Opinion & Commentary

Shooting "Near" Staples Highlights Downtown's Distinct Boundary

By Eric Richardson — October 13, 2008 — 16 Comments

110 Freeway Eric Richardson

"An 11-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were fatally wounded Sunday evening a few blocks from Staples Center, victims of a drive-by shooting that police said may have been gang-related."

That's the opening paragraph from a sad story in today's L.A. Times about a shooting that occurred near Staples Center last night. A followup story places the incident near the Convention Center.

The stories and their geographic references are accurate, but illustrate the sharp definition of Downtown's geographic boundaries and the wall that our freeways create. — Continued Inside...


Buried in CS Monitor's Downtown Piece, Some Interesting Numbers

By Eric Richardson — October 10, 2008 — 6 Comments

Times in Trees Eric Richardson

Despite the revitalization of Downtown, has the neighborhood lost 200,000 jobs since 1999 and seen condo prices drop seventy percent? Those are the numbers running in a piece on Downtown published in this week's Christian Science Monitor. — Continued Inside...


Traffic Nightmare? Try Everyday Commute

By Eric Richardson — October 03, 2008
7 Comments

Night Ride Through Elysian Park

I'm sure you've heard it: driving around Downtown is going to be a disaster tomorrow, with a Dodgers playoff game, Detour Festival, an Obama fundraiser at the Edison, USC at the Coliseum, a concert at Staples and UCLA at the Rose Bowl. But did anyone do the numbers?


EveryBlock Adds L.A., but Data Lacks

By Eric Richardson — August 28, 2008
2 Comments

EveryBlock Screenshot

Local content aggregator Everyblock rolled out a Los Angeles site on Wednesday, bringing its city count up to nine. The site attempts to merge local news with public records, creating a single feed that documents change in each neighborhood. While the Everyblock concept is of great interest, the finished product seems to still leave one saying "This would...


Take a Bow, Downtown Film Fest

By Ed Fuentes and Eric Richardson — August 18, 2008 — 3 Comments

dressed to nines 2 Ed Fuentes

|Photo Gallery| It's appropriate that the 1st Downtown Film Festival wrapped under the stars on Sunday night, screening Irena Salina's documentary "Flow" on Grand Avenue beneath the skyline. The Colburn School and Disney Concert Hall provided grand backdrops for a festival designed to show off the city.

Over its five day run, the Downtown Film Festival exhibited some serious smarts in the way that it made use of Downtown's varied landscape. It exhibited films in seven different venues, and successfully partnered with a number of Downtown organizations. Likely more importantly for festival organizers, though, was the impressive number of people who made their way Downtown to check out all the events had to offer. — Continued Inside...


Where's Our Grand Public Art?

By Eric Richardson — August 07, 2008 — 31 Comments

Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall Eric Richardson

New York City's East River is home to a different view than usual this summer, thanks to the New York City Waterfalls. The four man-made structures are 90 to 120 feet high, and were constructed at a cost of $15.5 million.

After spending the week in NYC and encountering the falls from different angles, I have to ask: where is Los Angeles' similarly grand temporary art? — Continued Inside...


New Signs on Old Main Street

By Ed Fuentes with Eric Richardson — July 29, 2008 — 11 Comments

Painted Signs Eric Richardson

Work began Thursday on two new signs facing Main street, advertising a productions company and a management firm. One of the painted signs sits up against the detailed and aging Army Navy sign, faded from decades in the elements.

Old, fading signage is all around Downtown. It's a beloved part of the streetscape. And that's what makes the impact of these new additions a little tough to figure out. Is this something we should applaud, or not? — Continued Inside...