LOS ANGELES -- In its short life, the 6th Street Viaduct has turned into so many competing things to so many people: Soaring civic landmark or roadway to gentrification. Altar to the city's car culture or TikTok playground for general mayhem and lawlessness. Panoramic promenade for Boyle Heights abuelitos or glaring reminder of the lack of public space there and in so much of the city.
Basically, is it an architectural and cultural wonder or a symbol of so much that is wrong with Los Angeles?
The more-than-half-mile, $588 million span connecting the Arts District to the historic Eastside and Whittier Boulevard has become a new totem for the city's fissures over transit, policing, housing, equity, culture and land use.
