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In Pictures: Downtown Los Angeles

September 20, 2012 By James Clark 7 Comments

I have been to Los Angeles a number of times yet I had never been to the downtown area. When I first came to LA, in 1996, the Downtown area was still off the map for tourists. It was the America that you heard on the news, with crime riddled streets and Americas largest skid row.

Things have changed since then and Downtown Los Angeles is on the rise. I love a good urban regeneration story so I had to go and have a look for myself. I figured I would go there for a couple of hours and then head back to the beach. I didn’t realise there was such much to see though, and I ended up spending most of the day wandering around.

I got the bus from Santa Monica which takes about one hour and terminates outside the impressive Union Station. One day this will be where you get the train if California ever gets a High Speed Railway. I’m not counting on that but it is good to dream.

Union Station - Downtown LA

One of the first buildings I noticed is the Los Angeles City Hall. This building is instantly identifiable from all of the crime/cop/law films and TV dramas that have been set in Los Angeles over the years.

Los Angeles City Hall - Downtown LA

Another notable building is the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Walt Disney Concert Hall - Downtown LA

Walking around and seeing empty lots and abandoned buildings you can see that this was city that needed saving.

Jesus Saves - Downtown LA

One thing I will say about empty lots is that the adjoining walls make an ideal canvas for giant street art.

Bare wall street art - Downtown LA

Los Angeles doesn’t have a lot in common with New York, but they both have a Broadway. There are many buildings along here that wouldn’t be out of place in New York either.

Broadway and 8th

One thing I love about the US are the old business signs. Los Angeles has an abundance of signs like this.

Coles French Dipped Sandwiches Sign - Downtown LA

My favourite is the New Million Dollar Hotel Rosslyn sign. Partly for its pop cultural heritage, being the setting for the U2 filmclip “Where the Streets Have No Name”. I also like it for its language. A million dollars must have sounded like a fancy amount of money when it was constructed in the 1930’s. Today I look up at the building, hold my pinkie to my mouth and say like Dr Evil: “One Million Dollars.”

New Million Dollar Hotel Rosslyn Sign - Downtown LA

There are a stack of buildings around Downtown like the Rosslyn Hotel, and many of them are being converted into apartments. When I was there the Rosslyn Lofts was advertising studios from $789 per month.

Rosslyn Hotel - Downtown LA

The Eastern Columbia Building is perhaps the cities finest Art Deco building and a real surprise that it survived the demolition mania of the 1960’s.

Eastern Columbia Building - Downtown LA

Also surviving the era of demolition are a good stock of cinemas in the movie palace style, such as the 1930’s era Los Angeles Theatre.

Los Angeles Theatre

Wandering around Downtown Los Angeles I noticed a distinct lack of Starbucks. I saw a couple around but not on every other corner like most cities in the US (not yet at least.) In the meantime there are some hipster cafes that are opening here, such as Coffeebar.

Coffeebar - Downtown LA

There aren’t many chain restaurants here either. The city still feels like it has an edge to it which has kept the chains – and gentrification – at bay. It is definitely changing, but for now you can still find taco stands like this.

Taco Shack - Downtown LA

Further reading: While I was in Los Angeles I stayed with a travel blogging friend. Melanie has compiled a comprehensive article on Downtown LA.

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: buildings, california, los angeles, urban design, usa

Comments

  1. camorose says

    September 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    Being from Northern California, I hate LA on principle–mostly because I spend my entire time in traffic or the horrors of LAX whenever I’m there. But this photo series really showed a lovely side to the city that perhaps I should explore a bit more πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      September 21, 2012 at 12:33 pm

      I know the horrors of LAX as well Christine. I’m a city walker and I prefer not to drive so I always find LA a hard city to love. Downtown has changed my view some what. It is worth checking out πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Ava Apollo says

    September 21, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    Love watching people explore my city. It’s not easy for an outsider to love so I’m glad you saw the beauty in it!

    Reply
    • James Clark says

      September 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

      I always like reading about peoples perspective of Melbourne (my old home city) and seeing what they see through new eyes. There is much to like about Downtown LA and I hope it becomes a popular thriving centre. I would like to spend more time there one day, if only I had time!

      Reply
  3. James Clark says

    September 21, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    Thanks for those links Melanie. I hope they are able to save what’s left. I was shocked to see what was knocked down, but then that has happened in every city around the world. Next time I’m in LA you’ll have to show me around πŸ™‚

    Reply
  4. Nicolas says

    December 28, 2015 at 4:56 pm

    –“New Million Dollar Hotel Rosslyn sign”
    Also used by Stone Temple Pilots in Interstate Love Song video, from behind.

    Reply
    • Nicolas says

      December 28, 2015 at 4:59 pm

      In fact, it looks more to be the one in STP video than the one in U2’s video.
      https://youtu.be/yjJL9DGU7Gg?t=36s

      Reply

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Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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