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Since opening in June 1923, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has become one of the world’s greatest sports venues, home to world-class athletes and legendary games. The Coliseum has also hosted numerous historic figures and countless special events.
Not sure what to do in downtown Los Angeles? Stop by The Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, one of the hottest neighborhoods in the DTLA area. From the area’s beginnings as Jean-Louis Vigne’s vineyard to an orchard growing mostly oranges and grapefruit, by the late 1800s it became an industrial center for railroads and manufacturing. Eventually, the railroads gave way to the trucking industry and industry moved to other L.A. County areas like Commerce in order to build larger buildings to accommodate their growing businesses.
In the 1970s, artists braved dangerous conditions and began to occupy the area’s dilapidated buildings, having been priced out of areas such as Venice and Hollywood. Eventually, they opened art galleries and began to develop these buildings themselves, thereby preserving a big part of L.A.’s industrial history.
The area again underwent another downturn in the 1990s before being saved by Joel Bloom and his supporters, who officially renamed the area the “Arts District.” Today, it is home to many creatives, including those in green technology, architecture and entertainment. Read on for a visual walking tour of this burgeoning urban oasis.
Now in its fourth year, Grand Avenue Arts: All Access returns on Saturday, Nov. 3 to showcase the world-class arts and cultural organizations located on Grand Avenue between Temple and 6th Streets in Downtown L.A. Taking place from 11am to 4pm, the one-day, free community event will feature live music performances, docent-led architectural tours, family-friendly readings and films, educational opportunities, scavenger hunts, exhibition tours, craft-making activities and free open-house access. Grand Avenue will be adorned with colorful balloons and signage to help guide visitors.
Grand Ave Arts: All Access is a collaborative, community-inspired endeavor that celebrates the participating arts institutions' commitment to the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and its many communities, and to spotlight the world-class architecture and programming that define the Grand Avenue corridor and L.A.'s cultural center.
For convenient access, Go Metro and take the Metro Red or Purple Line to Civic Center/Grand Park Station. To find out your best route, use the Metro Trip Planner or call (323) Go Metro (323.466.3876).
CicLAvia's annual Heart of L.A. route returns on Sunday, Dec. 2. Taking place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the route will offer miles of city streets for participants to explore by bike, foot, skateboard, wheelchair and other non-motorized traffic. Streets in Downtown L.A., Chinatown and Boyle Heights will be closed to cars and open for cyclists, pedestrians, runners and skaters to use as a recreational space.
How magical would it be to instantly trade the sidewalks and steel of an urban downtown for a woodland utopia? Clifton's spanned 16,000-square-feet of faux redwoods, frolicking forest creatures, scenic murals, a brook babbling with limeade and a 20-foot waterfall cascading over artificial rocks. To say that Clifton’s was unique is like saying LeBron James is a pretty decent basketball player. Imagine a larger-than-life diorama designed by Walt Disney on a Pine Sol-fueled bender. Simply put, it was unlike any other restaurant in Los Angeles.
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument is located near the site of the early Los Angeles pueblo, where 44 settlers of Native American, African and European heritage journeyed more than a thousand miles across the desert from present-day northern Mexico and established a farming community in September 1781. Today, as a department of the City of Los Angeles, El Pueblo is a living museum that attracts more than 2 million visitors to the oldest district in L.A. Read on and discover the cultural attractions of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Stretching for six blocks from 3rd to 9th Streets along South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, the historic Broadway Theatre District includes 12 movie theatres built between 1910 and 1931. At its height, the neon-drenched district had the highest concentration of cinemas in the world, with seating capacity for more than 15,000 patrons. The Broadway Theatre District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in May 1979, the first and largest historic theatre district listed on the Register. It is the only large concentration of movie palaces left in the United States.
Efforts by the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Bringing Back Broadway initiative, the Broadway Theatre Group and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation have restored many of these theatres to their original splendor. New generations of Angelenos can now experience live performances and cultural events at these spectacular venues. Read on and discover the great movie palaces of the Broadway Theatre District.
Chung King Road is located in historic Chinatown, just steps from the Hill Street exit off the 110 Freeway. Just 40 feet wide, Chung King Road is bare and quiet during the day - occasionally someone will make their way through as a shortcut to Chinatown’s main attractions. But on art opening nights, throngs of L.A. art enthusiasts pack the little alley to check out the latest exhibits on view at the new generation of art galleries. Read on for a guide to the galleries of Chung King Road.
Whether you’re a starving student or have some more resources to spare on your meals, the South L.A. neighborhoods surrounding the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Banc of California Stadium offer some interesting dining options. Learn about some of our favorite area restaurants, most of which are within walking distance of the USC campus and Exposition Park.
Since Urth Caffe opened in 2008, the Arts District in Downtown L.A. has become affectionately known as the “Coffee District,” home to some of the top third wave coffee purveyors in the city. Read on for the best places in the Arts District to get your caffeine fix and more.
