Looking through my shwag bag from the Subtitle Film Festival, I found a classy little brochure for the Wilshire Vermont Station — which big ups urban carless living, sort of.
The square marketing piece touts studios and apartments at the Wilshire Vermont Station (3183 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles). Promoting “life on track” ad “life on the line,” the brochure notes that the Station’s “built around the Wilshire Vermont stop along the Metro Redline” and markets itself by announcing: “Go where you want when you want … No car required.”
So yes, the brochure says there’s “assigned subterranean parking with additional guest parking avaliable.” But it also notes “direct access to MTA redline (6 minutes to downtown)” AND includes an insert map of our subway system.
I mean, the marketing reminds me of New York rental ads that boast easy access to the subway. Finally, public transport access is becoming a hip marketing tool in LA — at least for this one apt complex. The brochure boasts: “With a world of possibilities just a train ride way you can explore the best of Los Angeles anytime without ever getting behind the wheel of a car.”
Almost makes me want to move to Koreatown, except I’d miss the beach, and pretty much everything in the subway-deficient westside. Still, check out the Wilshire Vermont Station website, with lots of subway-themed images and sounds. Might be the spot for you if you’re not all that keen on seeing the ocean regularly –
I do live in Koreatown, and I do go out to the ocean via transit basically weekly; the 720 along Wilshire doesn’t get as much praise as it should. It’s no substitution for a subway, but I still spend a great deal of my life in Koreatown and still get out west regularly. I’d have to say that Koreatown is probably the best place to live in LA and still get around via transit.
That specific development has me torqued off though… they’ve made it very difficult to get from the subway to the westbound rapid stop or to the northeast quadrant of Koreatown, due to all of the construction. I can’t wait for it to be done ;p.
Comment by Aaron — April 15, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
There’s a building in downtown Chicago which boasts that you can get to the airport from it without ever going outside (it has direct access to a subway stop). I have to admit that it was tempting to me, but I ended up renting a couple miles north for $500 less per month when I was living in Chicago. I had to go outside to go to the airport, but I didn’t go to the airport that often anyway.
Comment by don hosek — April 15, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
horrible place to live. how do i know? cuz i live there. its expensive, loud, and small. the fire alarms goes off in the middle of the night for no reason. the AC system is extremely loud. the washier and dryer is as loud as the AC and takes approximately 3 hrs to finish one load.
Comment by Anonymous — August 19, 2008 @ 1:22 pm