I think it's still too soon to tell. There's some random things going in down there, and only a few are open right now. I've been to both the ESPN Zone (a predictably mediocre restaurant with overwhelming television screens) and to Lucky Strike Lanes (they have a STRICT dress code and not one but TWO doormen; I have a fundamental problem with any bowling alley that has doormen)....needless to say I am taking a "wait-and-see" attitude.

In the meantime I find the rest of Downtown LA to be quite nice, if still a little slower than I'd like it to be.

Here's my thoughts. I am going to say from the outset that many of the things that I dislike about it are assets in the minds of the developer, so this is more about philosophy than architecture:

-LA Live is a relentlessly branded experience with no presence of any restaurant or venue that isn't a corporate business venture. It's all so damn predictable and professional that there really isn't any reason to go.

-From the Olympic side (which faces the bulk of downtown), the compound is pretty impermeable. This project was sold the planning commission on the basis of its contribution to downtown; the built project is interior focused and really not that different from a Universal City Walk... No doubt AEG's greatest desire was to create a destination for folks from the valleys and IE so no gesture to the rest of downtown except to AEG's Staples Center was required.

-The buildings themselves are competent and otherwise unremarkable Gensler and RTKL work which one senses were last designed in 1/32" scale massing models... it's the sort of work that you expect to see in Tyson's Corner or Irvine, where pedestrian engagement isn't an issue.

All that said, I actually hope that the project doesn't tank - the burden of a failed megadevelopment like Hollywood and Highland would be a terrible blow to downtown. These projects (unlike their developers) don't go away when they fail.

you're entertained, now drive home and be a good boy! buy!

LA live is alright. I watched Pres. Obama's inauguration there. But as a resident of downtown LA there isn't much reason to go there. The restaurants suck and there isn't much in the way of shopping or other amenities.

I thought the idea of the bowling alley would have been cool but, as WonderK said, the doormen and dress code are huge turn offs.... give me 6 dollar pitchers of bad beer and a smelly pair of shoes! THAT's bowling.

I think they should focus on improving 7th+Fig and developing the empty site across from it. Downtown could use a nice movie theatre, bookstore, and even a Target!

thread hijack..... did anyone hear that they were going to open a Walgreens ACROSS from the Rite Aid on 7th + Hope? What a joke! I would like some diverse programming... not more convenience stores... how many Famima's and Rite Aids do we have?? and now a Walgreens? YAWN

the Nokia theater, also designed by, I think, RTKL is positively horrible. The acoustics are alright, but the architecture is quite sad. The architecture is so bad, they had to spend a shitload on the plaza with all those LED screens etc.

I'm afraid that the gentrification is going to run all of the crackheads and hookers out of my neighborhood..

To echo sentiments above, it all seems like an unappealing suburban mall experience. There are so many interesting independent coffee shops, bars and restaurants opening up on the other side of downtown by me that I'm excited about..

I haven't visited yet (though, of course, I drive by it on the Harbor Freeway daily), but my sense is that this project is at least as much about (temporarily) luring folks from the periphery to the Downtown/ Staples/ Convention Center complex (and getting them to stay, spend, and go home) as it is about improving downtown itself.

Not that it shouldn't be about improving downtown, mind you.

I hate L.A. Live... I walked through it a few weeks ago and... it just filled me with dread. The plaza with the big ass TV screens and the blaring sound was like a glimpse of some horribly fake distopian future where all culture is mediated, bought/sold, repackaged...

What is the "real" experience of this destination supposed to be? All I see is a place to spend money. There's nowhere to hang out that doesn't entail being bombarded by bullshit.

I *hope* this is the worst that architecture has to offer for public space.

