Historical Remnants of L.A.
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L.A. is not a particularly pretty city. Oh sure, there are postcard moments here and there, but generally speaking, it’s what could charitably be described as scruffy. I imagine any major city has this same scruffiness, but L.A. probably suffers more for it. The Southern California sunshine offers little atmospheric effects (rain, fog, snow) to blunt the edges. So everything dirty and rundown stands out in stark relief.
Being originally from the Midwest where the living is cheap and easy (until the factory closes and everybody loses their jobs), I was used to buildings going up and coming down and things being painted and facades being – generally speaking – presentable. We try to look nice for company. But here, buildings go up but almost never come down, almost never – with the exception of private homes – get renovations or face lifts. So anything more than 20 years old looks like it has been kicked around for awhile, like it could use a little fog to take the edge off.
My theory is that it’s just too gosh darn expensive to renovate and renew. So it is as it is, and don’t let the Tinseltown lights fool you.
And because of this, an amazing thing happens. It took awhile for me to notice, I admit. We Midwesterners were taught not to stare – particularly not at anything unpleasant. So for a couple of years, I looked away a lot of the time. But if you don’t. If you look hard enough, there’s this incredible living history that in any other (cheaper) place would’ve been knocked down and painted over years ago. There are neon signs that have obviously been there since the Beach Boys were pining over California girls. There are family-style restaurants that have been collecting a film of cooking grease on their futuristic 1950s architecture long enough for the napkin holders to join AARP. There are hotels downtown that were built at the turn of the century – rundown and sad now, sure, but still there and whispering about days gone by.
It’s the most incredible thing really to be able to see today how the city aged and grew. It’s like old-school cell animation. The background is layered with acetate sheet after acetate sheet, each with a little bit of the final drawing.
It’s just pretty damn cool...if not actually pretty.
Being originally from the Midwest where the living is cheap and easy (until the factory closes and everybody loses their jobs), I was used to buildings going up and coming down and things being painted and facades being – generally speaking – presentable. We try to look nice for company. But here, buildings go up but almost never come down, almost never – with the exception of private homes – get renovations or face lifts. So anything more than 20 years old looks like it has been kicked around for awhile, like it could use a little fog to take the edge off.
My theory is that it’s just too gosh darn expensive to renovate and renew. So it is as it is, and don’t let the Tinseltown lights fool you.
And because of this, an amazing thing happens. It took awhile for me to notice, I admit. We Midwesterners were taught not to stare – particularly not at anything unpleasant. So for a couple of years, I looked away a lot of the time. But if you don’t. If you look hard enough, there’s this incredible living history that in any other (cheaper) place would’ve been knocked down and painted over years ago. There are neon signs that have obviously been there since the Beach Boys were pining over California girls. There are family-style restaurants that have been collecting a film of cooking grease on their futuristic 1950s architecture long enough for the napkin holders to join AARP. There are hotels downtown that were built at the turn of the century – rundown and sad now, sure, but still there and whispering about days gone by.
It’s the most incredible thing really to be able to see today how the city aged and grew. It’s like old-school cell animation. The background is layered with acetate sheet after acetate sheet, each with a little bit of the final drawing.
It’s just pretty damn cool...if not actually pretty.
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