OK. I think anyone who knows me knows of my love of all things Downtown Los Angeles. Therefore when a very good friend of mine sent this article (see below) to me about all the fun things to do in Downtown I leaped with joy. I've done or been to about 90% of the things listed and would like to share this information with my fellow Angelenos. It is my mission in life to spread the gospel of Downtown in any and every way possible.
Oh, and I'd link the article but you have to be a member of nytimes.com (of which I am) in order to view it and I didn't want everyone to have to deal with that extra step.
Happy reading and exploring!
p.s. guess where I'll be spending at least one day this weekend?
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New York Times
November 12, 2004
36 HOURS In Downtown Los Angeles
By JANELLE BROWN
UNTIL a few years ago, downtown Los Angeles's mix of bustling ethnic enclaves, homeless encampments, towering high rises and derelict Deco hotels mostly seemed ancillary to the city: your average Angeleno rarely visited and tourists were as rare as dodo birds. But that was then. Thanks to a massive revitalization project based around new architectural landmarks — the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels — and a growing underground art scene in Chinatown, downtown is quickly becoming a destination for culture hounds and lovers of the avant-garde. Artists are crowding into newly renovated lofts, and the music and theater crowds buzz in at night to dine at new restaurants and catch a show. And for sheer diversity — from the mirrored edifices of its skyscrapers to the moldering grand theaters of Broadway, the serenity of Little Tokyo to the chaotic garment district — no other district of Los Angeles can compare.
Friday
4 p.m.
1) Avant Art
Kick off your trip with a stroll through the picturesque walking streets at the north end of Chinatown, now the center of the city's cutting-edge art world. Tucked between the mah-jongg parlors and Asian antiques stores on Chung King Road are hipster galleries like 4-F, Black Dragon Society and peres projects, featuring everything from nude photography to Seussian yarn sculptures. Be sure to check out Munky King (441 Gin Ling Way, 213-620-8787) for the collection of vinyl dolls from Japan and elsewhere; and finish with a cocktail at the Mountain (473 Gin Ling Way; 213-625-7500), the glowing-red art bar next door. Gallery maps are free at any gallery on Chung King Road.
8 p.m.
2) Fresh Mex
One of downtown's most popular post-work destinations is the open-air patio at Ciudad (445 South Figueroa Street, 213-486-5171), where you nosh on empanadas and spiced almonds while taking in the restaurant's bold Miró-esque art. The colorful pan-Latin restaurant is known for its top-notch organic produce, its extensive tapas menu and its minty mojitos. Favorites are the paella á la Valenciana with five kinds of seafood ($29), and the Peruvian sea bass ceviche marinated with lime, ginger and aji amarillo chile ($10.50).
Saturday
7:30 a.m.
3) Say It With Flowers
Despite downtown's decidedly urban edge, you can still start your day with flowers. The merchants inside the bustling Los Angeles Flower Market (213-622-1966), which lines Wall Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets, at the north end of the garment district, sell acres of eye-popping regional flora and fauna, from pepper trees to birds of paradise, at bargain-basement prices. Most business is wholesale — this is where local florists snap up two-dozen long-stemmed roses for a measly $15 — but on Saturday mornings, the public can pay $2 for admission to these sprawling warehouses.
9 a.m.
4) Un Café, S'il Vous Plaît
Just east of the garment district, the homey Angelique Café (840 South Spring Street, 213-623-8698) is a favorite with downtown's Francophiles, thanks to the homemade charcuterie and authentic escargot. The rustic two-story cafe — a little wedge of a building with a picket fence enclosing its outdoor dining area — is a great place to wake up with an enormous cappuccino and a French omelet ($5.99).
10 a.m.
5) Hit the Sidewalks
When downtown Los Angeles initially exploded, in the 1920's, Art Deco was the architecture of choice. As a result, the district has numerous examples of beautiful — if smog-damaged and often poorly maintained — Deco skyscrapers and buildings. The Los Angeles Conservancy's walking tours of downtown will take you into structures like the William Fox Building, the early home of the Fox entertainment empire; and the monolithic Eastern Columbia Building, which at 13 stories once towered over downtown. Other tours, $10 each, cover City Hall, the theater district and downtown's "marble masterpieces." Reservations and directions are at www.laconservancy.org/tours.
