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 Most people who come to Los Angeles, or L.A.,
don’t
hang around Downtown.
After all, they don’t see any reason to — most of the really popular
spots they want to see are a good twenty minutes away.
To the west is the oh-so-famous Hollywood area; just beyond it is the
centre of decadent and indulgence, West Hollywood; further along is the
ostentatious eye-candy (both house and human) of Bel Air, Brentwood and
Beverly Hills; then the beachside attractions of Malibu, Pacific
Palisades and Santa Monica.
Nope, with so many places to check out, most visitors don’t give
Downtown much more than a quick glance. Which is a pity, really, as they
end up missing out on an area that has a fair bit of history, a smidgen
of charm, and unlike much of the city, a whole lot of soul.
Why isn’t Downtown…downtown?
Part of the reason why the area is so overlooked is because in L.A.,
Downtown isn’t anything like what most people would think of as
‘downtown’. It isn’t really the centre of the city and most people never
go there if they don’t need to. The way most people think of Downtown
(if they think about it at all) is as the area marked out on the map by
three freeways (the I-10, I-5 and US 101, if you must know) and the
oversized drainage canal which now passes off as the Los Angeles river.
If you’re wondering why that is, blame history: L.A. was the first major
town to come up just as the automobile was making its great impact on
American society, and city planners basically figured: ‘Hey, we’ll all
have cars in a few years, why build a city that’s all scrunched up
tight? Let’s spread it out a bit!” And so L.A. became one of the most
spread out, decentralized developments in the world, becoming not one
colossal city, but technically a conglomerate of 88 very different
cities spread out to the horizon. Understandably, in a city like this,
its almost impossible for any one area to be a proper ‘downtown’.
What’s so special about it?
Still, Downtown does have a few things to distinguish it from its fellow
cities. For one, it’s where all the tall buildings are. In any decent
movie featuring L.A., there’s always at least one wide angle city shot,
and the only tall spikes in the pancake flat skyline are the office
buildings clustered in Downtown.
Another unusual thing about Downtown is its hills — that is, it actually
has some, and fairly steep ones too, unlike the rest of city. The film
industry takes full advantage of the hills, as with a little change in
camera angles and some judicious editing, a quick two car jaunt down the
hill and round the block can be turned into a high speed chase up and
down every hill in sight. Quite often, you’ll find film crews blocking
off a road or two for a shoot, and if you’re lucky, you can even
volunteer as an extra and make some money on your holiday!
So what’s there to do in downtown?
There isn’t all that much to sight-seeing to do in Downtown, at least
not in the usual, “Oh, what a pretty place!” sense. There aren’t any
wide green parks or tree-lined boulevards in this part of town, and the
towering buildings tend to leave the streets in shadow most of the time.
Still, Downtown does have a certain charm.
The most popular place to start a tour of the area is at the Historic
Core, a quiet enclave where many of the buildings were built during the
heady days of the 1930’s and ‘40’s, when Downtown was still one of the
most posh and desirable residential addresses in the city. Many of the
preserved buildings are wonderful examples of the elegant Art Deco style
popular at the time and the most famous of these buildings is
undoubtedly the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. During Downtown’s heyday,
celebrities flocked to stay in its most beautiful hotel and even today,
the spectacular design and décor are worth a long look.
Since that time, the area has slowed down to become a very quiet, residential
and office area. Things may liven up in the future though, for many of
these historic buildings are now being converted into swanky apartments
and residences. As more people begin living in the area again, it may
just one day regain its former glory.
Connected to the Historic Core via an equally historic funicular track
is Bunker Hill, now known as the Financial District and the real reason
why Downtown is has a special status amongst its fellow cities. Bunker
Hill was once the home of the stars, before they moved west, but today
it is home to stars of a different kind. It is now the home of world
corporations and courthouses, the stomping ground of all those
high-priced lawyers, wheeling-dealing stock brokers and what-have-yous.
It is the towering offices on Bunker Hill which give Los Angeles its
famous skyline and it is the destination for the 300,000 commuters who
flood in and out of Downtown every work day.
There are a few other sight-seeing attractions in Downtown but
interestingly enough, the two most popular places have to do with
transportation — and not even with cars, L.A.’s most famous and
essential mode of transport. First, there’s Union Station, indisputable
the most famous railway depot in L.A.. This beautiful structure was the
last urban railroad station to be built in the United States, and its
well preserved 1940’s design has made it a favorite stage for many movie
scenes, most famously in Blade Runner, where the main hall was used as
the police station.
More contemporary, but still keeping to the Art Deco theme of the area,
is the Hollywood/Vine Metro Rail station. A part of the much maligned
underground railway system, the station is most famous for its tribute
to the city’s most famous industry. There are memorials to actors,
actresses and films everywhere, and on the platforms, you can look
overhead to see thousands of actual film reels mounted overheard.
