When You're Alone...

...and life is making you lonely, you can always go - Downtown.

Indeed you can, and Downtown Los Angeles is finally growing into that kind of place. Faltering steps over the decades have been replaced with explosive growth in recent years. Beyond loft conversions, new investments in the area are making it a livable and more friendly place; new theaters, shopping, and even a Ralphs.

I find it only appropriate, given there are more cranes Downtown than in all of Berlin (that statistic is absolutely not true) that the skyline should be due for a new addition as well...

Developer Robert F. Maguire said Monday that he planned to build a high-rise office building in downtown Los Angeles, the first significant addition to the city's skyline in 14 years.

The proposed 50-story tower at Figueroa and 7th streets might also signal the beginning of a round of office development that would expand the city's financial district.

The building, to be called 7+Fig, also would extend recent downtown development that includes billions of dollars of residential and entertainment projects.

"We think it will be a stunning building in a terrific location. We think it can do very well," said Maguire, who developed some of the best-known buildings of the last downtown development boom, including U.S. Bank Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the West at 72 stories.

Stunning building sounds about right. You can judge for yourself as the picture above is the planned building in all its glory.

Los Angeles is in a great position right now. The Chamber of Commerce is on the upswing, Mayor Villaraigosa (for all his faults) is a high-profile figure, there's a smidgen of change afoot in LAUSD; even filming is on the rise, after years of losses to places like Canada and...um, Canada.

It's a great time to be in Los Angeles.