Downtown Developer: Effective Lobbying, Mediocre Architecture

DOWNTOWN LA-Not that many years ago, if you drove east toward downtown Los Angeles on Sunset Boulevard, you came to BBQ King at Figueroa Street. It looked more like an auto repair shop than a restaurant, and the food wasn't the best I've ever had. But the joint had character, and I liked it a lot better than what's there now. 

Pork ribs have been replaced by a colossal whole hog, also known as the Orsini. The GH Palmer Associates "Premier Apartment Resort" now consists of more than 1,000 units that crowd both sides of Sunset. I'm not an architect, but I'm told the style is faux Italianate, which I believe translates as "tacky." 

Geoff Palmer has several of these Death Star monstrosities on the west side of downtown. They're all essentially the same, occupying entire blocks and remarkably devoid of the slightest hint of authenticity. Instead of blending into their surroundings, they alienate and demoralize with their fortress design, under-utilized ground-floor commercial space and hidden interior green space with underground parking. (Read the rest of Steve Lopez here) 

-cw

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 42

Pub: May 23, 2014