Unfortunately, no-one knows just which films were turned into ceiling
ornaments.
Spending money in Downtown
There are plenty of things to do in Downtown, but the most popular one
is a very respected activity in L.A.: spending money. For that, there’s
no better place to begin than the Jewellery District. This very popular
attraction is a parallel, three block stretch along Broadway, Olive and
Hill Streets. Inhabiting the 30 or so buildings of the area is the
second largest assemblage of jewellers in the world. There are more than
5,000 jewellery shops in the District, all offering cutthroat wholesale
prices on precious gems, watches and fine jewellery. Buyers can often
walk away with a fine piece with discounts of anywhere from 50% to 70%.
The most popular place to buy jewellery from is the St Vincent Jewellery
Center on Hill Street, with over 450 tenants offering beautiful wares.
You almost definitely won’t have time to go through everything, and very
definitely won’t have enough money for it anyway, but it’s a great place
to go to be dazzled by all things glittery.
For more shopping, you can head over to the Fashion District. The area
spans some 82 blocks, so most visitors prefer to stick to Santee Alley
between Ninth Street and Olympic Boulevard, which is designed
specifically for retailers. This clotheshorse’s paradise is where al
fresco vendors and stores hawk greatly discounted clothing and
accessories from both known manufacturers and independent labels. This
is a place for serious shoppers — the huge number of outlets can be
overwhelming, and the prices sinfully tempting. The area is so
overwhelming, there’s even tours offered by Urban Shopping Adventures to
help bewildered visitors navigate around the district. Both small and
large groups are catered for, and you can do a walking tour, take a
limousine and best of all, get special discounts on the already low
prices!
Eating in Downtown
  For attractions of a different and tastier kind, you can head to Grand
Central Market. Built into the ground floor of the Homer Laughlin
Building on 317 South Broadway, this huge indoor bazaar is a favourite
with both locals and tourists. The locals come for the food, which can
be just about anything under the sun: Mexican tortillas, spices from the Ambon, tea from Sri Lanka and more, all offered by row upon row of
haggling vendors. The tourists come for the food too, for breakfast,
lunch or dinner, and also to take in atmosphere of the market itself,
which has changed little since it was built in 1917.
A little bit further north on South Broadway is another favourite eating
spot for locals: Clifton's Cafeteria. Opened in 1935 and now practically
a landmark, this three level cafeteria sports an interior that looks
like a redwood forest, complete with waterfalls and babbling brooks. Not
all its visitors like the decor or agree with the food, but enough of
them to make it the world’s largest public cafeteria, serving on average
1000 meals daily 7 days a week including holidays.
If you’d rather skip the cafeteria food and want something more
delectable, then Japanese Town, or J-Town offers some of the best sushi
in the city. That’s not an idle boast - many of the restaurants even
import their chefs from Japan to ensure authenticity. The sushi bars are
usually open until the wee hours of the morning, catering to homesick
Japanese businessmen and locals with a late night maki craving. You can
also drop by the historic Far East Café, which opened in 1935 and has
been a favourite filming location for movies and TV. If the timing is
right, you might even be there for the famous nine day Nisei Week
Festival and the two day weekend Tofu Festival.
Many people also pop into Chinatown for a bit of American-style Chinese
food. Unfortunately, despite its long and sometimes turbulent history,
the Chinatown of today is fairly small and dreary compared to its
counterparts around the world. Many of the Chinese immigrants now prefer
to settle down in the establish immigrant communities in the pleasant
suburbs of the San Gabriel Valley. Nowadays, Chinatown is more
Vietnamese then anything else, so if you want really good pho noodles or
Banh Mi sandwiches, that’s a good place to go.
The Financial District has an appropriately posh, bustling, businesslike
feel to it during the day. After 5 pm though, it’s a different story.
Everyone run home to the suburbs when the quitting bell rings and on the
weekends, a zombie army could probably march through the streets without
anyone noticing. If you’re in Downtown at night or on the weekends,
you’d have to look elsewhere for your excitement.
A place for culture
  You can do all the above in daytime, but what about after the sun goes
down? Well, though it may feel spookily empty, Downtown is also a good
place to go at night for if you want to absorb some culture (yes, it’s a
shock, but L.A. really does have some).
Here, in this most unlikely of
settings, sits the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a grand, world-acclaimed,
avant-garde structure of stainless steel sheathed concrete. It is now
home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Master
Chorale and the concerts and performances regularly staged draw a steady
audience to Downtown, even from as far away as Malibu.
There are plenty of other attractions in Downtown and it would take many
more pages to name them all. Most of them are only known to the locals
and the occasion well-read traveller who’s not afraid to go a little off
the beaten path. What they’ll discover within the few square miles of
Downtown is a world far different from the L.A. of popular television:
an area which, while it is little less glamorous and a little more
gritty, is also less artificial, less soulless and just as interesting.
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