Visiting LA? Why downtown is the best place to stay

By George Hobica Tribune News Organization Did Dorothy Parker the steadfast New Yorker and celebrated wit once wisecrack that L A is suburbs in search of a city or is the quip merely attributed to her Whatever the development it is a fact that Brave New World author Aldous Huxley in called L A nineteen suburbs in search of a metropolis both disparagements implying that the city is an amorphous amoeba without a nucleus Related Articles Spirit Frontier offer steep air expedition discounts in Black Friday dogfight Paris Louvre museum to increase ticket price for visitors from outside the EU German Baumkuchen tree cake survived a mishap and world wars to become a Japanese favorite Preparing to analysis abroad requires knowing what might go wrong during and after the trip Cruise lines unveil Black Friday Cyber Monday deals Why all the shade Sgt Joe Friday played by Jack Webb in the s crime procedural Dragnet knows better when he informs us over the establishment shots in his I ve-seen-it-all monotone This is the city Los Angeles California What we are seeing in those opening moments is downtown L A where Los Angeles began on September Downtown in its golden age was where people shopped in grand department stores all gone now worked in the booming fossil fuel industry for the likes of Standard Oil its architecturally central headquarters still stands and flocked to premieres in over a dozen ornate motion picture palaces a great number of of which you can still visit And although downtown has gone through boom and bust in contemporary times things are on the upswing and DTLA in local shorthand is the the majority sensible economical and convenient place to stay if you re visiting for next summer s FIFA World Cup the Olympics and Paralympics or for multiple other reasons especially if you don t want to drive or take car services everywhere That s because downtown is the largest part thought-provoking and walkable part of L A County Bonus lodging costs are lower than in places such as West Hollywood or Beverly Hills And more to the point downtown is the hub of a growing community transportation configuration allowing you to see the rest of L A without dealing with the city s notorious traffic for the bargain price of per ride or cents cents off-peak if you re a senior Now about that transit system Sure L A is a great big freeway like the song says but before it was taken over by asphalt it was a great big streetcar line In fact by the s it had the most of extensive grid of urban rail in the world over miles of it That s why the street urchin in s Who Framed Roger Rabbit asks the broke private detective played by Bob Hoskins who joins him for a free ride on the rear bumper of a Downtown trolley Hey mister ain tcha got a car Hoskins is dismissive Who requirements a car We have the best residents transportation system in the world One of the film s subplots involves the dismantling of that Pacific Electric Red Car system by nefarious means and its replacement with fume-belching buses But this isn t the stuff of fiction In the U S Justice Department sued General Motors they made buses you see and other conspirators for antitrust violations accusing them of intentionally buying and destroying streetcar systems in L A and other cities One estimate puts the cost of rebuilding what they ruined in L A alone at billion The cost of completing the county s much smaller urban rail system in the modern day now just six lines It s estimated at billion but it will likely cost more Those six lines and their stations there will be a quiz are the A C E and K which are light rail basically high-speed trolleys and the B and D lines which operate full-sized heavy subway trains Metro also runs bus routes a large number of of them originating from downtown There s even a direct highway to Disneyland the which takes about minutes door to door That ll be please By the way the treasurer of GM who spearheaded the conspiracy was fined less than that Several Angelenos have never used population transit This is a fact selected are proud of That s maddening because the system small as it is is literally pretty great It s new and it s clean The underground stations are really quite beautiful But the automobile is the preferred transportation here As you ride Metro aboveground you will pass freeways clogged with stop-and-go cars and feel superior and wise So don t listen to natives who insist you can t get there by Metro because they just don t know A checkered past But let s be clear downtown has had its ups and downs over the years Two years after Charlie Chaplin and partners opened their -seat United Artists movie palace cum office building on downtown s Broadway the center of the city s nightlife the stock region crashed And then came years of Depression and war Federal policies contrived by the highway lobby the largest part powerful pressure group in Washington encouraged the move from downtown to the suburbs by funding the Interstate Highway System and providing GIs returning from the Second World War with subsidized loans to buy new homes in those suburbs The same suburbs that the urban rail system was meant to utility had it survived Population figures tell the story In people lived here By just did In current times thanks to the