A Beautiful Old Post Office in Hollywood

This is the Hollywood Station of the US Post Office. Built when we had the wherewithal to build things of lasting value and places worth caring about. This is the sort of building people recognize as beautiful and meaningful in their neighborhood. Why can't we build these things today? If this were built today it would likely be set back far from the street with a parking lot in front of it and probably enough room to drive up and drop your mail because heaven forbid you have to get out of your car for five minutes.

This is a picture of the iron work over the windows.  

Regional Gathering Places

Planners often talk about designing places in cities where people can see and be seen. Places for chance encounters with strangers where conversations. Sidewalks, small pocket parks, outdoor cafés, public plazas and squares. A place like the Hollywood Bowl is a gathering space on a large scale. In the case of the Bowl, it takes advantage of pleasant climate, music, food, and wine. Folks picnic all over the grounds before concerts and carry the fun into the Bowl. Planners often talk about the small scale pedestrian stuff as a place for chance encounters and opportunities to people watch. These are what might be known as "unprogrammed," but a programmed space like this offers just as many opportunities for interaction and chance encounters with strangers and because you attending a live musical performance you are likely to meet someone who shares similar tastes and interest. Someone from West LA makes a friend from Arcadia, etc. 

Getting Your Bearings

There are places in Southern California that offer views that help make sense of the region. A place to see the whole city. A place to figure out where you are and get some context. Often these are hillside places such as the Griffith Observatory, but sometimes they are man-made such as the Hollywood and Highland complex in Hollywood where the picture below was taken. To see the proximity and connection to downtown is helpful especially to tourists who find themselves overwhelmed by the sprawling nature of the city.  When you see it this way it can sort of start to makes more sense.