Curbed Cup 1st round: (5) Downtown Hollywood vs. (12) HiFi

Downtown Hollywood

Hollywood hasn’t won the Curbed Cup since 2010, though it’s been in the running most if not all of the years we’ve hosted the competition. In 2010, Trader Joe’s on Vine was brand new; the sleek Emerson College building, designed by Morphosis, was still in the planning phase; and the Target at Sunset and Western was beset by lawsuits (OK, so that hasn’t really changed).

These days, Hollywood is booming more than ever, especially the heart of Hollywood—an area we’re defining as bounded by Gower and La Brea and Fountain and Franklin. About a dozen hotels have been proposed here, but new developments go beyond just hospitality: Office towers and mixed-use complexes are in the works as well, and these new buildings are reshaping the neighborhood’s skyline.

But Hollywood isn’t just about the new. It’s also doing a fair job of preserving some old and high-profile Hollywood landmarks. This year, the Earl Carroll Theatre, once a luxurious supper club, and the famed Palladium were named Historic-Cultural Monuments.

Historic Filipinotown

Nicknamed HiFi, this hilly and compact residential neighborhood is in an exciting location between Echo Park and Westlake. It’s peppered with an eclectic mix of architecture, from dingbats to Victorian mansions to new, boxy mixed-users, and it has emerged as a fabulous place to see public art; there are more than 100 murals painted on homes, garage doors, dumpsters, fences, and businesses.

By Alissa Walker

The art is beautiful, but it’s also helping make the streets more inviting for pedestrians. That effort got a boost in October, when the city began installing 54 decorative lights at 17 bus shelters on Temple, one of the neighborhood’s thoroughfares; the design was inspired by Filipino values.

Filipino culture also shines through in the neighborhood eateries, including Dollar Hits, a truck serving Filipino street food, and Genever, a popup cocktail bar owned and operated by three Filipino women who plan to open a brick and mortar location in HiFi in 2017.