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The City of Los Angeles is planning a major overhaul of one of downtown’s most historic corridors, with the advent of the “Bringing Back Broadway” initiative. Once considered the birthplace of vaudeville and home to one of the healthiest stretches of theater in the world, Broadway has become a shadow of it’s former self in recent decades, reduced to tons of vacant commercial space and retail shops.

However, with the leadership of Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar and support from Mayor Villaraigosa, major changes are set to take place over the next ten years. Counted among them will be a reactivation of dormant theaters, an emphasis on smart parking and transit options to serve Broadway, getting local residents involved in the actual planning process, and making “the dream of riding a streetcar downtown by 2014 a reality” to quote from the Bringing Back Broadway site.

As ambitious as the committee’s plans are, this wouldn’t be the first time that revitalization has been dreamt up for the famed corridor. To get some historical insight, check out this article from DowntownNews.com, published when the initiative was first announced back in 2007. Critics worry that this project may run into the same pitfalls (i.e., lack of funding, half-hearted support from residents, etc), but remain ultimately hopeful that this could signal a new era for DTLA.