Suburbia, Koreatown, some nostalgia...
Suburbia sucks. I know I rant about this a lot. Every time I go through the streets around here, like Parthenia, I notice how similar all the houses are! I mean, the floor plans and styles are similar. The only thing that changes is the house colour. Or maybe an addition that's been made over the years. These houses have been modified since they were built in the 1950s. But the similarities stick out and are pretty obvious. These were mass-produced, cookie-cutter Eisenhower-era houses. It's boring. Wide streets that may as well be mini-freeways, houses spread out, car lots all over the place, mini-malls with big-box stores. I am so ready to get out of here.
But you know, it's not ALL of Los Angeles that is like this. There are still some very beautiful neighbourhoods with character and history. Even in the Valley. Unfortunately, many of these neighbourhoods are now considered "poor" and "run down" areas. Though there's been some improvement, gentrification and historic preservation.
I was in Koreatown a couple weeks ago. That is one interesting place. Yes, it's generally a poor area. But it's also ethnically diverse and has a history. Before the Second World War, it was actually a very wealthy area. After the Second World War, people flocked to the suburbs and the area (like many inner city neighbourhoods) suffered. But new populations moved in, adding some diversity to the place. Today, it is mostly Hispanic (Salvadoran) and has many Korean-owned businesses and a large Korean-American population, hence the name Koreatown. There's been some of that gentrification recently. (Wikipedia says crime has dropped a lot west of Normandie in the past decade, while nearby McArthur Park has never been safer). The area is a treasury of historical buildings dating back to before the Second World War (yes, that is historical for Los Angeles!). Newer structures have been built over the decades. And unfortunately, old structures are still torn down to make way for new developments. The old Ambassador Hotel is a testament to this! But there are still plenty of old brick apartment buildings, many which were upscale hotels when built. These buildings also have lots of neon signs which have recently been repaired and re-lighted. =) Here's a site on it, with pictures.
I grew up in this area until I was 9 years old, as some of you may know. I passed by the old street I lived in from 1992-94. The place looked deserted. People still live there, but I didn't see any walking around outside! I don't know if it was because it was high noon and it was hot. But my memories of that street were different. You'd see little kids playing and the verdulero (vegetable vendor guy in his truck) with people buying stuff from him. And the paletero selling popsicles to people in the neighbourhood. And neighbours just chattering about anything under the sun. Ah, I'm feeling nostalgic. But there were also the bad things. Gang shootings happened not on our street, but a few blocks nearby...and you'd hear it. There were also drug dealers who used to stand around on the sidewalk in front of our apartment house sometimes. They didn't bother anyone, per se. But they still weren't a good influence, obviously. It was weird...sometimes they'd open the iron gate for some of the residents when they came home. Or feed chicken to our old dog through the gate bars. They were benevolent drug dealers! But of course, that was all a ploy not to get people mad at them easily and have them report to the police faster or something. Part of the reason my family moved us out of that area was because of them, and because they were stashing drugs in some old washing machine in the parking lot behind the apartment house!
But you know, it's not ALL of Los Angeles that is like this. There are still some very beautiful neighbourhoods with character and history. Even in the Valley. Unfortunately, many of these neighbourhoods are now considered "poor" and "run down" areas. Though there's been some improvement, gentrification and historic preservation.
I was in Koreatown a couple weeks ago. That is one interesting place. Yes, it's generally a poor area. But it's also ethnically diverse and has a history. Before the Second World War, it was actually a very wealthy area. After the Second World War, people flocked to the suburbs and the area (like many inner city neighbourhoods) suffered. But new populations moved in, adding some diversity to the place. Today, it is mostly Hispanic (Salvadoran) and has many Korean-owned businesses and a large Korean-American population, hence the name Koreatown. There's been some of that gentrification recently. (Wikipedia says crime has dropped a lot west of Normandie in the past decade, while nearby McArthur Park has never been safer). The area is a treasury of historical buildings dating back to before the Second World War (yes, that is historical for Los Angeles!). Newer structures have been built over the decades. And unfortunately, old structures are still torn down to make way for new developments. The old Ambassador Hotel is a testament to this! But there are still plenty of old brick apartment buildings, many which were upscale hotels when built. These buildings also have lots of neon signs which have recently been repaired and re-lighted. =) Here's a site on it, with pictures.
I grew up in this area until I was 9 years old, as some of you may know. I passed by the old street I lived in from 1992-94. The place looked deserted. People still live there, but I didn't see any walking around outside! I don't know if it was because it was high noon and it was hot. But my memories of that street were different. You'd see little kids playing and the verdulero (vegetable vendor guy in his truck) with people buying stuff from him. And the paletero selling popsicles to people in the neighbourhood. And neighbours just chattering about anything under the sun. Ah, I'm feeling nostalgic. But there were also the bad things. Gang shootings happened not on our street, but a few blocks nearby...and you'd hear it. There were also drug dealers who used to stand around on the sidewalk in front of our apartment house sometimes. They didn't bother anyone, per se. But they still weren't a good influence, obviously. It was weird...sometimes they'd open the iron gate for some of the residents when they came home. Or feed chicken to our old dog through the gate bars. They were benevolent drug dealers! But of course, that was all a ploy not to get people mad at them easily and have them report to the police faster or something. Part of the reason my family moved us out of that area was because of them, and because they were stashing drugs in some old washing machine in the parking lot behind the apartment house!