Glendale News Press
June 2 2007

>From the Margins:
Progress is built by vision

By Patrick Azadian

I was invited to a big Armenian wedding. I headed down to West L.A.
to buy a suit.

I wanted good sushi. I went to Pasadena.

I was craving cold tomato soup. I took a short trip to Los Feliz for
authentic French attitude.

I had a friend visiting from out of town. We ended up at a Japanese
restaurant with make-believe geishas in Hollywood.

It’s not that I don’t hang out in Glendale. I do. I try to patronize
as many establishments as possible. I shop at the "organic"
supermarket; I am a frequent visitor to the Korean as well as the
Armenian marts; I’ve covered the Brazilian, the Lebanese, the Cuban
and the burger eateries on Brand Boulevard.

But it seems, whenever I am in search of a distinct atmosphere, or a
variety of quality choices, I have to travel outside the borders of
G-Town.

One reason may be that I may be a snob. But on second thought, I am
not.

Anyone who takes time to shuffle through Persian cucumbers at the
market, while competing with Armenian grandmas to end up with the
best harvest, loses the right to be a snob.

I would actually prefer to stay in town for entertainment. Gone are
the days that I traveled to Santa Monica to catch the sounds of a
live blues band from Alabama.

The real reason for my travels lie behind what’s not available in
town. With all due and undue respect to our business establishments,
there are only a handful of good restaurants locally, there is not
much of nightlife and, without a doubt, there are not too many places
with character.

Why can’t Glendale compete with the likes of Pasadena, Santa Monica
or Hollywood? How come we don’t attract the best of the bunch?

One possibility could be that we just don’t appreciate the good
things in life or don’t have the finances.

That’s a weak argument.

One good look at the quality of homes and vehicles many residents
have chosen puts a void stamp on this theory. Many residents spend
their time and money outside our city borders. If it’s not Beverly
Hills for shopping, it’s Pasadena for dining; if it’s not Hollywood
for cocktails, it’s Santa Monica for lounging.

Of course, we can’t close our borders and join the Soviet Bloc (any
more), but it would be nice to keep some of that revenue here.

How about this argument? Our city is conservative and keeping it safe
requires that we have mediocre choices. Development and safety are
mutually exclusive.

This argument is also frail.

It’s not as if we don’t have watering holes or clubs in this town. We
do. But with some unique exceptions, we cannot compete with some of
our neighboring cities.

Moreover, we are not as conservative as we claim. One mind-boggling
proof is the presence of ‘X-type’ newspapers on many of city’s street
corners. I am not a prude, and I am not sure of the laws governing
such material, but someone in the city must have issued permits for
such publications. Sadly, schoolchildren have access to them on a
daily basis. Point being, this is not a convincing sign, if we want
to act conservative.

So, we have the money and we are not very conservative.

What’s left? We can always blame the city’s leadership for their lack
of vision.

Old Town Pasadena did not just grow out of nowhere. I remember when
it was undeveloped and was a magnet for crime and desolation. And
Santa Monica did not cease to be ‘Soviet’ Monica because the Soviet
Union collapsed.

What both cities had in common was a vision by their leadership. In
both cases, city officials worked hand in hand with the private
sector to transform their business districts into sprawling centers
for retail, entertainment and residence.

The opening of the Americana may be a good sign, but it is not a
substitute for vision. A survey of how many businesses open and close
shop on Brand Boulevard could be a sign that something is not right.
Maybe we are not attracting the right kind of business. Perhaps our
laws and traditions interfere with the progress of certain types of
establishments.

Or is it possible we are spending too much time on the petty, on
finding creative ways to resist progress, avoid the present and shun
the future?

Lack of vision can lead to stagnation.

PATRICK AZADIAN works and lives in Glendale. He may be reached at
respondfromthemargins.net.