construction of new luxury high-rises and the conversion of historically key office buildings to residential about call downtown home I m one of them Things are looking up again after the COVID shutdowns a curfew and other blows The homeless situation is improving Office workers have returned High-end retail outlets like Apple s multimillion dollar renovation of the historic Tower Theatre have appeared And yet for specific residents change isn t happening fast enough and past setbacks have metastasized A friend the very person who years ago had encouraged me to move to DTLA blurted Don t talk to me about downtown I ve given up when I advised him I was writing about the district Had there been a phone to slam down he might have slammed it His reluctance to speak seemed to be trending Hoping to get various commentary about where DTLA was heading I left multiple voice mails sent multiple texts tried LinkedIn and email everything but showing up in person I considered it but the DTLA Alliance downtownla com which does a good job keeping the streets clean the Central City Association of L A ccala org which lately disclosed a -day plan to improve the area and the Downtown Residents Association whose mission is to create a connected caring civically engaged urban region dtlara org did not get in touch And I get it When earlier this year Samuel Patrick Groft of no known address and the possessor of an impressive rap sheet chainsawed down to stubs a dozen or so of our majestic Indian laurel fig trees ficus microcarpa I almost lost hope too For his tree slaughter he s being held on an unusually high bail about three times what s typical for manslaughter in L A County That s how outraged people were For several it was the dozens of graffiti vandals who climbed a trio of abandoned luxury high-rises and defaced floor after floor causing millions in damage Once seen as a sign of downtown s renaissance they re now called the Graffiti Towers a local eyesore enjoying worldwide infamy as Cassy Horton co-founder of the Residents Association narrated the Los Angeles Times I mention all this in the spirit of full disclosure but please don t let it discourage you There are just too various good reasons to base your stay here What follows is a guide to all the great things you can enjoy in downtown and all over L A on foot or by Metro all without driving Within downtown proper Countless of L A s best experiences require just a short walk or subway ride from your DTLA hotel recommended for proximity to Metro the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites the Wayfarer Downtown L A the historic Biltmore Los Angeles and if you d like a fully-equipped gym and huge pool with that The Los Angeles Athletic Club Museums only-in-L A shopping live music walking tours the world s shortest railway You ll never want to leave downtown The Grammy Museum Interactive exhibits and displays that immerse visitors in music history mechanism and pop way of life A or E to Pico Station or the B or D to th Street Metro Center Station grammymuseum org The Broad Museum The building itself is a work of art Timed entrance tickets are free to book but not required B or D to Civic Center Grand Park station or C or E to Grand Ave Arts Bunker Hill station broad org Santee Alley days a year rain or shine this open-air passageway offers bargain-priced clothing accessories potions and lotions toys and gadgets from over independent vendors A to San Pedro Street station fashiondistrict org santee-alley The Museum of Contemporary Art Grand Avenue MOCA Known for its focus on American and European art created since B or D to Civic Center Grand Park station use Hill and st Street exit or C or E to Grand Ave Arts Bunker Hill moca org Walking tours The Los Angeles Conservancy offers two-hour walking tours year-round on Saturdays Choose from Historic Downtown Broadway and the Historic Theatre District the Modern Skyline the Biltmore Hotel and Union Station Tours leave from the Central Library which also gives tours B or D to Pershing Square station laconservancy org Disney Hall One of architect Frank Gehry s various gems home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Enjoy a concert or guided tours are offered seasonally C or E to Grand Ave Arts Bunker Hill station or B or D to Civic Center Grand Park station musiccenter org The Last Bookstore books square feet Vinyl too Largest in the state Reputedly the most-photographed bookstore anywhere B or D to Pershing Square station lastbookstorela com visit Angels Flight Railway This -year-old funicular takes passengers on a short ride between Hill Street and Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill The lower terminus is near Grand Central Realm B or D to Pershing Square station or to Civic Ctr Grand Park station if starting at the top angelsflight org Grand Central Industry The dozens of casual dining options at this long-running space attract hordes of locals and tourists B or D to Pershing Square station grandcentralmarket com Mariachi Plaza Especially on weekends come to hear live Mariachi bands E to Mariachi Plaza station mariachi-plaza com El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Historic site featuring a collection of th-century buildings including the oldest house in Los Angeles and a Mexican marketplace with traditional