Walking in LA

People don't walk in LA unless they are absolutely forced. Couldn't park close to the elevator at the Grove? Walk. No street parking outside your friend's apartment in West Hollywood? Walk. I, however, chose to walk around downtown LA on Monday-- something people DEFINITELY don't do. Angelenos avoid downtown like the plague. A few hip rebels live in the newly renovated lofts down there and swear by their neighborhood choice, but I suspect there are many people born and raised in LA who have never set foot south of the 101 and east of the 110.

It's a shame really, because if you get out of your car for a second and look up, you get the idea that LA is much more culturally rich than Hollywood has lead you to believe-- and the evidence is in the architecture. I'm writing a historical design analysis paper for my interior design class this week, and I've chosen to focus on the Eastern Columbia Building. I'm an Art Decophile. F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors, and I'm fascinated by the Jazz Age; Art Deco is the architectural extension of that period, marked by post-war exuberance and the desire to let loose and rebel against the pre-war Victorian era and wartime austerity. Take a look at these pictures and tell me you don't feel the same way...

Turquoise terra cotta-- it's how LA does Art Deco

A great example of zig-zag Art Deco

These are the original terrazzo sidewalks, which were restored when the building underwent a condo conversion in 2007

Enough procrastinating! Back to the paper. I'll update this post with more detail and interior shots of the Eastern Columbia Building (ID by Kelly Wearstler, the grand dame of Los Angeles maximalist interior design, which plays quite well with Art Deco. You'll see!)