyed much over time? I love Spain, BTW; such a beautiful country.

And BTW great post on Chavez Ravine. I really enjoyed it.