1 p.m.
6) Relax in Little Tokyo
By this point, your feet may be complaining. Make your next stop the hushed Japanese Village Plaza, in Little Tokyo, where $15 will buy you a 15 minute shiatsu massage at I Chiropractic (131 Japanese Village Plaza, 213-687-7497). While you're in the neighborhood, cool off with a green tea gelato at Mikawaya Sweet Shop (118 Japanese Village Plaza, 213-624-1681), and browse the imported Japanese dolls at Bun-ka Do (340 East First Street, 213-625-1122).
3 p.m.
7) Make MOCA
Adjacent to Little Tokyo is one of the Museum of Contemporary Art's two downtown outposts, which together house arguably the best modern art collection on the West Coast. The museum's space at the Geffen Contemporary (152 North Central Avenue), once a police garage, is now a capacious warehouse of video installations and Pop Art; the compact MOCA Grand Avenue, formerly known as MOCA California Plaza (250 South Grand Avenue), a few blocks farther west, offers revolving exhibitions of contemporary artists like Robert Smithson and Ed Ruscha. One ticket, $8, gets you into both museums (213-626-6222, www.moca-la.org).
8 p.m.
8) Feast for the Senses
Finish off your day of art and architecture with a sculptural meal. Tucked into the third floor of the Omni Hotel Los Angeles is Noé (251 South Olive Street, 213-356-4100), one of the city's most buzzed-about restaurants, where the experimental courses are as likely to come in shot glasses as on plates (prawn martinis?). Inside the sleek steel-and-glass restaurant, gourmands can attack a classic mimosa salad with mango frappé ($12) or duck with roasted pear and blueberries ($28) beneath a wall of blue glowing Eiffel Towers. If you're feeling truly adventurous, try the tasting menu, $65 for six courses.
10 p.m.
9) Down the Hatch
After your meal, journey five blocks south of Noé to the Golden Gopher, hidden on one of downtown's shadier streets (417 West Eighth Street, 213-614-8001). Once upon a time, the Gopher was a speakeasy; these days, the Bourbon poured at this bôite is on the up and up. The remodeled space is appropriately dark and secretive, with red brick walls and capacious brown leather booths; that said, the clientele — an eclectic mix of preppies in post-work suits and fierce girls with studded leather purses — is definitely there to see and be seen.
Sunday
9 a.m.
10) A Modernist Cathedral
Wash away any sins of the night before with a trip to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (555 West Temple Street, 213-680-5200). The modernist cathedral, designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect José Rafael Moneo and completed in 2002, is an angular alabaster chamber of light. Keep an eye out for John Nava's series of tapestries, "Communion of Saints."
10 a.m.
11) Get Into a Gehry
A few blocks south of the cathedral, downtown's other new landmark is the Walt Disney Concert Hall (111 South Grand Avenue, 213-972-7211). Designed by Frank Gehry, it opens to the sky like an enormous stainless steel flower. If you haven't made time for an evening concert (the schedule is at wdch.laphil.com), you can still get inside. A 45-minute self-guided walking tour ($10) admits you to the inner sanctum of the building; the budget-minded can still climb the outside stairs for a view of downtown. For architecture buffs, it's a must-see. Tours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. except on matinee days, when they end at 10:30 a.m.
Visiting Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is about a half-hour drive northeast of Los Angeles International Airport, in light traffic. A rental car is recommended. Public transportation and taxis can be rare, and pedestrians can expect to encounter transients on many streets after dark.
Once the headquarters of Superior Oil, the Standard Downtown (550 South Flower Street, 213-892-8080) is a hotel whose rooms are filled by photographers, musicians and models, who particularly love the mod rooftop pool with views over downtown. Its 207 rooms are $99 to $500 a night.
The Figueroa Hotel (939 South Figueroa Street, 213-627-8971) opened in 1925 and is still a destination downtown. Its eclectic Moroccan-themed spaces are filled with ottomans, pink bougainvillea and Moroccan tile. Its 285 rooms are $98 to $225.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
