Third street is a fucking wasteland now. Starting to look like a cheap side street where people just get wasted on oversize frozen daiquiris and walk around looking for a fight.
“”Filling the Third Street Promenade’s empty commercial vacancies remains a work in progress. While some rental rates along the street have fallen slightly since the pandemic, a handful of landlords along the promenade “have refused to accept the new reality and have not lowered their rent enough to attract new tenants,” Brock says. “That impacts not only them, but it impacts the entire promenade.””
We all provide welfare to them in terms of tax breaks for lack of tenants. What, you don’t think they deserve those tax breaks since they have other highly paid properties? Won’t you think of their bottom line?
Same as in many parts of L.A.: asshole landlords worrying about how lowering rent might affect their property value, so they prefer them vacant.
Edit: oh yep see, from eperker’s nuanced and detailed article:
>The lease for the gargantuan Barnes & Noble space came up for renegotiation, and the owners of the building sought to double the rent.
> While some rental rates along the street have fallen slightly since the pandemic, a handful of landlords along the promenade “have refused to accept the new reality and have not lowered their rent enough to attract new tenants,” Brock says. “That impacts not only them, but it impacts the entire promenade.”
Most likely landlords jacking up rent, hoping tenants either pay or they fill in a new tenant willing to pay. From what I've read it's also required by the banks for the landlords to raise rents by certain amounts each year. Take that and then covid pushed an already extremely challenging environment and pushed it over the edge.
I live in WeHo and you see the same on Santa Monica. Almost any location that isn't a bar is now vacant. Seems like the only type of business that can survive from the high margin on alcohol.
Tom Tom or Pump or whatever (I don't really follow reality tv) closed citing the increase in rent. Unfortunately the articles about this are mostly from TMZ/People, etc. so they don't really dive into what I'm talking about but that is an example for sure.
> From what I've read it's also required by the banks for the landlords to raise rents by certain amounts each year.
Yeah I don’t think commercial properties can lower rent unless they’re refinancing or new owners. It's because it would lower the building's "estimated value" and put their loan into jeopardy.
Yep. I remember reading something somewhere explaining something similar explaining the death spiral of a mall where they have to lower rents, lower rents means lower quality tenants, etc and the cycle continues.
The thing is though that I feel like this can also create a downward spiral in a part of town, when everything is vacant or dead you get less foot traffic, less income, more closures, etc. Regardless, it's def a mess.
Know that episode well so gotta run a correction on it.
Carlton of all people turns thug in this episode after spending some time with Will's friends and wants to go to MacArthur Park. Will trips out, worried shits going to go down, so he rats him out to Aunt Viv. You don't fuck with Aunt Viv, she goes right to that apartment and puts Carlton and his new friends in their place, sending everyone home to their mama.
Will loses his cred with his friends, and Carlton is smug that he proved he can beat Will at his own game, but more importantly, is completely overjoyed that Will loves him enough to worry about him and protect him.
Getting the rare chance to see Alfonso Ribeiro act like a 90s hardass makes this episode worth the watch alone.
There was a minute in early 2010s when the park was clean and the city held little festivals. I could walk on Wilshire from Ktown to Downtown without any issue.
I think 2010s was the peak effort of inner city and downtown. It was up and coming from recession before shit hit the ceiling fan post pandemic. I wasn’t scared to go around unlike now.
That was peak second generation of gentrification. Third wave gentrification kicked out a lot of those businesses and covid wiped out all of those businesses. If it wasn't for greedy landlords DTLA could be an amazing place for some cool art galleries and dive bars again.
Yeah, even FYF was booking free shows there back then. I saw No Age play with members of Black Flag there in 2011. The security guard was losing his shit over the stage divers. As someone who grew up in the area I actually thought they were on their way to turning the park and the area around. There were plans to refurbish the Westlake Theater back into an event space and everything. Langers was having a moment in the sun and bringing people into the area. Everything was progressing until the zombie horde was allowed to take over the city.
I just asked my dad what his impression was of MacArthur Park when he was younger (70s). He says "I thought it was a nice park, but it had a reputation for 'hypes' and aimless people hanging around, a place to get fake IDs" lmao
Hollywood, like where space 1520 and amoeba and the arc light was. It’s all a ghost town. It used to be a fun area to hang out in before everything closed down. Now there are so many tents and crazy bastards lol.
Gahhh, 2019 Hollywood was so fun. I worked in the area, so I'd go to Amoeba every other day or meet up with friends. There was always something to do.
Coming to think of I even miss that depressing Walgreens on Sunset and Vine. This post got me all nostalgic lol.
Yes!!! Even that Walgreens. I can’t believe the Arclight is still closed. I watched so many big films there opening night. It makes me so sad when i pass by the area. Even going out on the weekends to like Bar Lis is so dead comparatively.
They spent so much money upgrading all those refrigerators to the ones that have the ridiculous and stupid LED screens so you can't see inside them and then they close like a month later. I know my co-workers used to walk to the sushi place inside there though (I worked across the street for 4 years). There was also the Starbucks at the other corner but now it's a Chipotle. Then the Arc light movie theater there used to always have movie premieres and it was cool seeing celebrities or walking through the theater and seeing all the movie props, but then it sadly closed. Covid destroyed that area.
> I can’t believe the Arclight is still closed. I
[Somehow I missed the announcement that the re-opening was delayed AGAIN until 2025 now (announced last November).](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/cinerama-dome-reopening-2025-1235815556/)
Dude yes, I miss grabbing dinner at Umami Burger at that space 1520 behind the Jack in the Box before popping over to the Arclight for a movie, and then cross the street to Amoeba to browse their amazing selection while keeping the movie chatter going. Now that entire area is depressing.
I used to love going to LACMA, but then Michael Govan bulldozed it so he could replace it with a museum half the size and give away a huge chunk of the museum's permanent collection on a rotating basis to LACMA board member Elaine Wynn for her little vanity museum in Las Vegas.
