Sep 20 2007

Ten Years Behind L.A.

by Megan Edwards
10 Years behind L.A.

Ten years behind L.A. I’ve heard it said about Las Vegas, but I’ve never been quite sure what it meant beyond the usual putdowns: “unsophisticated,” “uncultured,” and “well, you know, retarded.”

It’s difficult to be magnanimous in the shadow of such descriptions, but it’s possible that those suave Angelenos have a point dangling below their up-tilted nostrils. California passed a “no smoking in bars” law over a decade ago. At the time, such a restrictive rule seemed unimaginable in Las Vegas, but now, Nevada voters have passed their own anti-smoking law by a surprisingly large margin. Was it because so many Californians had moved here in the last ten years? Possibly, as this article about the makeup of the immigrating hordes could suggest. In any event, there’s no denying the reduction of haze in local barrooms these days.

And then there’s Frank Gehry. By the time the new Alzheimer’s research center opens in Las Vegas, it’ll have been roughly ten years since the shiny curves of the Walt Disney Concert Hall arose next to the Music Center in Los Angeles. Whether Gehry’s Vegas project will garner acclaim remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see whether it has any effect on those who consider Las Vegas the culture-free Mecca of America’s great unwashed.

Ironically, it was Los Angeles that had the distinction of being labeled devoid of culture not so long ago, but the appearance of features like the Getty Museum within L.A.’s periphery has made it more difficult to cast aspersions and still look intelligent. Fortunately for New Yorkers, Las Vegas’s growth spurt has made it an attractive substitute. Yes, roughly ten years after Los Angeles was allowed to slide off the hot seat, Las Vegas has replaced it as the city New Yorkers love to hate. Countless articles in The New York Times offer evidence of our new role of urban pariah, most recently some especially silly ones by Bob Herbert (like this one).

And then there’s O.J. It’s actually been more than ten years since a flock of helicopters hovered over a white Bronco making slow progress on the Santa Monica Freeway, but yesterday, a similar bevy gathered over a vehicle heading from the Clark County Detention Center down Interstate 15 to the Palms. A new young justice of the peace is salivating at the prospect of being the next Judge Ito, and Marcia Clark has already scoped out the territory. Yeah, in addition to a smoking ban, a Gehry building, and a role as New York’s whipping boy, Vegas now has Juice. I can’t wait to see what’s next. With luck, it won’t be earthquakes.

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