Foreword: Summer in the City
This is the time of year that I am reminded of how unique my hometown of Los Angeles is among American metropolises.
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During the summer months, whenever I speak with people on the East Coast, I can always be sure that a significant percentage will tell me they are counting the minutes until it is Thursday afternoon, when they can vacate the city. This is the time of year that I am reminded of how unique my hometown of Los Angeles is among American metropolises. Unlike New Yorkers and other urban dwellers, who partake in a mass exodus every weekend from Memorial Day through Labor Day, Angelenos need not leave town to feel as though they are on vacation. The city’s relaxed atmosphere, temperate climate, and varied topography—beaches and mountains that provide the backdrop for every kind of summer activity imaginable—have long defined Los Angeles living.But one element that has traditionally been missing from Los Angeles, which is essentially an endless patchwork of loosely defined suburbs, is a sense of true city living. Like many born-and-bred Angelenos, I have always equated high-rise condos and $30 million penthouse dream homes with cities such as New York and Chicago. In L.A., trophy properties are measured in acres, not by what floor they are on. However, as a short (but, thanks to L.A. traffic, time-consuming) drive from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills along Wilshire Boulevard demonstrates, the city’s best neighborhoods have started reaching for the sky. Construction signs for luxury high-rises such as the Carlyle Residences, which offers everything from landscaped gardens to a ballroom-sized entertaining area, and Montage Beverly Hills, where owners can take an elevator down to a 20,000-square-foot spa or walk across the street to Spago, are becoming as commonplace as traffic on the 405.
Los Angeles is hardly alone in its adoption of vertical growth. In this issue, we explore how modern high-rises are changing the cityscapes of Buenos Aires and the Canadian metropolises of Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. We also take a look at what is new in Tokyo, arguably the most vertical city in the world. And—without too much bias—we profile the new crop of condo towers in our home base of Los Angeles (see "High Hopes").
Several of the high-rises that we cover afford homeowners
walking access to fine dining, shopping, and spas. These condos will no doubt
compel some outsiders to consider acquiring an L.A. pied-à-terre—and may inspire
some Angelenos to stay even closer to home.