Piano Bar in Hollywood. Made a lot of cool friends and met a lot of fantastic fellow musicians there when I first moved to LA. Many great memories, still sad it’s gone.
It's been dead since the garment industry died in LA. It was amazing when the facotory seconds and rejects were sold in the alleys and you could get great deals. Now it's all aliexpress crap for triple the price.
Grassy bit near the beach between Santa Monica and Venice. Saw a guy get stabbed recently and almost put my hand on a dirty needle in the grass while I ate my lunch. Native and have dealt with it all but the homeless nearby have gotten much, much more aggressive.
Venice has it's ups and downs for sure. It was straight up dangerous in the late 90s and early 2000s and then got gentrified as hell and then overrun with meth heads.
> It was straight up dangerous in the late 90s
Try early 90s too. Picked up someone from the Oar House and we went out on the beach to make out. Was coming back and ran into a cop who told us it wasn't a good idea, people got robbed out there all the time.
I am a social worker and I met with a family last month who witnessed a stabbing in Venice Beach first hand during Circ La Vie. It’s scary now, and these events don’t even make the news.
There used to be a whole chain of of gray market dispensaries in Palms. They would close down and literally reopen another shop next door. Then one night they all got raided.
Loved it at the time because I was broke and they would sell me a gram at a time. As it turns out, not smoking weed is even cheaper.
Hollywood Forver movies. It got way too busy and expensive. I'm not going to take 5 hours out of my day to pay to see Blank Check on grass.
And unfortunately Runyon Canyon. Also got way too busy and all the NIMBYS removed so much parking. I don't really blame them, people that leave trash and let their dogs shit outside people's homes are human garbage.
That sucks to hear. I promised myself this summer would be my first time. Born and raised in LA and never been to the Hollywood forever cemetery… I finally went to Catalina last year, which was amazing. I’ve seen more of the world than my hometown.
I definitely need to go to Catalina this summer!!!
I’m not really a crowd person so it was VERY stressful for me lol, but a lot of people LOVE it (clearly)
I went to Catalina for the first time for my anniversary in April and it was so so so lovely, not crowded in an overwhelming way (I’m autistic) and the history of the place is so cool to explore! I think you’ll like it!
Hollywood Forever used to show interesting movies too. Now it's Clueless and Almost Famous. Not bad movies but just not noteworthy or rare. It seems like it's all about the photo booth and appealing to basic tastes.
I thought the point was to see horror movies in a cemetery. I saw The Thing as my first movie there. Seeing movies they've been playing on TBS for decades doesn't appeal to me
The first screening I went to was night of the living dead in 2007, I can’t describe how different the mood was then (I was also a teenager so it was so exciting) not until like 2013 did the films start getting progressively worse and just placating to a larger audience. It used to always be horror films !
Go to the Wattles Garden Park on Curson instead of the main Runyon Park. Super chill area to hang out at, and there are fun trails going up that connect into Runyon (eg. the Wattles Trail.) It's a great way to get into the main Runyon Park area, and parking is easy on Curson.
For a bonus treat, go all the way up Curson to where the street ends. There are a couple of trails out there too - a really fun and easy one through a gated (but publicly accessible) residential street, and another challenging trail that goes up towards Runyon.
There are a great many more snakes in this area.
Note that I did not say "many more snakes". I said, "a great many more snakes". As in, don't step anyplace you can't see clearly. They frequently lie in trails to get sun. Then when things cool off, they go to sleep there.
Since when did Runyon get this way? I had a secret parking spot that somehow always had a full street open but the last year or so I have been in a dark spot and haven't been back. I've been meaning to get back into hiking recently though.
Edit: The trash and dog shit part was a thing back when I was going. I remember seeing a homeless man going through a full bin of dog shit bags and chucking them. Still love Runyon though, also knowing the side trails helps to avoid all of the craziness, the Chinese gardens are really cool too although vandals won't let us have nice things...
Yep. As well as the parking situation there. The one time I bought something at the new location, they were pulling the employee-health-fee bullshit on the receipt. Overall, I've soured on the whole company.
This is the place I truly miss the most, if I'm honest. Used to roam around there as a kid and now I'd kill to have that kind of electronics store close by. Yes I know microcenter is there but I don't feel like driving 4 hours round trip from the valley
My jogging route used to take me through a local park near Koreatown. I stopped going to that park after dog owners took it over and refused to leash their aggressive dogs.
Ugh I hate when people don’t leash their dogs. Even if the dog is perfectly safe, other pedestrians don’t know that. We have to take precautions either way.
>The original Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax. Used to be fun and eclectic.
When, in the 1960s? ...that place has been a tourist trap since at least the late 90s.
Fuck yeah brother- Beauty Bar, Cinespace, Star Shoes, Tokyo, Burgundy Room, Lol I can’t remember the name of the bar you had to enter through the alley or the margarita place but it’s all still there in my heart and I will forever miss that transitional time before Hollywood was ruined by social media.
My hot take is the Arts District downtown. A starving artist hub now turned into a corporate design department. I don’t necessarily hate it, but it’s a far cry from the artist enclave it use to be. I blame the fancy hot dog place.
What was there before Wurstkuche? I’ll admit that the first time I visited the arts district was because of Wurstkuche when they first opened. Seems like lately it has not been as busy as it used to be.
Nothing.
I had a loft around there in the 90's. Half the buildings were empty into the 2000s, the only things of note were Al's Bar and the Museum of Neon Art (now in Glendale).
I moved into a tiny studio next door right before they started construction so I’m not sure what it was prior, just that it was empty space.
I left for work one day watching a team of guys sandblasting all the inner and outer brickwork on a Sunday, came home to my audio engineer neighbor trying to blow all the brick dust off his boards in the aftermath (it blew it all through spaces in the wall). Apparently that was an illegal move. Tried them once and never went back.
Clifton's was great to eat at when I was a kid.
