It should be great on top of Grand

Re “Grand, and good,” editorial, Feb. 12

Government subsidies for the Grand Avenue project are bad enough, but what bothers me more is the project itself. Another hotel, another row of the same tired retailers and a few more skyscrapers is not exactly new and exciting. I am bored just thinking about it.

Someone needs to inform the alleged architects in this town that a big hotel and high-end retail are not synonymous with a destination. How many of these destinations do we need? If taxpayers are going to foot the bill, can we at least get something that fires the imagination? The London Eye built for the millennium comes to mind.

JOHN SMART

Los Angeles

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It’s about time that Los Angeles glorifies the city and makes us proud of our home. We deserve a beautiful downtown that will create even more tourism and increase our city’s revenue. We need a clean, friendly city that will welcome our citizens and tourists to spend quality time to enjoy shopping, dining and attractions in a beautiful environment, much like the downtowns in other major cities.

We have made breakthroughs with the Ahmanson Theater and Mark Taper Forum as well as Disney Hall. We need to expand on this and make our city one that we can be proud of. I agreed with the editorial that even though the project won’t turn L.A. into Manhattan, it is still worth its modest tax breaks.

GINA SEVILLA

Chatsworth

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Re “Grand Ave. plan not grand enough,” column, Feb. 11

Unfortunately, Steve Lopez seems to be the only one at The Times who has the courage and the conviction to fight the greedy developers and the politicians who are absolutely without vision.

The fact that there are now two major giveaways of taxpayer money to support the billionaire Staples Center owner and the Grand Avenue copycat of Manhattan and Paris is a shame on our city government. The hotel taxes could be used to develop affordable housing and educationally sound programs for the young and to aid the elderly and poor with better services. However, it is more important to help the wealthy.

Downtown has become a monstrosity of Medici copycats with pastel-covered stucco that will fade and become uglier as time goes on. Why there has been no architectural oversight downtown is beyond comprehension. With each new development, traffic becomes worse and the interchange a parking lot when an activity takes place.

VICTORIA FRANCIS

Los Angeles