Stucco: Ugly and Here to Stay?

You either like it or you don't.  Stucco.  It's everywhere here in Southern California.  Look around and chances are that the house or apartment building next to yours is clad in beige stucco.  The office building down the street?  Stucco.  That wanna-be French McMansion being built in your neighborhood that the neighbors are protesting?  Yep, stucco.  Fellow blogger Steven Corwin wrote a pretty scathing rant on what is an unfortunate symptom of rapid development and shortsightedness among yesterday's and today's prolific developers.  Kind of hard not to disagree, eh?

• Dear property developers: your stucco buildings are ruining my city [Steven Corwin]

Development Watch: Urth Cafe

Urth Cafe construction, Colorado Blvd. & Madison Ave.

The construction of the Urth Cafe building on Colorado Blvd. is coming along nicely.  It's Spanish Mission influences already evident with tiles and beams throughout and that curvilinear gable over the main entranceway.  This is going to be one beautiful building, blending in nicely with the Playhouse District buildings.  A wonderful example of infill done right (remember the shoe repair place before it?)  Bring on the (organic) coffee!