évasion
fly away
ّ
لنتحـلق
voyage dans le temps I journey through time I
رحلـة عبـر الزمـن
1
2
anymore. Second, the hipster is convinced that his
thoughts are worth more that anything else in the
world. Third and because of the latter, he thinks it is
perfectly reasonable to pay 8$ for a coffee at
Intelligentsa ! » A marginal population, but not too
much, that rejects all mass market products –
except the Apple ones, obviously ! – and prefers
exclusive objects. Even if they are a minority, hipsters
have a real influence on the current angelenos
culture and the renewal of Downtown.
Downtown’s renewal
1. Le restaurant Axe est une
cantine d’un nouveau genre qui
prône le retour aux sources. I
The Axe restaurant is a new
kind of canteen that stands for
a return to the roots. I
مطعم "آكس"، نوع جديد
من املطاعم، يقدم الوجبات
I .التقليدية
2. Cabane de sauvetage
en mer à Venice Beach. I
Lifeguard cabin in Venice
Beach. I
البيوت التي تأوي رجال ونساء
I .اإلنقاذ البحري يف فينيس بيتش
La Gazelle 59 I
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A bohemian and antiestablishment spirit
Because Los Angeles never forgot its bohemian
heart. To realize that, one only has to walk the streets
of Silver Lake, original neighbourhood of Hollywood
studios where a part of the arty youth lives
nowadays. Silver Lake is an unclassifiable place that
brings to mind Brooklyn in the 90s. Even if the
residential quarters are protected from traffic and do
not lack charm, at first it can be difficult to understand
why young Angelenos want to live near the two East
Hollywood crossings where there are only a few
cafés and second-hand stores.
A paradox that says a lot about the antiestablishment spirit of the hipsters behavior. Besides
certain outward signs of recognition such as the
rolled up trouser legs, the tattoos or the moustache,
these young people, mostly from the middle classes,
define themselves by an unclassifiable way of living.
Michel Tabori gives an ironic definition : « First, the
hipster never says he is a hipster or he is not
Since the middle of the nineties and the inauguration
of the Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry, the
centre of Los Angeles, until then completely
abandoned in favour of Hollywood, regains a
significant power of attraction. On one hand,
important public and private investments to recreate
emblematic places of entertainment such as the
MoCa, the L.A. Live or the Standard Hotel. On the
other hand, the arrival of a young generation of
artists attracted by the huge industrial wasteland
stuck between Little Tokyo and Los Angeles River.
Despite the crisis, the concentration of its urban
fabric and the relative remoteness of Hollywood,
Downtown’s notoriety continues to decrease. An
improvement in the evolution of the Gallery Row, the
area of art galleries on Main and Spring Streets, with
the opening of some fourty places in less than ten
years and the successive implantation of trendy
cafés and restaurants such as the Umamicatessen
or the Wurstküche. For Nicolas Silberfaden, a young
photographer who lives and works in Downtown, it is
only fitting : « In Downtown, we find everything that
is scattered in other neighbourhoods of Los Angeles.
Because it all started here. Walking up Broadway, we
understand the extraordinary history of this town. »