DK Travel : Los Angeles : History & Culture

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Aquarium of the Pacific

One of Long Beach’s flagship attractions, this high-tech zoo teems with 12,000 fish, birds, and mammals that make their home in the Pacific Ocean. A full-scale model of a blue whale greets visitors in the Great Hall. You’ll come face to face with exotic giant spider crabs, playful sea otters, and even get to pet a shark. For a look at what it takes to keep the aquarium afloat, take a Behind-the-Scenes-Tour.
Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial

A 1/10th scale model of the Challenger, this 1990 memorial by Isao Hirai honors the first Japanese-American astronaut.
Avenues of Art & Design

The streets surrounding the PDC are flanked with design stores where you can actually buy – and not just look at (as in the PDC) – that chintz sofa or Eames chair. Best explored on foot, the district is filled with cutting-edge art galleries, trendy restaurants, and cafés where you can relax over latte.
Banning Residence Museum

The Greek Revival style home of Phineas Banning (1830–85), the “Father of Los Angeles Harbor,” offers a glimpse into the life of one of the most influential of the city’s pioneers. Tours take in the office, parlor, family and dining rooms, kitchen, and nursery, all filled with late 19th-century period furniture.
Bergamot Station Arts Center

This former historic trolley station has been imaginatively recycled into an industrial-flavored complex of nearly three dozen galleries, shops, artists’ studios, and a café. A highlight is the Santa Monica Art Museum, exhibiting cutting-edge artists, many of whom work in non-traditional media including video installations. It also organizes lectures, workshops, and other events designed to involve the community in the creative process.
Beverly Hills Civic Center

The wealth of a city is often reflected in its public buildings, so it should come as no surprise that Beverly Hills has the kind of civic center that’s the envy of other towns. Its centerpiece is the elegant City Hall, built in 1932 in Spanish Renaissance style and harmoniously incorporated into a contemporary Spanish-style complex with palm-lined walkways and curved colonnades. It houses a beautiful library as well as the local police and fire departments.
Beverly Hills Hotel

LA’s most famous hotel has been part of Hollywood history since its 1912 opening. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Will Rogers got drunk in the bar, Howard Hughes rented Bungalow 3 for 30 years, and Marilyn Monroe reportedly romanced both JFK and RFK here. Political leaders, royals, and Hollywood headliners have all stayed, partied, and cavorted at the legendary Pink Palace. It’s been featured in movies and on the cover of the Eagles’ Hotel California album. And stars still come – Elton John celebrated his 55th birthday here in 2002.
Biddy Mason: A Passage of Time

This memorial by Betye Saar and Sheila de Bretteville commemorates the story of former slave, Biddy Mason (1818–91), a leader who established the city’s first black church.
Bradbury Building

The nondescript façade of this Victorian-era office building doesn’t do justice to the magical courtyard within. Muted light filters in through a soaring glass roof while open-cage elevators take you up floors hemmed in by lacy banisters. Commissioned by the mining and real estate magnate Lewis Bradbury and completed in 1893, architect George Wyman allegedly found inspiration for some of his designs in Edward Bellamy’s 1887 novel, Looking Backward .
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Housed in a modern building designed by Frank Gehry, this aquarium offers plenty to do apart from viewing marine life in its 34 saltwater tanks. Memorable experiences include observing newborn jellyfish in the aquatic nursery, listening to whale sounds, and viewing prickly urchins and sea stars in tidepools accessed through the short Cabrillo Coastal Park Trail.