The new W Hotel on Hollywood near Vine is about to open. It’s being billed as a centerpiece of Hollywood’s continued revitalization.
Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne expressed mixed feelings: "The rather ungainly result, set to open officially this morning, is not
what you’d call an elegant addition to the rapidly expanding Hollywood
skyline. And yet few recent projects have had more to say about the
state of contemporary urbanism in Southern California than this one. It
symbolizes almost perfectly a city that is groping toward a denser,
more vertical and more public future while still reluctant to abandon
its love affair with the car and the glossier, more exclusive corners
of celebrity culture."
What do you think? Is the W complex a jewel for Hollywood or yet another unfortunately, dense development? Will it worsen traffic — or drive more people to mass transit?
Share your views below.
Photos credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times. Check out the Times photo gallery from the W here.