Letters to the Editor: L.A. is ugly? Only to some locals — visitors are still enchanted by it

To the editor: Your letters about sprucing up our city for the 2028 Olympics brought to mind two interactions I had with visitors.

On a return flight from the United Kingdom, a single woman seated next to me was enthusiastic about visiting Los Angeles. My husband and I were returning from a trip through fairytale villages, the verdant countryside and cities with beautiful cathedrals. I asked the visitor what she liked about L.A. Without hesitation, she said, “It’s still like the Wild West.”

The other interaction was with a Swiss couple traveling with their young daughter. They were traversing Los Angeles and beyond by bus. We adopted them for a day and took them to the Getty Museum. The woman asked if Mulholland Drive would be out of the way. She was a reader of Michael Connelly books and wanted to see where the famous Detective Bosch lived.

Los Angeles still captures the imagination in ways those of us living here cannot comprehend. Visitors overlook its blemishes and let its magic and glamorous history fill them with a sense of awe and wonder. And maybe, when it gets too much to deal with, we should too.

Donna Sloan, Los Angeles

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To the editor: How dare Paul Thornton assert that “Los Angeles isn’t very pretty”? I beg to differ.

I lived in L.A. off and on for 30-plus years. Though I no longer live there, I still love it. Flying into LAX, I am excited to see the San Gabriel Mountains, with Mt. Baldy and Mt. Wilson against a sunny blue sky.

I love to see the glittering buildings of downtown L.A. and the long procession of hotels, stores and museums on Wilshire Boulevard, all the way to Santa Monica.

I love to see the Hollywood sign against the green of the hills and the Hollywood Bowl nestled in the palm-covered hills of the Cahuenga Pass.

Though I’ve lived on California’s central coast for the past 40 years, I still consider myself an Angeleno. Certainly, Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. L.A. may not be its equal culturally, but it is a worthy — and, yes, “pretty” — destination.

Jill Anderson, Pismo Beach