With all the buzz centering around the opening of the new LA Live, I've started asking myself how I feel about it. At first, everything seems to be pretty fantastic. An impressive array of
restaurants and attractions has been lined up:
Katsuya, the
Yardhouse, Lucky Strike, the Grammy Museum. Something to please any taste, entertain the most finicky of upper-middle class consumers. Its proximity to the Staples Center should profit both by attracting customers of one to the other. The architecture of both seems to complement the other, though perhaps this is not a coincidence as they were both designed by the same company.
I will admit; every time I go downtown I am as transfixed by the bright lights of the new
Nokia Center as anyone. I stop at the light at Figueroa and 11
th and get a little excited at the neon glow emitted into the straight. That being said, it's always a little bit awkward; you really have to crane your neck to get a solid glimpse of the area. Now that new storefronts are opening along Figueroa, it is starting to feel a little more connected to the area, but it remains clear that the idea of LA Live is not to draw people into downtown. LA Live is meant to draw people into LA Live, and get them to stay there for as long as possible.
Keeping itself at a distance from downtown might not be a bad thing, but I feel like it is a missed opportunity. The one thing LA Live had going for it, as opposed to other destination shopping areas like The Grove or Universal
Citywalk, the
Nokia Center is just a few minutes walk from myriad restaurants, stores, cafes, libraries, and businesses. By keeping themselves separate from downtown they might be ensuring that their customers do not wander off to another area, but they are also effectively guaranteeing that no one will wander in on a day spend downtown. Perhaps the idea is that few like to pass their days here; while it is true that some might not feel comfortable walking the streets of downtown, many might if they had one safe, central location with which to start or end. Keeping an avenue toward downtown open might have been an effective way to benefit both LA live and downtown. Now it is just one of an
Angelino's many options instead of something new.
While the ease of parking will certainly feel like a blessing to many who visit, it is just another way to keep from becoming involved with the city. You can drive downtown, park, and never see anything off the main street. This could create yet another potential problem with the new opening: traffic. Maybe I am the only one who has noticed, but traffic downtown was already horrible on game days. Imagine now that not only sporting events, but concerts and shows are going on a few times a week. Increased traffic is not only going to encourage patrons to ignore downtown, but to discourage it's regulars from continuing to visit. The city of Los Angeles did require the developers to
use some of their budget to help offset the effects of increased traffic of the area (widening on and off ramps, posting signs to warn travellers of the increased traffic in the downtown area) but this will only serve to lessen the effects, not override them.
Another disadvantage to inserting LA Live into downtown is the increased cost of housing for current residents. Luxury housing is being placed above the venues at the
Nokia Center, and is going in around it as well. Expensive housing rarely coexists next to the cheap and affordable. Funding that many hoped would go toward creating affordable housing for the lower classes was
instead put to use revitalizing the "Figueroa Corridor." The affordability of home in the downtown area had already become a bit of a problem, but this new development is pretty shameless in its lack of attempts to accommodate those it is displacing.
However, L.A. Live does have the potential to do some good things for the surrounding area. Downtown has never been much of a draw for tourists; though there are several attractions that many would enjoy visiting, it is not incredibly welcoming to outsiders. The mess of one-way streets and familiar restaurant names keeps many from venturing in that direction. L.A. Live might be just what the doctor ordered to get the streets bustling again. The neon lights will brighten up the area, making it feel a little safer, if incredibly more commercial. Many have suggested it might end up a bit like Times Square in New York City; a place for tourists that a local might go on occasion, but only rarely. The parade of swanky chain restaurants will more than likely begin to feel tiresome to the seasoned
Angelino, but those here for a only a brief time will appreciate the slight sense of adventure they get from eating out in Los Angeles while avoiding the possibility of picking a bad place.
At the very least, this will bring more tourists downtown. While they are there, it is very likely they will be more willing to explore the downtown sights they would not normally have made time for. This can bring in more revenue to the area that it has previously been missing. It is entirely possible that this gradual attraction of visitors will slowly add to the reputation of downtown until tourism becomes a large source of revenue for the area. While I am not itching for it to become another Hollywood, with streets lined with kitsch-y shops with murals depicting celebrities on every wall, bringing money in to the community has the potential to benefit a wide range of people.
At this point, it is hard to say what the long term effects of the
Nokia Center will be on downtown LA. But despite my official controversial stance on this development, I have to admit: I am pretty excited. As I said, I already enjoy driving by it, and construction hasn't even completed yet. The thing that thrills me most is probably the movie theaters going in- theaters here are few and far between. The options now are one with three screens in the University Village, the
AMC Magic Johnson on
Crenshaw, and the
Laemmele Grand with four screens downtown. For a city famous for its connection to the movie business, it is a little difficult to actually find a place to view those movies. It is unlikely I will be wiling to pay their high prices for a run of the mill movie, it will be nice to have the option of seeing something I am really interested in without driving for an hour.
Aside from the benefits of a new movie theater, I feel pretty strongly that the glamour of L.A. Live will not take long to wear off. For a while the idea of bowling at
LuckyStrike will seem exciting, but soon the reality of enforcing a dress code at a bowling will be realized for the absurdity that it is. The next time I have family visiting I will be tempted to take them to The
Yardhouse, but after that I will probably feel the need to take them somewhere that isn't flooded with other tourists. Soon it will be just another piece of Los Angeles that I drive by on my way down Fig.
