Our project is aimed at creating a new Los Angeles landmark by taking into consideration the fact that Angelinos identify more than anything else, with their cars. The development of the city post the dismembering of the street car network has been heavily influenced by the infrastructure to support the automobile. Vehicular traffic and a deep rooted car culture are things that are quintessentially LA. We are striving to make a venue where the car can take center stage as a tool for interaction between not only those living in adjacent neighborhoods, but to all Southern Californians. 

By weaving our site into the existing network of freeways, four of the busiest in the city, and the East Los Angeles Interchange, the busiest freeway interchange in the world, we support the return to the appreciation for what made Los Angeles the birth-place of the Drive-in Theater and the Drive-Thru, the car. There are not only many existing subcultures, like the rockabilly, that this concept will appeal to, but also a wide variety of people due to amount of access and the unique nature of the site’s program. We can conveniently offer a point of interaction between different people without heavy handedly trying to gentrify the neighborhoods on either side of the site. 

While a river is a natural boundary a cultural institution and landmark can create a successful and enjoyable place to occupy and activate the currently, other than in films, inactivated site. Our proposal brings the myth of the numerous films shot in our site (which all involve cars) into reality. In terms of the ecological concerns put forth that discourage the use of the automobile, there is technology such as smart roads that can collect solar energy in order to produce electricity and to eventually power the very vehicles that drive on them. 

Our primary program, three drive-in theaters, are influenced by many precedents such as the Hollywood Bowl and Mulholland Drive which combine to create a cinematic experience that involves both film and the encompassing impression from the views of a city. Supporting programs, what we are calling “drive-by strip malls” and pedestrian theaters, are still controlled by the access of the car, but allow for pedestrian walkways and picnic spaces leading to the outdoor theaters. 

Many criticize Los Angeles for its lack of park space, but because of the appealing nature of the wild landscape and scenic drives along the coast, the car has really become the venue in which one can do and be anything he/she desires. For these reasons we propose Drive-By LA between the fourth and Sixth Street bridges in the Los Angeles River.