There must be something in the water at Fairfax and Wilshire. Hot on the heels of the awful proposal to tear down the original three LACMA buildings and replace it with an imposing ink blot comes a new “vision” for…
Petersen Museum’s Terrible Idea
Category: Architecture
LACMA Plan Not Terrible, Still Wrong
LACMA is set to reveal its grand plan next week to destroy the original three classic mid-century buildings and replace them with a self-described “ink blot.” The museum gave a sneak peak to the Los Angeles Times, and while it’s…
Another “Starchitect” Threatens LACMA
A few years ago a so called “starchitect” proposed a dramatic, drastic plan for LACMA — knock down everything and start new. The scheme was ultimately defeated with help from preservationists who were determined to save LACMA’s original buildings. Now…
Is New LACMA Architecture Amateurish?
I have made no secret on this site that I not a fan of the new buildings at LACMA — they are not bad, but they are uninspired, in my opinion. The more I see them the more my opinion…
Eichler Tract in Granada Hills
I recently ventured into the Valley (for a former New Yorker, that’s like going to New Jersey!) to check out the Joseph Eichler tract of houses in Granada Hills. Eichler was a developer who had a taste for modern architecture.…
Ugliest Building in Los Angeles?
I nominate this building as the ugliest building in Los Angeles. This monstrosity sits on Wilshire Blvd., just west of Fairfax. If features lovely black permanent scaffolding. I guess they assumed the building would always need constant work. Then there…
End of an Era: Davids All Gone
It is the end of a quirky era in Los Angeles — the David House is no more. Well, the house is still there, but the 19 infamous statues that gave the Hancock Park home its name are gone. They…
My Visit to the David House
When visitors come to Los Angeles, it is common to take them to gaze at the stars on Hollywood Blvd., or maybe take a hike to the Hollywood sign, and of course, you’ve got to take them to the beach.…
The LACMA Travesty
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a travesty, architecturally speaking, that is. It is a random collection of buildings that have no relation to each other. But it wasn’t always this way, and it doesn’t have to be…
Coolest 2 1/2 Blocks in L.A.?
How would you like to come home every day and feel like you are smack dab in the middle of the 1950s? You could if you live in the historic Mar Vista Tract in West Los Angeles. Designed by mid-century master…