Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the center of
metropolitan Los Angeles, California. The sprawling
megacity is so vast that its downtown core is often considered a district like
Hollywood, even though it is home to the city and county governments. The area features many of the city's major arts institutions and sports facilities, a variety of skyscrapers and associated large multinational corporations and an array of public art, unique shopping opportunities and the hub of the city's freeway and public transportation networks. Downtown Los Angeles is generally thought to be bounded by the
Los Angeles River on the east, the
U.S. Route 101 on the north, the
10 Santa Monica Freeway on the south and the
110 Harbor Freeway on the west.
Most major upscale
department stores once operated in downtown Los Angeles. Many of them were shuttered in the
1970s and
1980s, and some moved into newer more modern office, hotel and shopping complexes in the Financial District.
Macy's Plaza and
Robinsons-May are just two examples.
With the movement of the city's commercial center westward, downtown Los Angeles was devoid of much nightlife from the 1950s until recent years as the residential population increased. (What little nightlife existed was concentrated in
Little Tokyo.) Several developers discovered around
2000 that there was a market for
renovated lofts and well-secured luxury apartment complexes among workers fed up with the city's notorious traffic
commuting to and from the
suburbs. Another sign of the fledgling downtown renaissance is that
Ralphs supermarket chain recently agreed to open a new store in Downtown. Ralphs had its first store in Downtown in the late 1800s and closed its doors in the 1950s. The opening has been pushed back to early
2008 (according to the
Downtown Center Business Improvement District).
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Downtown Los Angeles as seen at street level. |
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Waiting room in Union Station |
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U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles is the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River. (310 m) |
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Artist District*
Civic Center*
Gallery Row*
Little Tokyo*
Fashion District*
Toy District*
Jewelry District*
Bunker Hill*
Pueblo-
Chinatown*
South Park*
Old Bank District*
Wholesale District/
Skid Row (aka "The Nickel"--for its location on 5th street).
*
Historic CoreSome of the buildings of the Downtown core date from the early
1900s, with the topmost floors of most of the office buildings at mostly 14 and 15 stories. This was enforced because of the
earthquake risk; thus, the
Los Angeles City Hall was the tallest building for decades at 454 ft., until the development of
Century City, in the western part of the
Los Angeles basin. The unique
Bradbury building was the largest
cast iron structure at the turn of the century, with a lacy, airy interior. The
Grand Central Market somehow captures an early 1900s feel, with customs in distinct contrast to the current supermarkets of the U.S.
*South of the Downtown core, the Nickel contains large eateries, again, distinctly reminiscent of the early 1900s.
*On the north edge of Downtown, the bustling
Union Station is an example of the massive buildings, on a heroic scale, that served a vanished rail passenger market until the
1990s when a subway line and six commuter rail lines began taking passengers there; adjacent to Union Station is the historic center of the city, enshrined for local consumption as
Olvera Street.
*Up the hill from Union Station are the Civic Center buildings devoted to federal, state and city administration, including the
Parker Center (
LAPD headquarters) and City Hall. The
Los Angeles Times' main office is also in this corner of the downtown. When it first opened in 1935, it was the tallest building West of the Mississippi to house a newspaper press. This area of downtown is also home to to the
Music Center, a complex of music and theatrical halls which imitates the architecture of
New York's
Lincoln Center. In
2003 the
Walt Disney Concert Hall opened to increase the number of major theaters at the Music Center to four. Also in the building is the smaller
Redcat theater and art studio. Near the Music Center are the
Museum of Contemporary Art, or
MOCA, and the
Colburn school of performing arts.
*Down the hill, Little Tokyo still contains businesses with Japanese roots. Some of the buildings and sidewalks date back to the
1800s and still include
hitching posts for horses. Little Tokyo also contains the
Japanese American National Museum and another Museum of Contemporary Art campus.
*South of
Bunker Hill is the
Library Tower, now known as the
U.S. Bank Tower. At 310 m (1018 ft), it is the tallest building between
Chicago and
Auckland. Built in 1989, it was initially called Library Tower because the purchase of the air rights from the
Los Angeles Central Library, located across the street, were used to allow a building of such height to be built. The money went towards expanding and renovating the library, which had suffered two arson fires in 1986. The library itself was built in
1926.
*The South Park area of town includes the
Los Angeles Convention Center and
STAPLES Center. Many lofts and apartments are being built in this area, which is seeing a much needed revival.
*The Old Bank District is the center of the loft movement downtown. A number of developers have purchased old buildings and are converting them into residential lofts.
*Gallery Row is a creative district in the Downtown Historic Core. Starting with 3 art galleries in 2004, Gallery Row now claims 17 art galleries in 2005.
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The Financial District of Downtown Los Angeles as seen from USC, which makes up most of Downtown's skyline. |
Despite its relative decentralization, Los Angeles has one of the largest skylines in the
United States, and its development has continued in recent times. The skyline has seen rapid growth due to improvements in building standards, which has made some buildings highly earthquake-resistant. Many of the new skyscrapers are housing, especially in Downtown - what the office tower rush in the
1970s and
1980s added to the skyline is now occurring again in the form of residential. Some recent examples of skyscraper construction include:
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Grand Avenue Project*
Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment DistrictSouth, a tri-tower complex (13-, 19-, and 23-story towers) called Elleven, Luma, and Evo at the north-west block from 11th and Grand to 12th and Grand.
Metropolis, a mixed-use tri-tower (38, 47, and 52 stories, respectively) at Franciso and 9th Street.
This is a brief list, and there are many more. The recent "rise" of
South Park, the low-rise district of downtown south of
Bunker Hill (roughly south of 8th Street and north of the
Santa Monica Freeway), is bringing skyscrapers that will be high enough in quantity and height to create an extended downtown skyline within a few years from
2005. Due to numerous films, television, and music videos that are shot in Los Angeles and uses downtown Los Angeles as the backdrop, the Los Angeles skyline is probably one of the most recognizable skylines in the world.
The skyline of Los Angeles consists of several different clusters of high-rise buildings; most of these clusters are not directly connected to each other.
Century City and the parts of
Wilshire Boulevard through
Westwood together form a rather busy skyline that is often confused with the downtown skyline.
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Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District*
Downtown Los Angeles Photos*
Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council*
Downtown Los Angeles Online*
Downtown Los Angeles Walking Tour*
Downtown L.A. Photo Gallery*
Los Angeles Downtown News*
Gallery Row Organization*
L.A.'s plan to revitalize downtown (Guardian.co.uk)