crafts food stalls and occasional live performances A B or D to Union Station elpueblo lacity gov Geffen Contemporary at MOCA The only artist-founded museum in L A dedicated to collecting and exhibiting contemporary art A or E to Little Tokyo Arts District station moca org Japanese American National Museum The national repository of Japanese American history Closed until late A or E to Little Tokyo Arts District station janm org Chinatown Asian cuisine and shopping for bargain clothing jewelry and collectibles E to Chinatown station Chinatownla com Little Tokyo All-you-can-eat sushi dozens of independent stores and the latest collectible crazes from Japan in a pleasant walkable neighborhood A or E to Little Tokyo Arts District station littletokyola org Rooftop dining Residents and visitors take advantage of downtown s mild weather and skyline views by eating and drinking al fresco Perch is perched atop the Pershing Square Building A date-night special occasion kind of place it offers French classics Spire on the rd floor of the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is the highest rooftop bar in the Western Hemisphere and one of the highest in the world Its dinner menu focuses on prime cuts of beef B or D to Pershing Square station for both perchla com ihg com Beyond downtown While DTLA has much to experience Metro can take you to multiple other places further afield and to even more once the system is expanded over the next insufficient years Los Angeles International Airport An easy journey to from DTLA Take Metro to from Union Station and then connect to the FlyAway bus organization or take Metro all the way By January a new people mover will connect to the new LAX Metro TransitCenter taking passengers directly to terminals Until then E to the K or A to the C to the LAX Metro station then free shuttle bus to terminals flylax com Frank Lloyd Wright s Hollyhock House This is Wright s first commission in L A The adjacent art park is also worth seeing B to Vermont Sunset station hollyhockhouse org Santa Monica It s minutes to the famous Santa Monica Pier and the popular farmers industry E to Santa Monica station santamonica gov Universal Studios Hollywood World-famous studio tour plus rides and other attractions B to Universal City Studio City station then free shuttles universalstudioshollywood com Hollywood Bowl In recent days added to the National Register of Historic Places this famous amphitheater carved into a dell in the Hollywood Hills attracts chosen of the biggest names in entertainment with its amazing acoustics One of the quintessential L A experiences B to Hollywood Highland station and then a free shuttle bus hollywoodbowl com Hollywood and Vine Stroll the Hollywood Walk of Fame and then watch a first-run movie at the historic El Capitan Before each show an organist rises from beneath the stage his back to the audience plays selected favorite Disney tunes on his golden Wurlitzer the theater is owned by the Mouse then descends B to Hollywood and Vine station walkoffame com elcapitantheatre com Watts Towers interconnected sculptural towers and other art works designed and built by Sabato Rodia an Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason A to rd Street Watts Towers station Wattstowers org Long Beach The big draw here is the Queen Mary a retired ocean liner with a rich history and seasonal events A to Long Beach station queenmary com The Huntington The gardens are the main attraction but the library and museum are also rewarding A line to Del Mar station Take a car organization or walk for the last miles huntington org Exposition Park A cluster of museums where you can easily spend the whole day California Science Center California African American Museum Natural History Museum of LA County and the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opening E to Expo Park USC station californiasciencecenter org caamuseum org nhm org lucasmuseum org Coming attractions By or the D line will be extended to Beverly Hills and beyond Of module you can reach these venues this day by a combination of rail and bus but once the train line is finished it ll be much easier to do so from Downtown in one trip The Original Farmers Region Hugely popular covered area dating from produce vendors and butchers lots of places to eat and shop D to Wilshire Fairfax station and then a -minute walk along Fairfax farmersmarketla com Los Angeles County Museum of Art The largest art museum in the western U S with more than objects D to Wilshire Fairfax station lacma org Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Exhibits screenings Dorothy s ruby slippers and more D to Wilshire Fairfax station academymuseum org Petersen Automotive Museum Hundreds of classic and iconic vehicles in the permanent collection plus special exhibits D to Wilshire Fairfax station petersen org La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Chosen unfortunate prehistoric creatures came to their ends in the black goo here A can t-miss for the kids D to Wilshire Fairfax station tarpits org Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills Although Beverly Hills fought tooth and nail to reroute the subway to anywhere else it s happening Millionaires Movie stars Sorry no hillbillies D to Wilshire Rodeo station rodeodrive-bh com Tribune Content Agency LLC