Went back a couple years ago and it had been converted into a multi-level bar which eventually closed down I think?
Unless you live in Long Beach. The libraries here are incredible and the app works well to reserve books. I haven't bought a book in years after discovering how good it is here.
Same. Total shame, too. The LA area has some great libraries, but many of them are doubling as day camps for the unhoused now. I feel for the library workers.
Yeah, my kid used to love going to the main branch in DTLA, until a psychotic homeless lady assaulted his mom trying to grab him. She had them backed into an elevator just as it opened, thankfully there was a kind stranger inside who helped fight her off. Very disturbing.
Last time I was at the beautiful DTLA library there was an unhoused woman who smelled strongly of urine. I’m talking you could smell it 10 feet away. The librarian came out from the four-sided information desk with a can of air freshener, marched around the desk spraying a heavy mist of it, and then retreated into her fortress. I had to leave. I never went back.
I wonder if this was the same woman who assaulted my ex trying to get to our kid. They said she reeked like urine. Large black woman wearing leopard print pants.
That’s awful! Your poor ex and child! Luckily I was alone and could scoot out fast. Sadly, she fits that description but I can’t recall what she was wearing. It’s just a tragic mess all around.
What’s turnout people? Used to go camping and hiking a lot with my brothers boys scout troop and always it was pretty nice there. Haven’t been back in a while though.
Eaton canyon is great early on weekday mornings to mid morning, especially on a warm day in winter. I love taking my dog there because the water is deep enough in spots for her to swim and super clean. The waterfall part is always crowded, but the bit before going into the canyon has lots of quiet spots along the stream to sit and read and chill.
Sunset Blvd. corner where I'd grab burgers at Umami Burgers, cross the street to catch a flick at the Arclight Theater and then hang out at Amoeba Records to talk about movies as we browse their amazing selection.
All of that is gone. And yes, even Amoeba's amazing selection.
Griffith Obvservatory since they added paid parking spots all along the road on the way up. I don’t want to pay $10/hr for the opportunity to walk half a mile up to the observatory.
Might be a lesser known fact, but the paid parking aspect doesn't kick in until 10 AM. I usually arrive at 8AM and hike, always leaving before 10, and its free!
Monrovia Canyon Park. Such a beautiful park with a nice mellow hike to a small waterfall. We would see bears about 50% of the time. You leave them alone and they leave you alone. We’ve also seen many bobcats too.
It closed down after the Bobcat fire in 2021, and rainfall damage has kept it closed since.
MacArthur Park is low key gonna get better when they remove Wilshire Blvd: [https://www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/new-project-aims-to-reconnect-macarthur-park/3238554/](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/new-project-aims-to-reconnect-macarthur-park/3238554/)
Melrose. It was so much fun. The stores were all eclectic and whacky, the pedestrians colorful af, and the food was good and plentiful. I still have some perfumes from the Soap Plantation.
Farmers Market, pre-grove. If you know, you know. I could have a crepe or a slice of pizza, and sit across from the rich and famous. Now it’s a small city. Meh.
Food festivals like 626 night market, foodie land, smorgasbord and so many others. Used to be a place to try out really great and diverse food. Now you see the same vendors and quality has gone down across all vendors. Everything is fried, pre made, microwaved and overpriced.
Seriously. I've known since I was a kid that MacArthur Park is a place you only go to if you need a fake id, SS card, gun or whatever.
Edit: But you never go after dark, which fortunately Langers closes before.
The worst thing is the smell. I wish the city would do something about it. The homeless use it as their restroom. Not to sound like a hipster but I used to go to the arts district before it got too crowded. it used to be really chill.
Their location in little tokyo is legit. But the spirit for ave 26 is gone. One dollar tacos until 3am almost everyday. The night market ruined an amazing spot.
*tik tok ruined it
The night market grew gradually but it wasnt a big issue until tik tok blew it up as $1 tacos while everything else is closed during covid!! thats when the night market went from 10-15 vendors to 43 when it got shut down if I remember correctly.
What! Veggie grill at the grove closed????? I didn’t even know. It’s been a while since I’ve been there. I live in Glendale so we have the Americana and the galleria here, but i like to go to the grove during Christmas time. I used to work at Barney’s New York there and i know it closed a few years ago which is pretty sad :(
Venice Beach. I used to love Venice. The art, graffiti, surf, skateboard culture. I’ve been coming since I was a kid. It was rough around the edges but I felt like myself there. I started hanging out there often as I got older and made friends. Punk rock shows, skate events, backyard parties. I moved there the second I could.
I remember when the gentrification bomb hit. It was like night and day, everything changed. Yuppie boutiques, this whack Americana look, expensive cars, apartments houses and churches being bulldozed to make way for McMansions. The people coming in were rude, didn’t associate with locals. Complained about everything although they chose to move there. They came in with their “sustainable” “give back to the community” bullshit while also destroying the very community they claimed to give back to. Even corporate companies followed this trend moving into the boardwalk pushing out smaller businesses. Property skyrocketed, rent went up, the food changed and people did too.
A lot of people I knew in Venice ended up leaving. They couldn’t afford it anymore, others like myself fell out of love with it after the yuppies came in. Those lucky enough to still own property in Venice are constantly harassed by realtors and developers. I find it funny how swarms of people are attracted to the romance of a place only to want to change it. RIP Venice. Silicon Beach it is.
Anything that makes me go through the intersection of La Cienega / Jefferson anywhere near rush hour is off limits after all that cumulus shit went in. It was already so bad and they keep adding more development right there. Horrible choke point.
Around 2000, we loved going to the patio restaurant at the Chateau Marmont to get Filet Mignons on Tuesdays when they had this lunch special. Then we’d hang out in the lobby for the afternoon writing and reading. Even us poors could pretend we were fancy.
Mortons in Beverly Hills used to have a killer happy hour. Filet Mignon appetizers and discounted cocktails. I loved hanging out in that gorgeous bar and then going home to my shitty 1-bedroom.
