Downtown la is a microcosm of the city’s past, present, and future and one of its most intriguing neighborhoods. El Pueblo commemorates the city’s Spanish origins, while Chinatown to the north and Little Tokyo to the south are the vibrant centers of immigrant communities. The city’s financial pulse beats in glass high-rises along Flower and Figueroa Streets in sharp contrast to the eclectic early 20th-century architecture in the area around Pershing Square. Culture is king in downtown, from the renowned Museum of Contemporary Art and the spectacular new Walt Disney Concert Hall to the experimental galleries and studios of the Arts District east of Alameda Avenue. The Fashion and Jewelry Districts also add their own flair to the urban tapestry. Downtown is eminently walkable, but DASH buses also whisk you around between the diverse worlds that make up LA.
The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau at 685 S Figueroa Street offers multilingual assistance Note: MOCA tickets are good for same-day entry at MOCA Geffen Contemporary and within 30 days at MOCA (Pacific Design Center)-
Morning
Begin your day with the historic El Pueblo, which will take you back to the city’s vibrant Mexican and Spanish past. Browse colorful Olvera Street for authentic crafts and food, and then cross Alameda Street for a close-up of the grand Union Station.
Next, go west along Cesar Chavez Boulevard, before turning right on Broadway for a stroll through exotic Chinatown and a superb dim sum lunch at the Empress Pavilion .
Afternoon
Ride the DASH bus “B” from Broadway to Temple Street, dominated by the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. After admiring Rafael Moneo’s Modernist masterpiece, head south along Grand Avenue, past the Music Center and the Walt Disney Concert Hall to check out the latest exhibits at the MOCA.
Stroll down Bunker Hill Steps , stopping to gaze at “Source Figure,” Robert Graham’s exquisite sculpture and the Central Library . Walk to Pershing Square , lorded over by the baronial Millennium Biltmore , a nice place for tea or coffee. Leave in time to make it to the Victorian Bradbury Building before 5pm. Browse for treasures in the bountiful aisles of the Grand Central Market.
To get back to El Pueblo, board DASH bus “D” on Spring Street, changing to “B” at Temple Street.
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Great French country cooking at pauper-friendly prices are the hallmark of this Fashion District favorite which serves great paté.
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A 1/10th scale model of the Challenger, this 1990 memorial by Isao Hirai honors the first Japanese-American astronaut.
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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.
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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 .
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During the silent film era, Broadway was the movie district. The façades of the movie palaces are marvels of the imagination.
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Cascading down from Hope Street to Fifth Street, these steps have many attractive features, including an amazing sculpture of a female nude by Robert Graham (see Wells Fargo Court).
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LA’s strikingly modern Roman Catholic cathedral looms above the Hollywood Freeway that has been likened to a “river of transportation.” Opened in 2002, the adobe-colored structure is entered through giant bronze doors cast by LA sculptor Robert Graham and guarded by a statue of Our Lady of the Angels. The soaring hall of worship, which seats 3,000 people, is bathed in soft light streaming in through alabaster windows. It is the first Catholic cathedral to be constructed in the western US in over a quarter century.
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LA’s main library consists of the original 1926 building, an exotic Beaux-Arts design by Bertram Goodhue, and an art-filled atrium added in 1993.
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The Chinese first settled in LA after the Gold Rush, but were forced by the construction of Union Station to relocate a few blocks north to an area that is today known as “New Chinatown.” The cultural hub of over 200,000 Chinese Americans, this exotic district has stores hawking dried and pickled ginger and lucky bamboo, the offices of herbalists and acupuncturists, and restaurants that serve hot dim sum. In February, the Chinese New Year is celebrated with colorful parades and dragon dances.
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Restaurant price categories
Price categories include a three-course meal for one, a glass of house wine, and all unavoidable extra charges including tax.
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