City officials today will announce a new campaign to remake downtown Los Angeles' historic Broadway corridor by redesigning the bustling street, fixing up some of the grand movie palaces and restoring the fading facades of buildings.
The city and private developers have earmarked nearly $40 million to begin the effort this year, hoping to pull the gentrification that has swept much of downtown into the district's main commercial area. They envision many of the movie facades giving way to a live "theater district" forming on the street, with a trolley car system running down its center.
But the revitalization is already creating something of a culture clash. While the downtown development boom has brought thousands of mostly white-collar professionals into lofts and luxury high-rises, Broadway has for decades been the premier shopping destination for working-class Latinos.
Along the rows of bridal shops, discount stores and shopping arcades, some Broadway merchants agree the street could use a face-lift but wonder if the city's plans include them.
"On one side, I like the idea," said Marina Martinez, 28, who works at Teresa's Bridal, between 7th and 8th streets. "The only thing is that I don't think they want our types of businesses."
As downtown's building boom continues, it mirrors a debate being played out in other parts of the city center as well.
Broadway, which cuts through the heart of downtown, has long been one of the city's best barometers of demographic and social change.
Before World War II, it was considered by many to be the center of the city, where residents far and wide came by car and street trolley to catch movies at ornate theaters, such as the Globe, Orpheum and Million Dollar, and shop at department stores.
After the war, even as downtown declined, Broadway continued to bustle -- catering to the growing Latino immigrant population settling in neighborhoods to the east and west of the area.
The department stores and theaters closed, but Broadway's businesses thrived, so much so that in the early 1990s some store rents were higher than those in Beverly Hills.
The "Bringing Back Broadway" campaign will begin with a series of street and landscape improvements, including beautifying crosswalks, adding trees and plants and possibly widening sidewalks.
