Downtown Los Angeles Revival

By 1920, LA’s private and municipal rail lines rivaled that of New York City in the vastness of its reach. A steady flow of people and land developers had begun to create the metropolis known as Los Angeles. Union Station’s passenger terminal opened in 1939 and provided service to various local, regional and long-distance passenger trains. The next boom was really the post-WWII suburban sprawl. This brought with it the Los Angeles freeway network, markedly increasing automobile ownership, and the move away from Downtown Los Angeles homes. From the 1930s to 1960s, historic, old buildings were demolished to make way for more lucrative parking lots. Downtown became a destination to leave at the end of the business day, not a place to live or play. Several efforts have been taken up since then to revive Downtown Los Angeles residential real estate and commercial real estate interests, including sweeping zoning changes and development rules allowing for larger and denser developments. As people begin to move back downtown to make their homes, find their recreation and do business, a renaissance is taking place that harkens back to the excitement of this great west metropolis in its early days.