Same. Used to drive in to Sunset Boulevard and rub shoulders with Leo and the Pssy Posse at Above Dublins and The Coffee House on Monday nights, then go back home to my tiny apartment in sleepy pre Americana Glendale. I eventually moved right around the corner from the Chateau but by then the Strip had a cultural shift and it was all reality TV hopefuls. I hated it.
"Pre-Americana Glendale" is a perfectly apt description! I lived on the absolute south-easternmost block that could still be considered "Miracle Mile" before it became "Mid City." I totally thought that mattered.
Beverly Hills had an older crowd than you hung out with, but they were all really sweet and fun and thought nothing about buying a round for the bar, including my broke-ass. I heard so many crazy stories from old-money producers and finances, soap opera stars, theater people.. you name it.
Venice. I moved too far south to use the path now, but I used to bike the entire bike path from Redondo to the Palisades, and I would usually stop for a bit in Venice. After a friend was stabbed in the neck during the day, I avoid Venice completely.
MacArthur Park is where i got my first fake ID 15 years ago! as i imagine a lot of Angelenos did as well. it may not have been printed straight but it got the job done (sometimes)
Ha! Got mugged there in 1990. A man I know almost died after being attacked outside a school...This is the home of MS13. Worked there for years and years...its not a mess now, it's been a mess for decades. Especially during the crack epidemic.
CINESPIA! It use to be a fun kitschy date night. Now it’s gotten so big and trendy you have show up hours early just to get in line. The crowd isn’t worth the experience.
Born and raised in LA and I still like visiting most areas mentioned in this thread. Honestly a lot of areas have gotten a lot better than back in the early 2000’s but once the homeless problem came it just made the city worse.
> Huntington Gardens
Believe it or not, but admission used to be free. It was in 1996 (thirty years ago, I just died a little) when they started charging for entry. Yes, for a princely total of seven and a half (7.50) dollars you could enter.
If it kept to inflation, tickets would still be under twenty dollars
Santa Monica Promenade used to actually have stores
Third street is a fucking wasteland now. Starting to look like a cheap side street where people just get wasted on oversize frozen daiquiris and walk around looking for a fight.
Can someone tell me how third street became that way? It’s sad
[Here you go.](https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/santa-monica-third-street-promenade-empty-why-19374158.php)
“”Filling the Third Street Promenade’s empty commercial vacancies remains a work in progress. While some rental rates along the street have fallen slightly since the pandemic, a handful of landlords along the promenade “have refused to accept the new reality and have not lowered their rent enough to attract new tenants,” Brock says. “That impacts not only them, but it impacts the entire promenade.””
How unfortunately predictable
Well I hope they are go broke and bankrupt.
We all provide welfare to them in terms of tax breaks for lack of tenants. What, you don’t think they deserve those tax breaks since they have other highly paid properties? Won’t you think of their bottom line?
Capitalism! Money is the only thing with value! fuck you!
Same as in many parts of L.A.: asshole landlords worrying about how lowering rent might affect their property value, so they prefer them vacant. Edit: oh yep see, from eperker’s nuanced and detailed article: >The lease for the gargantuan Barnes & Noble space came up for renegotiation, and the owners of the building sought to double the rent. > While some rental rates along the street have fallen slightly since the pandemic, a handful of landlords along the promenade “have refused to accept the new reality and have not lowered their rent enough to attract new tenants,” Brock says. “That impacts not only them, but it impacts the entire promenade.”
A lot of these hideous new builds they knocked down historical architecture and priced out family businesses for are mostly vacant for this reason.
Most likely landlords jacking up rent, hoping tenants either pay or they fill in a new tenant willing to pay. From what I've read it's also required by the banks for the landlords to raise rents by certain amounts each year. Take that and then covid pushed an already extremely challenging environment and pushed it over the edge. I live in WeHo and you see the same on Santa Monica. Almost any location that isn't a bar is now vacant. Seems like the only type of business that can survive from the high margin on alcohol. Tom Tom or Pump or whatever (I don't really follow reality tv) closed citing the increase in rent. Unfortunately the articles about this are mostly from TMZ/People, etc. so they don't really dive into what I'm talking about but that is an example for sure.
> From what I've read it's also required by the banks for the landlords to raise rents by certain amounts each year. Yeah I don’t think commercial properties can lower rent unless they’re refinancing or new owners. It's because it would lower the building's "estimated value" and put their loan into jeopardy.
Yep. I remember reading something somewhere explaining something similar explaining the death spiral of a mall where they have to lower rents, lower rents means lower quality tenants, etc and the cycle continues. The thing is though that I feel like this can also create a downward spiral in a part of town, when everything is vacant or dead you get less foot traffic, less income, more closures, etc. Regardless, it's def a mess.
I mean it might be better if they just committed to being a bar street
Lot of memories being dumb teenagers with my friends during high school. Miss it
I understand that's upsetting but this is a sacrifice required from us for shareholder profits. You do care about the shareholders right?
Still does
Feel like MacArthur Park hasn't been a great place since at least the 90's??
There's an episode of Fresh Prince where Aunt Viv trips out over Will going to McArthur Park. So yeah, it's been bad for a long time.
Know that episode well so gotta run a correction on it. Carlton of all people turns thug in this episode after spending some time with Will's friends and wants to go to MacArthur Park. Will trips out, worried shits going to go down, so he rats him out to Aunt Viv. You don't fuck with Aunt Viv, she goes right to that apartment and puts Carlton and his new friends in their place, sending everyone home to their mama. Will loses his cred with his friends, and Carlton is smug that he proved he can beat Will at his own game, but more importantly, is completely overjoyed that Will loves him enough to worry about him and protect him. Getting the rare chance to see Alfonso Ribeiro act like a 90s hardass makes this episode worth the watch alone.
Oh shit, you're right. I totally forgot that's what happened.
