Los Angeles [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION THE CHANGING FACE OF THE URBAN SCENE It's long been easy to knock LA. Even Raymond Chandler, the city's own laureate, called it a 'big hard-boiled city, with no more personality than a paper cup' and he lambasted the 'drab anonymity of a thousand shabby lives' lived out there. And that was in the good times. After a decade of race riots, mudslides and tech stock flame-outs, Los Angeles started the 21st century in a poor way. But a slow bounce back began with the new millennium. House prices have gone through the roof, tourism is at record post-9/11 levels, and the major media have snapped up hot LA online ideas such as MySpace.com and Weblogs Inc. The economic revival has seen previously overlooked neighbourhoods, such as Silver Lake and Venice, become super-desirable addresses. Meanwhile, the city's re-found confidence is to be found knocking back mojitos in the design-led eateries, bars and hotels that pepper the city in a high-priced arc from the Patina restaurant (see P058) to the Nacional (see P062) in newly buzzing Holljrwood. The city of Eames, Neutra and 'Googie' has always had few equals in its appreciation of challenging design, and it shows in the rows of stores stocking Danish mid-century sideboards and the star status given to the people creating the look of today's LA, from Kelly Wearstler to Thom Mayne and, of course, Frank Gehry The city is again a bellwether for the kind of high-end design that, one day, will be the backdrop to all our leisure hours.