Sally, Jameson - Postmodernism & the City

Jameson used The Bonaventura Hotel in LA as an example of "Postmodernism and the City." As I read through his impressions, I felt I was there...and, in a sense, I was - at least, experientially. I have never been to LA, but I grew up in Atlanta and we had our own "Bonaventura" illuminate the skyline in the early 70's. Illuminate, it did (the bright blue orb housing the revolving restaurant was a destination and subject of conversation among Atlantians throughout the 70's.) According to Jameson, the same architect and developer - John Portman - is responsible for multiple Hyatt Regency hotels reflecting his design philosophy in various major cities throughout the U.S. However, Portman at least gave the Atlanta Hyatt Regency a "normal" entrance, I believe. Makes me curious if I missed some other entrances! As a kid we used to joke that the Regency was like a space-age hotel straight out of the "Jetsons" cartoon. After this essay, I'll look at this type of architecture quite differently!

As Jameson took the reader through his description of the Bonaventura, I was intrigued by the effect of the three entrances into the hotel. Each required effort by the hotel guest to find his way to the check-in desk: the street level entrance on Figueroa admits the guest to a 2nd story shopping balcony, 1 level above the front lobby; the two remaining entrances (at least 6 levels above the front lobby) are situated in elevated garden areas accessible from the side of Beacon Hill. "The entryways of the Bonaventura as it were lateral and rather backdoor affairs." Jameson comments that the unmarked entryways "seem to have been imposed by some new category of closure governing the inner space of the hotel itself." (509) To be sure, why would an architect design the entryways to be so difficult to navigate unless he was making a statement. Jameson believes a work such as this "aspires to be a total space, a complete world, a kind of miniature city." (509) He goes on to say that "in this sense, the Bonaventura ought not to have entrances at all, since the entryway is always the seam that links the building to the rest of the city that surrounds it...it does not wish to be part of the city..." (509) Wow, I'm starting to think Portman is a genius! I can see what Jameson is saying. The entire topic is quite interesting regarding the escalators and elevators, the glass, and the innanely huge open areas allowing the guest to "experience space." (510) How appropriate - what else can you call it? Now, when I visit my friends and relatives in Atlanta, I'll suggest that we go "experience space" at the Hyatt downtown. Certainly, now, it is dwarfed in the skyline of Atlanta, but back in the 70's it was THE place to go. I'm excited that I can now label what will be happening if I ever stand in the lobby of the Bonaventura in LA. - I will be having a "spatial" moment in the lobby of a postmodernistic structure. Pretty cool!