--- [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) # Whoa! Frank Gehry … that Guy Who Imagined Disney Hall … is Master Planning the LA River! ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2015/065o.png)GUEST COMMENTARY--The LA River's in line to get [a billion-dollar makeover](http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/army_corps_now_reevaluating_billiondollar_la_river_rehab.php)on part of the waterway, but now it appears that the driving vision behind the eventual, inevitable overhaul for the river "from LA to Long Beach" could be master-planned by none other than starchitect **Frank Gehry**. [The *LA Times* says](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-river-frank-gehry-20150807-story.html#page=1%20%20) that the architect, working with private and public sector officials, is drawing up a new master plan for the river—one based on the [comprehensive plan](http://boe.lacity.org/lariverrmp/Background/master_plan.htm%20) already adopted to help steer the river's future. A presentation of the Gehry plan by LA River Revitalization Corp. officials reportedly included no specific renderings, and many of the details of the project are still unclear, especially the two most important ones: what it will **look like** and how much it will **cost**. The Gehry-fied plan is said to be a "**broad reworking**" of the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan that went into effect in 2007 ("following extensive public input") and that envisioned everything from public access points to the river, to design guidelines for the land alongside the waterway, to green space preservation. Some long-time **river advocates** (probably some of the people who gave that extensive input on the current plan) are suspicious of this new plan that's being created in a very behind-the-scenes way and without the same level of public comment as the previous one. Will the guidelines declare that all buildings along the river must look like [crumpled lunch bags](http://curbed.com/archives/2015/02/11/is-frank-gehry-the-kim-kardashian-of-contemporary-architecture.php)? No one knows. ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2015/065p.png)Opponents of the Gehry plan also worry that by announcing such a big change could in some way jeopardize federal funding for the $1.4-billion dollar [restoration](http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/feds_now_recommending_best_and_biggest_la_river_restoration.php) of a section of the river from Downtown up through parts of Northeast LA. (The Army Corps of Engineers hasn't decided how much it's going to kick in for the project, though it did give initial approval to the overhaul.) Gehry designed the giant hotel/retail/residential [**Grand Avenue Project**](http://la.curbed.com/tags/grand-avenue-project) in Bunker Hill. He was also tapped to design a high-profile, [project](http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/03/frank_gehry_sunset_strip_garden_of_allah_townscape_partners.php) on the former [**Garden of Allah**](http://la.curbed.com/tags/garden-of-allah) site on the Sunset Strip. A press conference announcing Gehry's plan is scheduled for sometime later this month. *(Bianca Barragan associate editor at the excellent LA Curbed … where this commentary originated. )* *-cw* *CityWatch* *Vol 13 Issue 65* *Pub: Aug 11, 2015* *{module \[1177\]}* Written by Bianca Barragan on December 31 2015. [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2015/065o.png)GUEST COMMENTARY--The LA River's in line to get [a billion-dollar makeover](http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/army_corps_now_reevaluating_billiondollar_la_river_rehab.php)on part of the waterway, but now it appears that the driving vision behind the eventual, inevitable overhaul for the river "from LA to Long Beach" could be master-planned by none other than starchitect **Frank Gehry**. [The *LA Times* says](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-river-frank-gehry-20150807-story.html#page=1%20%20) that the architect, working with private and public sector officials, is drawing up a new master plan for the river—one based on the [comprehensive plan](http://boe.lacity.org/lariverrmp/Background/master_plan.htm%20) already adopted to help steer the river's future. A presentation of the Gehry plan by LA River Revitalization Corp. officials reportedly included no specific renderings, and many of the details of the project are still unclear, especially the two most important ones: what it will **look like** and how much it will **cost**. The Gehry-fied plan is said to be a "**broad reworking**" of the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan that went into effect in 2007 ("following extensive public input") and that envisioned everything from public access points to the river, to design guidelines for the land alongside the waterway, to green space preservation. Some long-time **river advocates** (probably some of the people who gave that extensive input on the current plan) are suspicious of this new plan that's being created in a very behind-the-scenes way and without the same level of public comment as the previous one. Will the guidelines declare that all buildings along the river must look like [crumpled lunch bags](http://curbed.com/archives/2015/02/11/is-frank-gehry-the-kim-kardashian-of-contemporary-architecture.php)? No one knows. ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2015/065p.png)Opponents of the Gehry plan also worry that by announcing such a big change could in some way jeopardize federal funding for the $1.4-billion dollar [restoration](http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/feds_now_recommending_best_and_biggest_la_river_restoration.php) of a section of the river from Downtown up through parts of Northeast LA. (The Army Corps of Engineers hasn't decided how much it's going to kick in for the project, though it did give initial approval to the overhaul.) Gehry designed the giant hotel/retail/residential [**Grand Avenue Project**](http://la.curbed.com/tags/grand-avenue-project) in Bunker Hill. He was also tapped to design a high-profile, [project](http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/03/frank_gehry_sunset_strip_garden_of_allah_townscape_partners.php) on the former [**Garden of Allah**](http://la.curbed.com/tags/garden-of-allah) site on the Sunset Strip. A press conference announcing Gehry's plan is scheduled for sometime later this month. *(Bianca Barragan associate editor at the excellent LA Curbed … where this commentary originated. )* *-cw* *CityWatch* *Vol 13 Issue 65* *Pub: Aug 11, 2015* *{module \[1177\]}* [![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays First Name [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/bb/062a-bb8ffb47.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33163:4-4-billion-later-inside-the-broken-machinery-of-los-angeles-homelessness-system&catid=312) ### [ $4.4 Billion Later: Inside the Broken Machinery of Los Angeles’ Homelessness System](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33163:4-4-billion-later-inside-the-broken-machinery-of-los-angeles-homelessness-system&catid=312) THE BOTTOM LINE - When Karen Bass became mayor of Los Angeles in December 2022, she declared a state of emergency on ho… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/fd/064h-fdb0b507.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) ### [Remembering Ken Draper: CityWatch and Transparency Are his Legacy](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) LA WATCHDOG - Ken Draper, the editor and publisher of CityWatch for more than 20 years, passed away on August 8, 2022… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/0f/061a-0f1ada2f.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) ### [Brace Yourself For A Worse Housing Crisis](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) PLANNING WATCH - The California State Legislature will soon vote on the following draft legislation. Please carefully… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/04/063g-04ad33d5.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33173:netanyahus-challengers-are-selling-the-same-poison&catid=332) ### [Netanyahu’s Challengers Are Selling The Same Poison](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33173:netanyahus-challengers-are-selling-the-same-poison&catid=332) SPEAKING OUT - One would think that after October 7 and the Gaza war that followed, the leaders from the main oppositio… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/19/062f-19a66144.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33162:prolonged-ignorance-of-a-ticking-bomb-does-not-neutralize-it&catid=9) ### [Prolonged Ignorance Of A Ticking Bomb Does Not Neutralize It](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33162:prolonged-ignorance-of-a-ticking-bomb-does-not-neutralize-it&catid=9) OP/ED - The recent landslide of chemical leaks, fires and extremely dangerous events have proven, without any doubt, th… --- ## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/034e.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16) ### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18755:tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people&catid=16) ### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17690:anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/033j.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2016/1404d.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)