Quote:
Originally Posted by HusBy
Was it empty before that?
|
Probably, but not totally sure about that particular bldg, directly east of the Tower theater bldg. In turn, that bldg was abandoned until Apple took it over. Most of the bldgs on Spring St & broadway were either vacant or used for light industrial instead of office work.
This bldg a few blocks to the west had been abandoned for yrs...I recall the rusty old sign of an italian restaurant that was once on its 1st floor existed for yrs on its 8th St side. Across the street from it it is another abandoned bldg, the garfield bldg. It was bought by a firm based in SF & was supposed to be converted to a hotel too, but funding for projs in dtla is now really hard to come by.
• Video Link
dtla right now is not in the greatest shape, but it was previously in even worse shape.
Other cities like SF or NYC, or chicago, Seattle, in 2026 are probably not as good as they were 20 yrs ago. But dtla is more of a mixed bag. It's either better than it was in the 1990s or early 2000s or certainly not way worse.
Over 60 yrs ago, dtla was both a bit above where it is now....small segments of the middle class were still left for a few old time dept stores on broadway, around 7th St....but it was also lost in smog & a rush to the burbs. however, at the same time, some major highrise projs would begin construction around the 1970s, 80s, but further west of where dt's original main areas were. Again, it was a combination of both good & bad.
• Video Link
https://www.thescroller.net/51815/vintage-photos-that-capture-downtown-la/
thescroller.net[/B]
^ That shot from the 1960s shows that while publicity about LA being in really bad shape right now is accurate, it wasn't exactly a shining city on the hill in the past either.
Quote:
Los Angeles has one of the deadest downtowns in the world, according to a new survey. Out of 75 of the top cities around the world, L.A. ranked among the lowest for vibrancy in Gensler’s 2026 City Pulse report released this week. Around 65% of those surveyed found DTLA vibrant compared to more than 80% vibrancy scores for New York, Chicago, Sydney and Shanghai. The urban planning and consulting company surveyed 35,000 city residents on how they ranked their city for a variety of statements. Los Angeles ranked 20th-lowest globally and 11th-lowest among 34 U.S. cities in vibrancy. Downtown Los Angeles needs more people to return to downtown to work, shop and eat if it wants to boost its scores, said Kelly Farrell, the managing director of Gensler’s L.A. office
“L.A.'s kind of central problem is that businesses have left L.A. We need them to bring the offices back in," she said. "Bring the people back in so they're staying after work and interacting with those businesses that are in the area.”
While there are pockets of downtown that are thriving and local residents say life is improving, Los Angeles' downtown suffers from an image problem that is weighing on how it is perceived.
The Los Angeles Office of Finance showed that the number of businesses reporting leaving downtown has increased greatly over the last two years, following a lull post-pandemic. Similarly, downtown has accounted for a growing share of overall exits from the region in the last five years. According to a Times data analysis, downtown has regularly accounted for the highest number of closures. Among the neighborhoods hit the hardest by closures, South Park, the Fashion District, Central City and Pico-Union had the highest number of closures from 2024 to 2025. Nearly 40% of the office space in the Financial District is functionally empty, and 30% of retail space is vacant, according to CBRE. Another important factor is whether or not people linger there.
Perceived safety issues downtown are one major reason businesses are leaving downtown, and locals won't go there. Vandalism, assaults and robberies downtown have driven businesses out, and a noticeable lack of police presence makes people reluctant to return.
|
• Video Link
Prev
Linear Mode
