Discovering the true Los Angeles Moving to Los Angeles, I had an image of what I thought it would be like in my mind. I imagined that there would be countless skyscrapers and busy little tourists littering the streets walking to and fro, mesmerized by attractions such as the Hollywood sign and the hazy mountainous backdrop. As I ventured up from my previous living situation down in Sunny San Diego, the anticipation of my much-needed big city fix was slowly let down as I approached a much smaller place than I had dreamed of. Los Angeles is barren and leaves a lot to desire. But only so just at a quick glance! With the challenge given to set out and explore, I set out with an open mind to see what carefully selected spots had been picked out for me to truly check out the city of angels. …show more content…
This place gave me that New York, sophisticated feeling. The plaque situated by the entrance already reveals the prestige endowed in the building. Walking up filled me with the nostalgia factor I had been looking for a while now here west of the Mississippi. Having to use the restroom after the long trek downtown, I was dazzled by the gold trimmed walls and ceiling as I made my way through the lobby. After finishing, I made my way out to Pershing Square. Nothing like the pictures I had seen online. There was an apocalyptic feel with people without a proper home, and skateboarding youth speckled around the park. After taking some time to sit by the water and rest up a bit, I made my way over to Bunker Hill. There wasn’t much of anything exciting I found with this particular location. I could see the freeway and the gold shimmer of the Westin hotel from
Lewiston, Idaho, once an important port for miners traveling in search of gold, is now a town of about 30,000 people. Few of the people who live in the Lewis-Clark Valley speak of its over one hundred year history. However, there are still parts of the community where one can explore and see the age of the town. Downtown Lewiston is one of a few areas where people can go exploring. They wander the streets, admiring the buildings that stand proudly above them. One building in particular ties a unique history into the downtown area. Morgan’s Alley stands at the corner of Main Street and D Street, overlooking the cars and people passing by. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary, older building. On the inside, it holds secrets of the past and possibly a ghost.
Los Angeles is a place with a dynamic history. It has grown to be one of the most diverse cities in the world as a whole. Despite the diversity for which it is known for, the city has always had a striving conflict due to racial and class tension. The social stratification of its past continues to take its toll as dividing lines persist in contemporary Los Angeles. Furthermore, these dividing lines redefine place in Los Angeles, whether geographically or personally, to be subject to race and class. Fluidity has become evident recently however it is more common for the identity of people to be fixed in society. Through the novel Southland, by Nina Revoyr, and various means of academic sources, one is further able to explore the subject of race, place, and reinvention in Los Angeles.
To my amazement, after trying various peculiar combinations of words such as “army”, “building”, and “Lexington Avenue”, I discovered the name of the intriguing building: The 69th Regiment Armory. The Armory proved to be a more intriguing building than I had ever imagined. The Armory is an active training facility. However, The Armory doesn’t simply house the 165th infantry, rather adds culture to New York City. One may ask, how can a historical landmark (Murray) in which armies train prove to be cultural? We will embark on a journey to discover the second, lesser-known aspect, of the armory.
This paper will discuss the many unique aspects of Oakland, California. Divided into five major parts, Oakland is a very diverse city. The five major parts include: Downtown Oakland which is located in the heart of the city, East Oakland which consists of the majority of the city, West Oakland, North Oakland, and the Oakland hills where the terrain is quite different from other parts of the city. While many may perceive the population to mainly consist of African Americans and Whites, there is a significant growing population of Latinos, and Asians. The topics covered in this paper will shed light on the city of Oakland itself, and discuss the unique city that it is. I will also give my personal experience and perception on the city, after living there for 16 years of my life.
This district was an immense center of bizarre entertainment for miners, entrepreneurs and sailors. After the 1906 earthquake, the city saw an opportunity to clean up the Barbary Coast, transforming it into an acceptable area for the everyday San Franciscans. The Barbary Coast evolves immensely throughout the decades to what we know nowadays as Chinatown, North Beach, and Jackson Square. We will mainly focus on North Beach, a district which preserves his roots and rebuild a new social and environmental determinism throughout the passage of time.
Media and word of mouth are the key roles in sending message to society. They create the delusion image of Los Angeles that people are drooling for. Because of some difficulties to enter Los Angeles that includes travelling documents, financial and time problems, people most of the time learn about Los Angeles from the things they read,...