Well, come on, I didn't mean to kill this thread...

and I agree with Silverlake, the other side of downtown (east side/little tokyo?) seems to be sprouting new little things all the time. Granted, they're mostly a bit pricey, but the people opening/running them are recognizably human... and the scale of the projects tend to blend in easier with existing neighborhoods. I appreciate that they're small enough that I can ignore them if I'm not interested. :D

Look, I don't have a problem with huge projects, but if you're going to do something the size of L.A. Live it just has to be that much better, not just bigger.

downtown LA is basically a shithole

Mdler, always with the relentless optimism.

depends on what your definition of basically is

I live next to sci-Arc and echo many sentiments of the above- any thing big starts to ruin the nuances of a slowly developed independent environment...small independent interesting busisnes are why i like where i live...hell they just opened a wurstkutche up next to where i live..that would never fly in a mega developed project like L.A. live..i can get a brat and PBR..that my friends is progress!

Janosh

I lived in downtown LA for 6 months....worst 6 months of my life

Who cares?
LA is overrated and invaded by all the rich downtown dwellers, driving up the prices and disguised as poor architecture students with daddy's plastic.
You could still rent a place for 6-700 around Traction until the Sci Art students moved in and gentrified the hood.
Isn't LA Live a big sports bar on Figueroa? Probably I'll never go there. San Pedro is my home now.

San Pedro is totally different. No gentrification there:

Downtown LA is turning into a yuppie slum...

One might argue that any place that architects live is a yuppie slum.

And I'm pretty sure that wearing a t-shirt to work doesn't make you an agent of gentrification.

Downtown L.A felt like a homeless shelter when I visited.

wow morality degree zero....last time i checked going to school for your masters and living off your savings and student loans doesnt equate to being a mindless user of "daddy's plastic" what's ur beef any way? besides, if you knew any thing you'd know that i (and many others)pay less then your 600-700 range and live in dt because its about as cheap as you can get with out an insane commute. i don't claim to love down town but its a cool place. And ill tell the homeless guy that all us rich kids moved in...maybe him and all his fourth street friends will get the picture and move out...is that what secretly want?

LA live is sadly what passes for urban planning in LA. The Grand Avenue proposal looks similar but aimed at a higher pricepoint retard-consumer. Rather than investing in urban planning, capital improvements, and business development, Los Angeles drops its pants and bends over for any developer with a big enough schlong. The city council agrees to tax breaks and incentives to make a cartoon out of many city blocks. LA live is about the same quality level as Casino Morongo or those developments you find just inside the Nevada border, just bigger and with more. It caters to the least common denominator which is a mindless consumer monad in search of stimulation.

Michael Graves in Egypt.

So if you could make one change (even though you may want to do many) to LA, what would it be?

P.S.
Other than redirecting LA Live.

i would give it to mexico

i would give it "back" to mexicans and stop thinking how to make it better. let it rot with the people in it!

and have roby and likes of him to move in with his parents. in arizona.

remake the old metro system that existed before the car and oil companies bought up the tracks and stations, shut them down, and built freeways in their place....

the old LA metro system rivaled New York's subway and now taxpayers are having to slowly pay to build a new one...

Actually, it was the largest interurban subway system in the world at the time...

Almost ironic, don't ya think?

...actually, nmiller, to name names, its General Motors, Firestone rubber, and Standard Oil who are responsible for decommissioning LA's public transportation to create impetus for the highways and gas-powered GM busses.

I suspect it's the same corporate/government alliances that create ways for the taxpayers to exploit themselves - which is the DRIVING theme I'm sure for LA live.

Bail out GM? or Karma?

Long live Chomsky.

hmmm...maybe (car)ma works better in this case and circumstance.

As a recovering auto enthusiast, please don't get me started on GM. I just attended a talk by the author of a biography on Alfred Sloan. Sloan was a genius. He also knew how to run a productive meeting. But the outcome of some of those meetings were, um, naughty.
As for the plaza, I went on a Sunday morning and had the whole place to myself. I liked the assortment of paving. I liked how the plaza incorporates the sports arena's outdoor space across the street, though there could be better crosswalk vs. vehicular traffic management. I liked the custom concrete benches. The varying heights for each of the seats discourages napping (but it looks like it's almost possible! Yay, pattern language #94!) and skateboarding, and the bottom illumination looks neat. I'd LOVE to get my hands on the media controls. On the screen, I'd have the pill popping geisha from Blade Runner; on the sound system I'd have Serge Gainsbourg's Ford Mustang Bang. I'm naughty.