The Metro Goldline Eastside Extension—the main reason for my starting this blog.
I have witnessed its construction—and resulting destruction of my hometown—since its infancy. I regret not having documented the phases of the deconstruction of Boyle Heights. Nor have I captured my hometown prior to it being torn apart by outside investors. How sad I am to know I will never see Boyle Heights again as I did growing up here. And the most bitter pill—I scarce have any photos to relive my memories.
I hope this humble blog entry will justly serve as a homage and remembrance for what once was my Boyle Heights.
It pains me to see how this line has caused such upheaval. The streets I once traversed so easily were blocked off, my daily schedule interrupted, our lives cut straight down 1st Street, all for the construction of the Metro Goldline Eastside Extension. This image captures perfectly what I have been and am witnessing (and I have to give credit where credit is due). Signs of growth and progress are everywhere. But I feel invaded, my neighborhood razed for the profits of outside investors.
Boyle Heights was always a sanctuary for me. A warm blanket I could wrap myself in to keep all the bad things out. It was my own little paradise closed off to outsiders. A secret little hangout. And now, it, I , we have been opened up, without our consent, to anyone who pays $1.25 and hops aboard a sleek train.
Maybe I’m stubborn against change. Maybe this will turn out to be a good thing. (It hasn’t for the homeless population who call the streets of Downtown L.A. their home). I don’t have an answer. I just wanted to give a shout out to Boyle Heights. Hang in there. We’ll make it through this. You’ll always be my old Boyle Heights.
Hey, on the bright side, at least the “gentry” will be able to return to their pedicured streets having gotten some “culture” i.e. “eastside flavors.”
More on gentrification:
We won’t go down without a fight.
Self-Help Graphics is one of the latest victims of gentrification. Listen here.
Artists respond to gentrification.
Gentrification in El Paso.
I have witnessed its construction—and resulting destruction of my hometown—since its infancy. I regret not having documented the phases of the deconstruction of Boyle Heights. Nor have I captured my hometown prior to it being torn apart by outside investors. How sad I am to know I will never see Boyle Heights again as I did growing up here. And the most bitter pill—I scarce have any photos to relive my memories.
I hope this humble blog entry will justly serve as a homage and remembrance for what once was my Boyle Heights.
It pains me to see how this line has caused such upheaval. The streets I once traversed so easily were blocked off, my daily schedule interrupted, our lives cut straight down 1st Street, all for the construction of the Metro Goldline Eastside Extension. This image captures perfectly what I have been and am witnessing (and I have to give credit where credit is due). Signs of growth and progress are everywhere. But I feel invaded, my neighborhood razed for the profits of outside investors.
Boyle Heights was always a sanctuary for me. A warm blanket I could wrap myself in to keep all the bad things out. It was my own little paradise closed off to outsiders. A secret little hangout. And now, it, I , we have been opened up, without our consent, to anyone who pays $1.25 and hops aboard a sleek train.
Maybe I’m stubborn against change. Maybe this will turn out to be a good thing. (It hasn’t for the homeless population who call the streets of Downtown L.A. their home). I don’t have an answer. I just wanted to give a shout out to Boyle Heights. Hang in there. We’ll make it through this. You’ll always be my old Boyle Heights.
Hey, on the bright side, at least the “gentry” will be able to return to their pedicured streets having gotten some “culture” i.e. “eastside flavors.”
More on gentrification:
We won’t go down without a fight.
Self-Help Graphics is one of the latest victims of gentrification. Listen here.
Artists respond to gentrification.
Gentrification in El Paso.