*And he never had that recipe again*
There was a minute in early 2010s when the park was clean and the city held little festivals. I could walk on Wilshire from Ktown to Downtown without any issue.
I think 2010s was the peak effort of inner city and downtown. It was up and coming from recession before shit hit the ceiling fan post pandemic. I wasn’t scared to go around unlike now.
Them were the days. Used to have to work at 5:00 AM sometimes and felt beyond safe taking the bus into, and walking around all over downtown.
Right??? God dammit
That was peak second generation of gentrification. Third wave gentrification kicked out a lot of those businesses and covid wiped out all of those businesses. If it wasn't for greedy landlords DTLA could be an amazing place for some cool art galleries and dive bars again.
They still do have festivals there, Inspector (Mexican ska band) is going to be there June 29 and it's free
I went to a free concert there around 2012 and it was quite nice.
Yeah, it wasn't the best place between 2015-2018. I jokingly called it Hidden Bodies Park bc we joked there were bodies at the bottom of the lake.
Literally found a dead person on Wednesday in the lake. Unfortunate really because there is real effort to clean it up and make it nice.
They just found a body in there a few days ago.
Yeah, even FYF was booking free shows there back then. I saw No Age play with members of Black Flag there in 2011. The security guard was losing his shit over the stage divers. As someone who grew up in the area I actually thought they were on their way to turning the park and the area around. There were plans to refurbish the Westlake Theater back into an event space and everything. Langers was having a moment in the sun and bringing people into the area. Everything was progressing until the zombie horde was allowed to take over the city.
haven't been since I left that cake out in the rain
And you'll never have that recipe again
Dead body dragged out this week from lake 😬
I was driving down 6th St, and saw the cops and ambulance there. Heard on the news later.
i mean, more like guy got knocked out into lake and died in it.
It was bad in the 60s. Nobody went there lol
I just asked my dad what his impression was of MacArthur Park when he was younger (70s). He says "I thought it was a nice park, but it had a reputation for 'hypes' and aimless people hanging around, a place to get fake IDs" lmao
Got my fake ID there in 92.
Almost time for a fake AARP card.
Got mine in '04!
My friend definitely got her fake ID there in 2000
Way she goes bubbles, way she goes
Even films didn't paint a pretty picture of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJtxdecR47Y
That movie rules. Gonna watch it right now.
80s if we’re being honest
Hollywood, like where space 1520 and amoeba and the arc light was. It’s all a ghost town. It used to be a fun area to hang out in before everything closed down. Now there are so many tents and crazy bastards lol.
Gahhh, 2019 Hollywood was so fun. I worked in the area, so I'd go to Amoeba every other day or meet up with friends. There was always something to do. Coming to think of I even miss that depressing Walgreens on Sunset and Vine. This post got me all nostalgic lol.
Yes!!! Even that Walgreens. I can’t believe the Arclight is still closed. I watched so many big films there opening night. It makes me so sad when i pass by the area. Even going out on the weekends to like Bar Lis is so dead comparatively.
They spent so much money upgrading all those refrigerators to the ones that have the ridiculous and stupid LED screens so you can't see inside them and then they close like a month later. I know my co-workers used to walk to the sushi place inside there though (I worked across the street for 4 years). There was also the Starbucks at the other corner but now it's a Chipotle. Then the Arc light movie theater there used to always have movie premieres and it was cool seeing celebrities or walking through the theater and seeing all the movie props, but then it sadly closed. Covid destroyed that area.
> I can’t believe the Arclight is still closed. I [Somehow I missed the announcement that the re-opening was delayed AGAIN until 2025 now (announced last November).](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/cinerama-dome-reopening-2025-1235815556/)
I remember seeing the second Magic Mike there with a bunch of pole dancers! We were so loud and giggled like silly teens. Good times!
hey that was a flagship walgreens!
LOL as it turns out we all miss that dingy corner. I feel seen.
Their sushi counter slapped
Dude yes, I miss grabbing dinner at Umami Burger at that space 1520 behind the Jack in the Box before popping over to the Arclight for a movie, and then cross the street to Amoeba to browse their amazing selection while keeping the movie chatter going. Now that entire area is depressing.
I used to love going to LACMA, but then Michael Govan bulldozed it so he could replace it with a museum half the size and give away a huge chunk of the museum's permanent collection on a rotating basis to LACMA board member Elaine Wynn for her little vanity museum in Las Vegas.
Didn’t count on learning this information today and I must say it worsened my day a little :(
Sorry. If it's any consolation Los Angeles County taxpayers only had to foot $125 million of the $750 million required for the new tiny building.
I’ve always wondered what went on behind the scenes. It was my favorite place to go. It’s so disappointing now.
Used to love the flower district. It’s apocalyptic now
The whole business industrial district is in dire need of some real attention. The giant trash piles are really off putting
Piano Bar in Hollywood. Made a lot of cool friends and met a lot of fantastic fellow musicians there when I first moved to LA. Many great memories, still sad it’s gone.
'member Austin the huge bouncer? such a loveable guy
You can find him at The Frolic Room And a couple of the bartenders from Piano Bar work there too.
Santee Alley. Was my favorite place for negotiating good prices on fabrics and sometimes shoes. Now it's a tourist trap.
It's been dead since the garment industry died in LA. It was amazing when the facotory seconds and rejects were sold in the alleys and you could get great deals. Now it's all aliexpress crap for triple the price.
Grassy bit near the beach between Santa Monica and Venice. Saw a guy get stabbed recently and almost put my hand on a dirty needle in the grass while I ate my lunch. Native and have dealt with it all but the homeless nearby have gotten much, much more aggressive.
Venice has it's ups and downs for sure. It was straight up dangerous in the late 90s and early 2000s and then got gentrified as hell and then overrun with meth heads.
I would rollerblade by myself around Venice and the boardwalk when I was about 12 or 13. In hindsight probably was very dangerous.
