Unless you’ve been living on another planet, it’s been hard to miss The Changing Face of North La Brea. After a torturous year or  two of lane closures and nonstop  construction, things are really starting to come together, and fortunately in a good way. As you know,  not all facelifts are for the better, especially in this town.

I’d been avoiding going anywhere near La Brea, regardless of the time of day or night for ages. And then, one evening without thinking, I drove  north from the 10, yes the 10, not the I-10.  I felt disoriented as I crossed over Wilshire Blvd into a whole new world. It was as if La Brea had become the new Sunset Strip, the Sunset Strip minus the star seeking tourists and double parked limo’s. It was bustling in a new fun way, a way that made me feel old and out of the loop. It was time to get my groove on and start spending some time there.

I love the Streamline Deco inspired 636 N. La Brea with it’s porthole windows and saturated pastel tones. The tropical tones remind me of South Palm Beach in Florida. Happy. Playful. Spirited. I just hope the graffiti ‘artists’ leave it alone. This is also the kind of Art Deco inspired building that we should be seeing in the Miracle Mile, not the crap we’ve been getting sold as Deco that’s nothing more than communal architecture trying to please everyone. (do I dare name names?) My research shows that this may be the new residence of the Olympic Rehabilitation Center (please correct me if I’m wrong).  It would make sense, as there’s a large parking lot in the back with a private walled off entrance. Additionally, their web site uses the same tones as this particular building, so they’re branding seems to be intact.

As for 1145 N. La Brea, It’s quite cool. Initially when I drove by I thought it looked like a dilapidated Guggenheim Museum. Then I realized the facade is just that, a facade, completely non structural. I also love the laser cut metal skin with the aqua walls behind it. They’ve also done a spectacular job of incorporating vertical florescent lights that seems to be a nod to the work of Dan Flavin. I remember seeing his Retrospective at LACMA in 2007 and loving the high impact of his work made from  commercial lighting materials.  According to wehoville.com this is a five-story 32-unit building of affordable housing, paid for through federal HUD funds and the City of West Hollywood’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.  Bravo for affordable, yet chic, housing.

And that interesting building on the corner of La Brea and Santa Monica… I was calling it the ‘eyelash‘ building until I snapped a couple of photos. Then I thought hmmm, looks a bit more like, well… like a Vajayjay to quote Opera. Wehoville.com reports this as a six-story, mixed use project with 12,800 square-feet of retail space and 184 apartments, 36 of which will be affordable housing units as well. (I’m curious to know what qualifies as ‘affordable’ in the city of LA and West Hollywood).

Lastly, I have to say that I love the use of Yellow on these commercial projects, its a nod to happier times and is a great color for sunny southern California.