Downtown L.A. Undergoes a Rebirth

As Downtown Los Angeles plans for the future, artists and locals have mixed feelings about its gentrification.

Douglas de Wet|September 21, 2016

Downtown+L.A.+Undergoes+a+Rebirth
Metro bikes and mural in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet

 

The buildings are timeworn, left over from L.A’.s industrial past —years of labor, now shadows dancing behind modern street art that offer backgrounds to selfie-taking hipsters. Film crews push carts of lighting and camera equipment through a sidewalk past a man sleeping against dirty bricks. Broken glass sparkles on the asphalt like the invisible stars above the skyline, all while the smell of urine and freshly baked bread fills the air like a yeast infection baking in the sun.

What once was a center for wholesale and manufacturing became an inexpensive yet dicey destination for artists, is now turning into something just the opposite; A highly desirable area full of a vibrant collection of industrial chic-lofts, one-of-kind shops, world-class restaurants, coffee shops and bars. Some fear or criticize the gentrification that is displacing the people who originally made the Arts District so amazing.

These photos are just a small example of the transformation the neighborhood has undergone, for better or worse.

Pizzanista! on Seventh in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet
Mural art at Mateo and Seventh Street, Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet
The Bread Lounge, Sante Fe Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet
A sign inside of Smorgasburg LA, a food fair that takes place every Sunday at the Wholesale Produce Mart in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet
Mural art on Seventh Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet
Mural art in the Art District in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Douglas de Wet

All photos by Douglas de Wet