4th St, Sylmar

I lived on 4th st. in downtown LA for a while and I truly loved it. I had a huge loft for thsame price I would have paid for a small studio apt. elsewhere.
This massive space was a blank canvas and I was able to truly make it my own. It even had a secret room behind a bookshelf in the library and a full Skatepark downstairs!
As much fun as it was it had it's drawbacks too. For instance there was not a grocery store for miles and the threat of gang violence was very real. Laundry was also a bit daunting but once we worked out our system these seemed like minor concessions.
For one thing we had the most amazing view of downtown LA through our almost panoramic view.
Our location was right between the Mexican East LA, the Vietnamese Alhambra, Chinese Monteray Park, Korea Town, South Central and Thai Town.
This made for the opportunity to eat in a different country every night of the week! Also the Arts in downtown LA are vibrant and a secret underground unto itself. The original loft-goers (pre-loft trend) were mostly artists and any given weekend there were several amazing parties and gallery openings happening all around our area. Usually you discovered these through word of mouth while walking the dog or visiting the coffee shop.
Add to this the fashion, produce and flower district and you have the opportunity to live in vibrant gorgeous style for next to nothing.
It is nice to see the loft explosion bringing more people and culture downtown. There is even a grocery store opening! But truth be told, something has been lost. the sense of adventure of being an urban pioneer. Of having a world of infinite possibilities for your space. With more people comes more rules restrictions and attention. Good for the neighborhood, bad for pioneers.

I am most familiar with this street between Western and Vermont. This street is the middle of a residential area filled with mostly apartments, a few condominiums and even fewer houses. It isn't the cleanest street, but it's not too bad, either. I wouldn't recommend it for children to play around, but isn't bad to take your dog out for a walk in the daytime.