We're down to the Final Four in the 2015 Curbed Cup race for the Los Angeles Neighborhood of the Year. We'll have one matchup each the first two days this week; voting will begin Wednesday to pick the winner of the prestigious golden jpeg. Voting for each poll ends 24 hours after opening (and will be watched closely for any shenanigans). Let the eliminations continue!
West Adams has been rallying its troops and managed to defeat strong contender Frogtown in the last round. The neighborhood is not just one of the classiest architectural areas in the city, it's also transit accessible, and now it's even getting a grocery store. A developer announced plans this year to build an enormous complex by the Expo Line's Jefferson/La Cienega stop; it's set to have the tallest tower around and an enormous supermarket, among lots of other stuff. The 'hood also has a nice little arts scene, with Gallery 38 opening this year and The Landing moving into a new space. West Adams also joined its nearby neighbors in University Park protesting oil drilling in the neighborhood.
Inglewood's 2015 was mostly spent in a ridiculous pursuit of an NFL stadium and yet it still won out over the far more exciting Boyle Heights in the last round. They pushed the plan through, using a popular vote to circumvent the state's onerous environmental review laws and committing an enormous amount of public money to "reimburse" megarich stadium developer Stan Kroenke (rich on his own and ALSO married to a Walmart heiress). But the best part was when the people behind the now-defunct Downtown LA stadium plan hired former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge to call the Inglewood plan a terrorist target. Joke was on us later in the year, though, when the FAA said the stadium plan was both too high and too shiny. Regardless, Inglewood has pressed ahead—the old Hollywood Park Racetrack was demolished in June to make way for the stadium.
· Curbed Cup 2015 [Curbed LA]