I can go for a tag line for a review of downtown Los Angeles's Pershing Square. The tag line would be:
A TALE OF TWO DOWNTOWNS
Both then and now, Pershing Square has sort of been a line of demarcation and even a DMZ for what is highly regarded about downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) and what many would rather sweep under the rug. That even takes into consideration what is on the very sides of this perfectly rectangular city block. I am referring to the fact that the Biltmore Hotel is on its west side, closer the Financial District, and the fact that some mid-rise called the jewelry or gold mart is on its east side, toward the part of downtown that is rougher around the edges.
With that established, the further west you travel from Pershing Square, the ritzier downtown Los Angeles gets. And, conversely, the further east you travel from Pershing Square, the dicier downtown Los Angeles gets. About 3 or 4 blocks east of it, the sidewalks have way more domed tents on them than they do everyday users of them. It is an experience that is saddening, makes you want to look away, makes you wonder what the administration is doing about the issue, and makes you think of how merely using the sidewalk there would not be like using the sidewalk in most places.
Before DTLA went high rise, Pershing Square graced many postcards of L.A., with views typically including the Biltmore, downtown's grande dame hotel. Pershing Square was your classic urban square that could be found in any older Eastern or Midwestern city, with an almost European scheme, except that, being Los Angeles, it has palm trees. Then, about 30 years ago, it was decided that Pershing Square would be reconfigured to rebrand it and infuse some energy into it and the surrounding area. It was sort of eye opening to look at the proffered concepts displayed in the L.A. Times. A few were interesting and maybe even likable. Most were trendy and stupid. Well, as it goes, they picked a trendy and stupid scheme. This is at a time when what was going up in L.A. could have been a backdrop for "Miami Vice," and I'm talking all around the city and even some of its suburbs. Do I like the current Pershing Square in terms of what it looks like? Meh.
Still, you can't complain that it's there. It's a known node and it defines subsets of DTLA. It also makes for some interesting facts ... and makes me laugh.
As for interesting facts, the Biltmore was where Eddie Murphy was lodged in "Beverly Hills Cop," when the reality is that it is not in Beverly Hills, but almost 10 miles east of it. Do you remember that scene where Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley shoved bananas in the tailpipe of Rosemont's/Rosewood's "unmarked unit" so that it wouldn't start? That was filmed in front of the Biltmore, while the lobby footage was filmed inside it.
As for things that make me laugh, all I need to do is look at the jewelry mart. Shortly after college, one of my college friends from Ventura County went to DTLA to go look for bargains in the garment district and go to the jewelry mart. A neighbor of theirs, much like Chrissy from "Three's Company," went along with this motley crew. Near the jewelry mart, a Middle Eastern gentleman evidently opened up his jacket showing things of bling he would have liked to have sold to them, just like you'd see in the movies. The Chrissy-alike defiantly confronted him, asking him, "Are you 'Eye-ran'?" The voice-over with which my friend recounted the story was a hoot. How about, "Are you 'Ee-rah-nee-uhn'?" Or, how about simply shutting up and walking away ... or telling him that you're not interested? Whenever I think of those smarmy streets east of Pershing Square that dabble in jewelry and gold, I can't help but think of this dingbat's question to that Middle Eastern man ... and laugh. This is just classic L.A. stuff.
And, before I forget, the Metro Red/Purple lines have a nice, big underground station right at Pershing Square. If not using the 7th Street Metro Center, this one, Pershing Square, is probably among the more centrally located subway stations in Los Angeles's core. read more