Love Letters to Los Angeles

By Colleen Yorke
Navigational Art and Directions By Colleen Yorke, © 2015.
Los Angeles is an ever evolving living collage of characters and impressions. Lost and found souls, trying to find their way through Los Angeles’ unpredictability, take comfort in the chaos. As the city grows on the characters, they grow with it. Small villages inspired from memories of life abroad pop up everywhere; street signs and storefronts remind of  a home away from home.

In the east side of city, by MacArthur Park, conversations shift to Spanish. A smell of chili and grilled cheese lingers in the air. The walks are littered with wet paper, crushed orange-drink cartons, and broken glass. Some rusting car bodies, compacted into cubes, are stacked behind a steel-mesh fence. Large murals of arrested moments, astonishingly three-dimensional, appear to leap out of the worn-out white-stucco barrios.

Life happens, we all have our favorite L.A. stories, which have influenced us, shaped us and helped us to discover who we are. Young voices contribute fresh perspectives. Retro comes back into style with a twist that makes them feel new all over again. In the image-making capital of the world, adding our footprint in a city that is constantly reinventing itself is maybe purpose enough.

So, tonight, put on your running shoes and join the DTLA Running Group for a beautiful night run to MacArthur Park!