Author: Eric Brightwell

Eric Brightwell is an essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener. He lives in Los Angeles, not because he was born here, but because he chose to... for all of the things for which its famous: its culture, its history, its verticality, its mass transit, its diversity, its schools, its green spaces, its liminal spaces, its architecture, its wildlife, its museums, its night markets, its cinemas, its theaters, its enclaves, its restaurants, its bars, its libraries, and more.

Nobody Drives in LA — Asian-American Public Art on Public Transit

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 1 Comment

Every schoolchild hopefully learns about the 19th century Chinese immigrants who built America's rails, the largest network in the world (if embarrassingly outpaced and outdated). The moderately engaged Angeleno will have spied names like Nippon Sharyo, Kinki Sharyo, and Hyundai Rotem our modern (and not embarrassing) local urban trains and correctly surmised that the very trains are Asian immigrants of a non-human … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Asian-American Public Art on Public Transit

No Enclave — Exploring Afghan Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 7 Comments

Afghanistan is a country in Asia which most Americans probably spent little time thinking about before the 11 September attacks in 2001. Even after the subsequent US invasion and thirteen year occupation of Afghanistan, I don't recall ever seeing a single Afghan face in any media and I'd bet that most Americans wrongly think that Afghanistan is … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Afghan Los Angeles

Saturday Night Yellow Fever

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 1 Comment

Although the title of this piece might suggest a playlist for Asian fetishists, it's intended to be more of a selection of songs which I think reveal something deeper or at least more interesting about changing attitudes toward Asia and Asians in the mainstream Western collective consciousness. Thus there is no "Big in Japan" or "Turning Japanese," … Continue reading Saturday Night Yellow Fever

No Enclave — Exploring Singaporean Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 1 Comment

INTRODUCTION TO SINGAPORE The Republic of Singapore is an island city-state in Southeast Asia. Its entire area is just 719.1 km2, making it slightly smaller than Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley. However, whilst the San Gabriel Valley is home to about 1.6 million, Singapore is home to an estimated 5.5 million. The area around Los … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Singaporean Los Angeles

High Rising — Los Angeles’s Asian-American Skyscrapers

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 1 Comment

The skyline of the modern city is largely defined by its skyscrapers; those towering, gleaming symbols of the architectural ambition, developer wealth, humanity's hubris, and  usually crowned with a corporate logo. Before skyscrapers, cathedrals were nearly always the tallest human-made structure; Before them, the ancient pyramids. Their symbolic (and perhaps psychosexual) importance is subconsciously understood by … Continue reading High Rising — Los Angeles’s Asian-American Skyscrapers

No Enclave — Exloring Uzbek Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 7 Comments

There is no category for Uzbek-Americans on the US Census but roughly 20,000 Uzbeks are estimated to live here. The most visible communities live in the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens or the nearby city of Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The first large wave arrived after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Due to … Continue reading No Enclave — Exloring Uzbek Los Angeles

Pan-Asian Metropolis — Pioneering Asian-American Architects in Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 18 Comments

There were Asian-American architects working outside of Los Angeles. Thomas S. Rockrise (né Iwahiko Tsumanuma) joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1921, toward the end of his career. Yasuo Matsui followed in 1927. In the mid-20th century, there Asian-American architects active in other parts of the country, as well, including Edith Leong Yang, Pu Hu Shao, … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Pioneering Asian-American Architects in Los Angeles

No Enclave — Exploring Malaysian Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 4 Comments

According to the 2010 census, there were 26,179 Americans of Malaysian background. Malaysian-Americans consist of people of a variety of ethnic origins, including Malay, Malaysian Chinese, Tamil, Banjar, Minangkabau, Indonesian, Iban, Filipino, Nepali, Tausūg, and Dusun. The state with the largest population of Malaysian-Americans is California; smaller populations live in New York, Texas, Illinois, Virginia, and Hawaii. In Los Angeles … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Malaysian Los Angeles

Those Useless Trees — The Aoyama Tree

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 5 Comments

Although not native, many Moreton Bay Figs (Ficus macrophylla) dot the Southern California landscape. The oldest of these Australian immigrants might be those planted by agriculturalist Elijah Hook Workman on the Los Angeles Plaza in 1875. Around that same time, one was planted in Anaheim which later served as the model for the Disneyland's Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. One planted … Continue reading Those Useless Trees — The Aoyama Tree

No Enclave — Exploring Mongolian Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 17 Comments

As of 2010, there were 18,344 Americans who self-identified as Mongolian-American. The census of that year also showed that 4,993 Mongolians were living in California, making it home to more Mongolians than any other state. About 2,000 Mongolians are estimated to live in Los Angeles. Although relatively low-profile and not thus far recognized with a designated enclave, a good … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Mongolian Los Angeles