In the NoHo

Thanks for the great article on NoHo (“NoHo Cool,” Feb. 15). I’ve lived there since 1990 and love its still-growing charm.

One other great thing about NoHo that you didn’t mention is that it’s close to everything. Hollywood? Right over the hill. Downtown? A little farther over the hill. Pasadena? Zip, you’re there. The Westside? Not a big deal. Even other parts of the Valley don’t seem so far, because you’re within surface-street range.

I still can’t bring myself to say the word “NoHo” out loud, though.

DAVE KUNZ

North Hollywood

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Hey, let’s give credit where it’s due! NoHo really began back in 1981, when four friends and I formed the NoHo Partnership to buy and renovate a small apartment building in North Hollywood.

It was tough going at times--hot and cold running cockroaches, the psychotic dog woman next door--but we turned the place around, and before long it filled up with artists, actors, poets and the occasional eccentric.

For reasons unknown to me, just about every place I’ve lived has undergone a hip transformation once I leave town: Union Square and SoHo in Manhattan; Banker’s Hill, Hillcrest and Mission Hills in San Diego; Echo Park, West Hollywood and NoHo.

As soon as Ventura figures out how to get rid of me, things ought to start picking up here as well.

URSULA BRITTON

Ventura

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Although I moved just outside NoHo’s borders a few years ago, I remain a fervent supporter of its redevelopment.

Like many, I have become frustrated with the length of time it has taken for the area to come of fruition. Here are a few suggestions to help it along:

1. The intersection of Lankershim and Magnolia boulevards needs to be more pedestrian friendly.

The Pit Fire Pizza restaurant is a positive step with its doors and outdoor tables abutting a small park. Now why can’t the Landmark Entertainment monolith, at the intersection’s northeast corner, follow suit with ground-level public space, coffee kiosks, etc.?

2. There’s nothing un-NoHo about trees and plants, and on Magnolia Boulevard, east of Lankershim, the rich strip of thrift stores, cafes and theaters would benefit from a few.

3. While it’s nice that the city has installed “NoHo Arts District” signs, the one at the west end of Magnolia at Tujunga faces entirely the wrong way! You see it as you’re leaving the district, not entering it.

4. A little community of coffeehouses and shops is burgeoning at the south end of the NoHo Arts District between Moorpark and Riverside, and should be given its own “SoNoHo” banners.

It’s important that NoHo, along with other off-Ventura quarters of area code 818, be reinvented. I have nothing against a good work in progress, but in NoHo’s case, it would be nice to one day behold a fait accompli.

CARY BAKER

Sherman Oaks