Design and Architecture
Music Center Plaza; LA’s new tree czar
The Music Center Plaza, opened in 1964 with a design by architect Welton Becket, has been reimagined for pedestrians rather than cars.
By Frances Anderton • • 28m ListenThe Music Center Plaza, opened in 1964 with a design by architect Welton Becket, has been reimagined for pedestrians rather than cars.
“We had to walk a line between preserving as best we could what was here, but making it work better for the changing urban environment that we have here,” said architect Bob Hale.
And Los Angeles has a new city forest officer, starting Tuesday. Rachel Malarich has two big goals: adding 90,000 trees to LA’s streets and private yards, and increasing the tree canopy in the least shady neighborhoods by 50 percent in the next decade.
In this episode
2 storiesMusic Center Plaza gets a pedestrian-friendly redesign
The Music Center opened to the public with great fanfare in 1964, creating a central gathering place for Los Angeles’ cultural elite. But it was designed to be accessed by car, not by foot. Now a 20-month renovation has produced a…
Read the story13 minMeet LA’s new tree champion, Rachel Malarich
Trees are the lungs of the city, as the saying goes, and they are especially healthful in hot, polluted LA.
Read the story14 min
