L.A.’s Landmark Decisions

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By ROBERT B. CANAAN

I am concerned about the proposed demolition of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Century City.

If there is a single element epitomizing the superficiality and spiritual bankruptcy of any city, it lies in that city’s decision to forfeit substantial architectural landmarks in return for profit. There is only one reason for this wonderful city landmark to be destroyed. That reason is greed.

There are many reasons, however, why Angelenos would be indifferent to the “redevelopment” of Century City and would, by that indifference, allow this hotel to be destroyed. Chief among those reasons is a population that is as transient as it is segmented. There is probably a disproportionately higher number of non-natives in Los Angeles than in any other city of equal size in the entire world.

Though perhaps not when it began, Los Angeles became a place where people came to work, not to live. Living here became a necessity, not a choice. Even today, the measure of “success” for any person who has come to Los Angeles in pursuit of a professional dream can be found in how far that person resides outside of Los Angeles while still maintaining his or her professional interests within the city. I submit every A-list producer, director, writer and actor in Hollywood as proof of this.


Independent operators

Also, because of the mere physical dimensions of the Greater Los Angeles area, the region’s communities function independently, relating to each other within the context of something closer to a state or even a country.

For all of these reasons, there is no unified public outcry in support of municipal edifices that either already, or may in time, contribute to what might fairly be described as the “character” of a city. Instead, Los Angeles continues to deconstruct and reassemble itself in an endless cycle of personal egotism and corporate greed. Some may see this as an eternal evolution and that change is, ultimately, what life is about or should be about. To them I would say this: The only important change a human being can experience occurs within a human being.

A city does not change, nor does it need to change as a person does. In fact, a city fulfills its highest purpose in offering a sense of permanence in its design and architecture, which, in turn, provides a sense of security to the human beings residing in that city.

Los Angeles, as a city, has never been taken seriously by the world’s elite group of truly legendary global cities. The destruction of the Century Plaza boldly underscores precisely why these great cities of the world have no respect for Los Angeles; indeed, why those cities do not consider Los Angeles to be a city at all.


Robert B. Canaan is a freelance writer. He lives in San Diego but had lived in Los Angeles for 10 years.

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