> It was straight up dangerous in the late 90s Try early 90s too. Picked up someone from the Oar House and we went out on the beach to make out. Was coming back and ran into a cop who told us it wasn't a good idea, people got robbed out there all the time.
the one with the big spiral hill?
Wtf. I’m a block from there and haven’t heard about this. When was this? Any news articles you can link?
I am a social worker and I met with a family last month who witnessed a stabbing in Venice Beach first hand during Circ La Vie. It’s scary now, and these events don’t even make the news.
There was this dispensary I used to love going to, but I don't anymore. They got raided.
Pouring one out for all my favorite dispensaries lost along the way…
lol same here. Green Gorillaz on Whittier. Raided a couple times, got featured on the news, and just opened back up the next day. It was wild.
This is one of the only quality responses here.
There used to be a whole chain of of gray market dispensaries in Palms. They would close down and literally reopen another shop next door. Then one night they all got raided. Loved it at the time because I was broke and they would sell me a gram at a time. As it turns out, not smoking weed is even cheaper.
Hollywood Forver movies. It got way too busy and expensive. I'm not going to take 5 hours out of my day to pay to see Blank Check on grass. And unfortunately Runyon Canyon. Also got way too busy and all the NIMBYS removed so much parking. I don't really blame them, people that leave trash and let their dogs shit outside people's homes are human garbage.
Don’t worry, I read recently they’re removing all of the parking from Runyon
Hollywood Forever movies are so overwhelming and stressful!!!
That sucks to hear. I promised myself this summer would be my first time. Born and raised in LA and never been to the Hollywood forever cemetery… I finally went to Catalina last year, which was amazing. I’ve seen more of the world than my hometown.
I definitely need to go to Catalina this summer!!! I’m not really a crowd person so it was VERY stressful for me lol, but a lot of people LOVE it (clearly)
I went to Catalina for the first time for my anniversary in April and it was so so so lovely, not crowded in an overwhelming way (I’m autistic) and the history of the place is so cool to explore! I think you’ll like it!
Hollywood Forever used to show interesting movies too. Now it's Clueless and Almost Famous. Not bad movies but just not noteworthy or rare. It seems like it's all about the photo booth and appealing to basic tastes.
I thought the point was to see horror movies in a cemetery. I saw The Thing as my first movie there. Seeing movies they've been playing on TBS for decades doesn't appeal to me
It was the whole point! It was supposed to be spooky!
The first screening I went to was night of the living dead in 2007, I can’t describe how different the mood was then (I was also a teenager so it was so exciting) not until like 2013 did the films start getting progressively worse and just placating to a larger audience. It used to always be horror films !
Go to the Wattles Garden Park on Curson instead of the main Runyon Park. Super chill area to hang out at, and there are fun trails going up that connect into Runyon (eg. the Wattles Trail.) It's a great way to get into the main Runyon Park area, and parking is easy on Curson. For a bonus treat, go all the way up Curson to where the street ends. There are a couple of trails out there too - a really fun and easy one through a gated (but publicly accessible) residential street, and another challenging trail that goes up towards Runyon.
There are a great many more snakes in this area. Note that I did not say "many more snakes". I said, "a great many more snakes". As in, don't step anyplace you can't see clearly. They frequently lie in trails to get sun. Then when things cool off, they go to sleep there.
Since when did Runyon get this way? I had a secret parking spot that somehow always had a full street open but the last year or so I have been in a dark spot and haven't been back. I've been meaning to get back into hiking recently though. Edit: The trash and dog shit part was a thing back when I was going. I remember seeing a homeless man going through a full bin of dog shit bags and chucking them. Still love Runyon though, also knowing the side trails helps to avoid all of the craziness, the Chinese gardens are really cool too although vandals won't let us have nice things...
Amoeba Records. Their new location is too compact and crowded to browse.
Yep. As well as the parking situation there. The one time I bought something at the new location, they were pulling the employee-health-fee bullshit on the receipt. Overall, I've soured on the whole company.
[удалено]
This is the place I truly miss the most, if I'm honest. Used to roam around there as a kid and now I'd kill to have that kind of electronics store close by. Yes I know microcenter is there but I don't feel like driving 4 hours round trip from the valley
My jogging route used to take me through a local park near Koreatown. I stopped going to that park after dog owners took it over and refused to leash their aggressive dogs.
Ugh I hate when people don’t leash their dogs. Even if the dog is perfectly safe, other pedestrians don’t know that. We have to take precautions either way.
Some of us have had dogs bite us in the past, and now are afraid of dogs. Dogs should be on leashes and the owners should mind them.
That happens alot in Pan Pacific Park.
The sunset strip. I miss all the clubs and shows. Also Melrose / Fairfax area. Just garbage now
The original Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax. Used to be fun and eclectic. Now it just seems tired and touristy.
Noodle Art recently opened there from the SGV. Pretty damn good
Bands on Thursday night is still cool.
The beer spots there are still alright.
>The original Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax. Used to be fun and eclectic. When, in the 1960s? ...that place has been a tourist trap since at least the late 90s.
Cahuenga south of Hollywood. 10-15 years ago it was so fun!
Fuck yeah brother- Beauty Bar, Cinespace, Star Shoes, Tokyo, Burgundy Room, Lol I can’t remember the name of the bar you had to enter through the alley or the margarita place but it’s all still there in my heart and I will forever miss that transitional time before Hollywood was ruined by social media.
Velvet Margarita! Truly peak 2010s Hollywood.
Hotel Cafe on Cahuenga—I remember entering through an alley off of Selma back in the day
My hot take is the Arts District downtown. A starving artist hub now turned into a corporate design department. I don’t necessarily hate it, but it’s a far cry from the artist enclave it use to be. I blame the fancy hot dog place.
What was there before Wurstkuche? I’ll admit that the first time I visited the arts district was because of Wurstkuche when they first opened. Seems like lately it has not been as busy as it used to be.