From reading the author’s book “Ecology of Fear,” Mike Davis’ main thesis for writing this book was to make readers become aware of the underlying problems and threats which have existed or currently exist in Southern California and how these problems shape the way we live today and in the imminent future as well. Although Davis did not really provide us with any remedies for the problems facing Southern California, this book made it very clear to the readers that problems do still exist, although at times they may sound subtle in nature. Of the numerous problems which do exist in Southern California, I will discuss only a handful of the problems that Davis provided us insight to. In the following paragraphs, the main problems of Southern California that I will discuss about are suburbanization and how it made Southern California lose its natural beauty and the effects of overdevelopment, the wild fires which occur and similarities and differences the rich and poor communities faced in terms of adversity, how suburbanization brought people closer to the wildlife, and how numerous books and movies portrayed Los Angeles as the center for calamities. The culmination of all these problems clearly shows that there are many glaring weaknesses of Southern California that need to be closely examined.
Gilded age San Francisco stood as a beacon for travelers bound for the western coast of the United States. The most prominent city in the developing west during the latter parts of the nineteenth century and the opening of the twentieth, San Francisco encompassed a range of conflicting identities. This time period marked a transitory stage in the development of San Francisco, evolving from a booming “frontier town” to a “civilized metropolis,” the emerging San Franciscan identity retained qualities from both poles of this spectrum. Chinatown, existing as a city within the city, shared this relationship of extremes with San Francisco. To travelers visiting San Francisco, Chinatown was a necessary stop. The writings in travelogues published during this period describe Chinatown through a mix of revulsion and curiosity, its inhabitants virtuous and sub-human. In short, within the developing city of San Francisco, an expedition into Chinatown remained a visceral exploration of a foreign and exciting environment.
The arrival to Manhattan was like an entry to a whole new world: from the sea, its breezes, color, and landscapes, to the heart of the city beating louder than ever at the Whitehall Terminal. I could smell New York’s bagels in Battery Park with a mixture of the most relaxing scents: the coffee people were holding while walking down the streets, the old walls of Castle Clinton ...
California is full of beauty, a beauty that is constantly glamourized, and falsely advertised. There is a constant battle against the stereotypes presented in the media, which have created a false image of this massive state. The media presents an insufficient amount of information about California that impedes the outsiders to fully understand the beauty of this state. The media focuses on the tourist attractions of California, like, beaches, Los Angeles, Hollywood, and San Francisco. Although these attractions are appealing, the spotlight should also highlight the impoverished cities, the cultural and geographical diversity. The diversity here in California is clearly visible, which is something that is not clearly seen all over the United
Finally, this paper will explore the “end product” that exists today through the works of the various authors outlined in this course and explain how Los Angeles has survived many decades of evolution, breaking new grounds and serving as the catalyst for an urban metropolis.
California saw many changes very fast. Most of these play part in shaping it into what it is today. From Hollywood to San Francisco, today’s lifestyles in California have roots in the Gold Rush. Because the failure rate was so high, it became common to come out to California lookin...
Unlike other cities in the world, what differentiates Los Angeles from other cities across the world is its architectural novelty. Lacking ancient ruins or cathedrals, Los Angeles instead hosts a variety of different styles to reflect the city’s character or the waves of immigrants who helped shape the city’s history: Getty’s contributions to the city both comply and disobeys Los Angeles’ architectural standard. As demonstrated by
When you associate anything with New York City it is usually the extraordinary buildings that pierce the sky or the congested sidewalks with people desperate to shop in the famous stores in which celebrities dwell. Even with my short visit there I found myself lost within the Big Apple. The voices of the never-ending attractions call out and envelop you in their awe. The streets are filled with an atmosphere that is like a young child on a shopping spree in a candy store. Although your feet swelter from the continuous walking, you find yourself pressing on with the yearning to discover the 'New York Experience'.
Without a doubt, Times Square in New York City is a unique experience, but the image created by TV and movies does not show the gloominess that accompanies the euphoria of being in the Big Apple. The atmosphere is so exhilarating and exciting, you don’t even know what to do for a few minutes, but it is tinged with the bitter reality that sadness and melancholy also trail closely behind the positive. With most, if not all, of your senses being stimulated – sometimes all at once – Times Square creates a memory that will surely be cherished, and haunt you for the rest of your life.