It's OK That LA Isn't All About Architecture

LET PEOPLE SLOBBER OVER New York skyscrapers. So what if Los Angeles ranks no higher than 75 among AIA's top buildings. As much as I personally dig architecture, I often see it as a 19th century pursuit. It's so industrial age - gathering stone and glass and metal to see who can make the biggest, sexiest pile. LA strikes me as a 21st century pursuit. (No matter what the History Channel says.) We're flickering lights, not piling rocks. We're more about dreams, ideas and zeitgeist. Buildings, as is the Hollywood custom, are simply set pieces in a big picture show. Or simply a tire factory converted to an outlet mall. America's Favorite Architecture Doesn't Reside in LA [Franklin Avenue] LA comes up short on long list of favored landmarks [LA Times] America's Most Beloved Buildings Not in LA [Curbed LA]