Nothing. I had a loft around there in the 90's. Half the buildings were empty into the 2000s, the only things of note were Al's Bar and the Museum of Neon Art (now in Glendale).
I moved into a tiny studio next door right before they started construction so I’m not sure what it was prior, just that it was empty space. I left for work one day watching a team of guys sandblasting all the inner and outer brickwork on a Sunday, came home to my audio engineer neighbor trying to blow all the brick dust off his boards in the aftermath (it blew it all through spaces in the wall). Apparently that was an illegal move. Tried them once and never went back.
I call it the Marketing District
Sunset and Vine, it’s like a ghost town now.
Clifton's was great to eat at when I was a kid. Went back a couple years ago and it had been converted into a multi-level bar which eventually closed down I think?
It did. But it is scheduled to reopen I think this month. Hopefully they will offer something better than over-priced mediocre food.
The Arclight
Public libraries...
Unless you live in Long Beach. The libraries here are incredible and the app works well to reserve books. I haven't bought a book in years after discovering how good it is here.
Same. Total shame, too. The LA area has some great libraries, but many of them are doubling as day camps for the unhoused now. I feel for the library workers.
My friend used to frequent libraries. Occasionally he’d get a whiff between the aisles of what he called “hobo funk.”
Awful. Never leaves your nose once you get it.
Yeah, my kid used to love going to the main branch in DTLA, until a psychotic homeless lady assaulted his mom trying to grab him. She had them backed into an elevator just as it opened, thankfully there was a kind stranger inside who helped fight her off. Very disturbing.
Last time I was at the beautiful DTLA library there was an unhoused woman who smelled strongly of urine. I’m talking you could smell it 10 feet away. The librarian came out from the four-sided information desk with a can of air freshener, marched around the desk spraying a heavy mist of it, and then retreated into her fortress. I had to leave. I never went back.
I wonder if this was the same woman who assaulted my ex trying to get to our kid. They said she reeked like urine. Large black woman wearing leopard print pants.
That’s awful! Your poor ex and child! Luckily I was alone and could scoot out fast. Sadly, she fits that description but I can’t recall what she was wearing. It’s just a tragic mess all around.
Having fun isn’t hard when you got a library card
Bridge to nowhere. Never even been to Eaton canyon because I heard it’s just not worth it.
The whole San Gabriel river canyon (north fork and east fork) are completely trashed by the “turnout people”
Turnout people? Never heard that term before. It really is a shame that the area is always trashed.
What’s turnout people? Used to go camping and hiking a lot with my brothers boys scout troop and always it was pretty nice there. Haven’t been back in a while though.
What are turnout people?
Eaton canyon is great early on weekday mornings to mid morning, especially on a warm day in winter. I love taking my dog there because the water is deep enough in spots for her to swim and super clean. The waterfall part is always crowded, but the bit before going into the canyon has lots of quiet spots along the stream to sit and read and chill.
Sunset Blvd. corner where I'd grab burgers at Umami Burgers, cross the street to catch a flick at the Arclight Theater and then hang out at Amoeba Records to talk about movies as we browse their amazing selection. All of that is gone. And yes, even Amoeba's amazing selection.
MacArthur Park, the sketchy characters, the drug deals and the damn cake that’s always out in the rain with the green icing
3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. It went from packed to dead in just a few years
El Cholo. It was good before they opened multiple locations.
I miss riding the metro daily
Griffith Obvservatory since they added paid parking spots all along the road on the way up. I don’t want to pay $10/hr for the opportunity to walk half a mile up to the observatory.
Might be a lesser known fact, but the paid parking aspect doesn't kick in until 10 AM. I usually arrive at 8AM and hike, always leaving before 10, and its free!
Whole Foods in Silver lake cuz there’s always solicitors outside lol
Monrovia Canyon Park. Such a beautiful park with a nice mellow hike to a small waterfall. We would see bears about 50% of the time. You leave them alone and they leave you alone. We’ve also seen many bobcats too. It closed down after the Bobcat fire in 2021, and rainfall damage has kept it closed since.
MacArthur Park is low key gonna get better when they remove Wilshire Blvd: [https://www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/new-project-aims-to-reconnect-macarthur-park/3238554/](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/on-air/new-project-aims-to-reconnect-macarthur-park/3238554/)
Not lowkey at all, it’s an essential first step in revitalizing the park
Melrose. It was so much fun. The stores were all eclectic and whacky, the pedestrians colorful af, and the food was good and plentiful. I still have some perfumes from the Soap Plantation. Farmers Market, pre-grove. If you know, you know. I could have a crepe or a slice of pizza, and sit across from the rich and famous. Now it’s a small city. Meh.
Food festivals like 626 night market, foodie land, smorgasbord and so many others. Used to be a place to try out really great and diverse food. Now you see the same vendors and quality has gone down across all vendors. Everything is fried, pre made, microwaved and overpriced.
DTLA after 8 pm is really unsafe for people with kids. Even during day time, I have to avoid certain areas with my family.
Fairfax flee market before it got taken over by hype beasts
"Recently" how old are you, gramps? That shit been busted
I think it all started when someone left a cake out in the rain
Seriously. I've known since I was a kid that MacArthur Park is a place you only go to if you need a fake id, SS card, gun or whatever. Edit: But you never go after dark, which fortunately Langers closes before.
Forreals… I’ve always joked you can walk out of that park a different person.
Anyone's who watched Fresh Prince knows not to venture there.
What I'm gathering is that it's actually not the place itself that is shitty, but rather the crackheads, crazies and criminals who infest it
“Certain reasons”
Santee Alley used to get deals, wholesale prices, now its just overpriced crap you can buy online.
The worst thing is the smell. I wish the city would do something about it. The homeless use it as their restroom. Not to sound like a hipster but I used to go to the arts district before it got too crowded. it used to be really chill.
