reader request: eagle rock boulevard + colorado boulevard, eagle rock (I)

Thanks to Rebecca Niederlander for the location request.

Eagle Rock feels relaxing + nerve-wracking at the same time — a small, sleepy village built around streets wide enough to use as airplane runways. Crossing the street, I noticed, seemed more like a defiant act of local pride than a hop, skip, or jump. One resident stared down cars (each itching to make their left turn) as he crossed, as if to declare: I have the right to stroll along without sprinting like a soldier fleeing gunfire, and stroll along I shall, dammit! Big city features like crosswalk countdowns + controlled left turn lanes seem out of place in this otherwise sweetly cozy hipster enclave, which is why Eagle Rock makes a bit more sense when narrowed down. Our two early birds sitting at the cafe in the photo, for example, feel less absurd when facing one lane as opposed to the six in reality. See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

friday favorites: Boston, USA

Downtown Crossing, Boston, Massachusetts, right here in the good ole US of A, where you can wander to your heart's content without having to worry about cars lurking behind you. (Photo credit: shyto)

Every Friday I'll post a favorite narrow street snapshot from somewhere around the world. Got a Friday favorite of your own? Send me your photos!

wilshire boulevard + orange grove avenue, museum row

Ever notice how most museums around the world are buffered by gathering spaces? Think of the hordes of tourists snapping establishing shots around the square at Paris' Louvre, students pontificating on the steps of the Met in New York, or cafe patrons recovering from the shock of La Guernica in the small square outside Madrid's Reina Sofia. By contrast, LA's museums feel to me like (wait for it) destination affairs, each a simple car ride away — itself a surreal psuedo-indoor affair separated from the outside world — and featuring ample parking. Without a lively transitional gathering space to properly introduce it, the museum is relegated to the trappings of the routine, a trip there being no different logistically from a trip to the mall or movie theater. In other words, as transcendent as the art may be inside, events immediately outside have been standardized to conform to mundane auto ritual.

figueroa street + 12th street, downtown

With the recent advent of LA Live, the Staples Center is finally slowly becoming the leisure mecca it always wanted to be on paper. But you can still witness massive herds of pedestrians streaming away from the stadium after games as they make a beeline for their cars in the cheaper parking lots to the east. What a huge missed opportunity! If Figueroa's asphalt were stripped down, bringing its east side within easy striding reach, there'd suddenly be the perfect excuse for impromptu pubs + sausage vendors to welcome all that foot traffic. Because there's nothing better than having a post-game beer and hot dog to keep you company while watching your fellow fans wander by. See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

documentary: hot cities

75% of the world's population lives with vehicle standards pioneered by California, whose residents consume 40% less energy than the rest of the US and make up the 8th largest economy in world. But the world also increasingly wants to emulate our sprawling infrastructure of ultrawide streets--because whatever Los Angeles does, the world sees. See more of this engrossing series produced for BBC at Rockhopper TV.

westwood boulevard + pico boulevard, west los angeles

I snapped this photo from the footbridge connecting the two halves of the Westside Pavilion mall, partly for the nifty view but also to illustrate how the monolithic shopping center stands aloof from its own environment. Aside from a few pedestrians heading east or west to the small handful of restaurants on seven-lane-wide Pico, the only real life at street level consists of teenagers waiting for the bus. Westwood Boulevard feels equally stark, with seven lanes flanked by shops that are all work and no play: office spaces, home goods, day care--not exactly conducive to browsing or loitering. How lovely would things be if everything just…slowed down a tad? Westwood Boulevard, now mostly a throughway, could finally transform into West LA's Main Street for both residents and nearby UCLA students. See it narrowed!
Diptych prints available

friday favorites: paris, france

Happy new year, everybody! Here's your humble editor enjoying a glass of red + a cheese tart in Paris, France. This fond memory was made possible by a one-lane street that barely allowed parking + was closed to auto traffic that day to boot.

Every Friday I'll post a favorite narrow street snapshot from somewhere around the world. Got a Friday favorite of your own? Send me your photos!