The Mansionization Of Downtowns

When it comes to civic gathering places, bigger and newer aren’t always better. A look at L.A.’s disconnected cathedrals, concert halls, museums and malls.

1 minute read

October 10, 2002, 8:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

Certain downtown districts are undergoing their own version of mansionization. In Los Angeles, the $189 million Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels complex has just opened. It will be joined a year from now by the $260 million Walt Disney Concert Hall. Both are highly theatrical architectural statements from a pair of Pritzker-winners: The Cathedral is designed by Jose Raphael Moneo, and Disney Hall is by Frank Gehry... Despite evidence that grand buildings alone cant revitalize their downtowns, city planners and cultural institutions still tend to rely on them, perhaps precisely because they make such dramatic statements.

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

FULL STORY: The Mansionization of Downtowns

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 in Planetizen

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