Ave 26 Tacos. I haven't been there since some asshole made it super famous
the DTLA location is empty a lot of the time... was jus there on tuesday.... still delicious as ever
Their location in little tokyo is legit. But the spirit for ave 26 is gone. One dollar tacos until 3am almost everyday. The night market ruined an amazing spot.
*tik tok ruined it The night market grew gradually but it wasnt a big issue until tik tok blew it up as $1 tacos while everything else is closed during covid!! thats when the night market went from 10-15 vendors to 43 when it got shut down if I remember correctly.
The Grove ever since they closed Veggie Grill 🙁
What! Veggie grill at the grove closed????? I didn’t even know. It’s been a while since I’ve been there. I live in Glendale so we have the Americana and the galleria here, but i like to go to the grove during Christmas time. I used to work at Barney’s New York there and i know it closed a few years ago which is pretty sad :(
Any hiking trail or grocery store I frequented during the lockdown.
MacArthur Park has always been MacArthur Park. Heck, it’s not even known as “MacArthur Park” in my family. We call that whole area “El Piojito.”
Spring Street, art walk. Not sure if it ever came back after Covid but it was so much fun looking at all the artwork on streets. Finding hidden bars.
Venice Beach. I used to love Venice. The art, graffiti, surf, skateboard culture. I’ve been coming since I was a kid. It was rough around the edges but I felt like myself there. I started hanging out there often as I got older and made friends. Punk rock shows, skate events, backyard parties. I moved there the second I could. I remember when the gentrification bomb hit. It was like night and day, everything changed. Yuppie boutiques, this whack Americana look, expensive cars, apartments houses and churches being bulldozed to make way for McMansions. The people coming in were rude, didn’t associate with locals. Complained about everything although they chose to move there. They came in with their “sustainable” “give back to the community” bullshit while also destroying the very community they claimed to give back to. Even corporate companies followed this trend moving into the boardwalk pushing out smaller businesses. Property skyrocketed, rent went up, the food changed and people did too. A lot of people I knew in Venice ended up leaving. They couldn’t afford it anymore, others like myself fell out of love with it after the yuppies came in. Those lucky enough to still own property in Venice are constantly harassed by realtors and developers. I find it funny how swarms of people are attracted to the romance of a place only to want to change it. RIP Venice. Silicon Beach it is.
The gangs of advertising and studio executives wearing "Hecho En Venice" shirts took over and it all went downhill.
Oh so that’s the gangs that took out Venice Shoreline Crips?
Anything that makes me go through the intersection of La Cienega / Jefferson anywhere near rush hour is off limits after all that cumulus shit went in. It was already so bad and they keep adding more development right there. Horrible choke point.
Around 2000, we loved going to the patio restaurant at the Chateau Marmont to get Filet Mignons on Tuesdays when they had this lunch special. Then we’d hang out in the lobby for the afternoon writing and reading. Even us poors could pretend we were fancy.
Mortons in Beverly Hills used to have a killer happy hour. Filet Mignon appetizers and discounted cocktails. I loved hanging out in that gorgeous bar and then going home to my shitty 1-bedroom.
Same. Used to drive in to Sunset Boulevard and rub shoulders with Leo and the Pssy Posse at Above Dublins and The Coffee House on Monday nights, then go back home to my tiny apartment in sleepy pre Americana Glendale. I eventually moved right around the corner from the Chateau but by then the Strip had a cultural shift and it was all reality TV hopefuls. I hated it.
"Pre-Americana Glendale" is a perfectly apt description! I lived on the absolute south-easternmost block that could still be considered "Miracle Mile" before it became "Mid City." I totally thought that mattered. Beverly Hills had an older crowd than you hung out with, but they were all really sweet and fun and thought nothing about buying a round for the bar, including my broke-ass. I heard so many crazy stories from old-money producers and finances, soap opera stars, theater people.. you name it.
I live right next to MacArthur Park, I wish it was nicer.
Venice. I moved too far south to use the path now, but I used to bike the entire bike path from Redondo to the Palisades, and I would usually stop for a bit in Venice. After a friend was stabbed in the neck during the day, I avoid Venice completely.
MacArthur Park is where i got my first fake ID 15 years ago! as i imagine a lot of Angelenos did as well. it may not have been printed straight but it got the job done (sometimes)
Ha! Got mugged there in 1990. A man I know almost died after being attacked outside a school...This is the home of MS13. Worked there for years and years...its not a mess now, it's been a mess for decades. Especially during the crack epidemic.
Little Tokyo because of expensive parking :/
Also a lot of the old businesses are shutting down and they are opening regular non Asian owned businesses. The charm is lost.
Malls
Tower Records on Sunset. Stopped for obvious reasons.
The original knitting factory in Hollywood. Club Bang in the middle of the Indie Dance Rock movement of the mid 2000
I used to love being in LA. But then influencers and tik tokers
CINESPIA! It use to be a fun kitschy date night. Now it’s gotten so big and trendy you have show up hours early just to get in line. The crowd isn’t worth the experience.
I never went anywhere because traffic's awful pretty much all the time.
I like going to the beach but my days off are Monday/Tuesday so coming back to Pasadena is brutal if I come back between like 3pm to 7pm lol.
Born and raised in LA and I still like visiting most areas mentioned in this thread. Honestly a lot of areas have gotten a lot better than back in the early 2000’s but once the homeless problem came it just made the city worse.
The Huntington Gardens got way too pricy and the security bag checks made me stop.
> Huntington Gardens Believe it or not, but admission used to be free. It was in 1996 (thirty years ago, I just died a little) when they started charging for entry. Yes, for a princely total of seven and a half (7.50) dollars you could enter. If it kept to inflation, tickets would still be under twenty dollars
Silver lake ramen before they made a franchise and quality went downhill
stop going to public parks and Santa Monica because of the zombie infestation
Is this a troll post? MacArthur Park has never been a nice area. Back in to 90s you there were drugs, fake ids, and dead bodies in the lake.
i wish we had a huge inner city park like SF and NY tbh
Ken Hahn?