The 1939 train depot is one of the city's signature buildings, and its locale across from the historic Old Plaza could be exploited to add some charm to downtown. So why are an office building and apartments going up along Alameda that will cut off the most dramatic views? Sam Hall Kaplan opines in the Downtown News:

Seeing two hulking structures now going up on the north and south corners of the station's forecourt facing North Alameda Street shocks my city planning and preservationist sensibilities....

To be fair, neither the housing nor the office project are by themselves badly designed; perhaps nondescript would be more apt. If they had been located on some former surface parking lot in downtown Santa Ana or in uptown Burbank, I am sure they would have been welcomed.

The DT News also reports on plans to convert the 17-story SBC office building at 1010 Wilshire Boulevard into high-end condos. The developers will even add balconies to what is now a flat-faced box.