Back in the late 70s the property values in the warehouse district of LA, near the commercial railroad complex, had collapsed.  The warehouses had been built when 4,000 - 6,000 square feet was a lot of space.  As time moved on these became uneconomical as more space was required and the transportation system moved from railroading to trucking.  At the time I'm speaking of these warehouses were going for absurdly reduced prices compared to the purchase/rent costs in the rest of the basin.  The disadvantage to the properties was the unique atmosphere generated by life in LA.  We're talking smog.  cough, hack, wheeze

Since nobody wanted them, the dregs of society - artists - started buying and moving into them.  The advantage was a large open space usable for studios and a second floor for living.  In the normal course of events the artists would attract patrons attracting resturants, boutiques, & etc attracting more people attracting people who want to live in the area raising the property values raising the property taxes and driving the artists out.  

I moved to NoCal shortly afterwards and, from time to time, wondered what happened in the long run.  

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre