Proposed CityWalk Mall

Half with disgust and half with disbelief, I read of CityWalk at Universal Studios. Rather than CityWalk, the proposed project should be called “the Marie Antoinette MegaMall.” As a fourth-generation Angeleno, I’d thought I’d seen and heard every obscene scheme that could be foisted upon Los Angeles. Clearly I was wrong.

Throughout my lifetime, the historical heritage and architectural spirit of Los Angeles have been perennially under siege. Now, it would seem that a battery of deluded design dilettantes and their deep-pocketed corporate sponsors want to create an absurdly conceived island of denial in the Valley.

With the money which will be spent on this project, did it ever occur to its originators that the issues, nay crises by which we are all beset (homelessness, crime, pollution, et al.), could be addressed forthrightly. Or, rather is it a matter of “Let them eat nouvelle cuisine?”

RICHARD NEWTON MEYER

Los Angeles