Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Skyline of downtown Los Angeles
Skyline of downtown Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. A central business district ( CBD) is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A metropolis (from the Greek μήτηρ mētēr meaning 'mother' and πόλις pólis meaning 'city/town' is a big City, in most cases with The area features many of the city's major arts institutions and sports facilities, a variety of skyscrapers and associated large multinational corporations and an array of public art, unique shopping opportunities and the hub of the city's freeway and public transportation networks.

Downtown Los Angeles is generally thought to be bounded by the Los Angeles River on the east, the U.S. Route 101 to the north, the 10 Santa Monica Freeway on the south and the 110 Harbor Freeway on the west; however, some sources including the Los Angeles Downtown News and Los Angeles Times[1], extend the area past the traditional boundary to include the University Park (encompassing the University of Southern California (USC) and Exposition Park, just south of the 10 Freeway) and Central City West (just west of the 110 Freeway) neighborhoods as a part of the downtown map. The Los Angeles River is a creek flowing through Los Angeles County California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley In the US state of California, US Route 101 (also known as Highway 101, The 101, or simply 101) is one of the last remaining and In the US state of California, Interstate 10, the major east-west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States, runs east from The Los Angeles Downtown News is a free weekly Newspaper in Los Angeles, California, serving the Downtown Los Angeles area The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily Newspaper published in Los Angeles California and distributed University Park is a historic neighborhood in Los Angeles California, a few miles south of Downtown Los Angeles. The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly Exposition Park is located in University Park Los Angeles California, across the street from the University of Southern California. Central City West is a name sometimes given to refer to the eastern edge of the neighborhood of Pico-Union in Los Angeles California.

Downtown Los Angeles is currently undergoing a transformation, with many historic buildings being converted into lofts, several retail businesses and restaurants opening, many new high-rise residential buildings being built and slated to be built, and with two star projects being built: L.A. Live and the Grand Avenue Project. LA Live is currently under construction in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The Grand Avenue Project (along with LA Live) is a project currently under development designed to revive Downtown Los Angeles.

Bunker Hill as seen from Los Angeles City Hall
Bunker Hill as seen from Los Angeles City Hall

Contents

History

U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles is the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River. (1,018 ft/310 m)
U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles is the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River. Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles California, is a short developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928 is the tallest base isolated structure in the world The US Bank Tower, formerly the Library Tower and First Interstate World Center, is a Skyscraper located at 633 West Fifth Street in downtown (1,018 ft/310 m)

Downtown Los Angeles was a premier attraction of the county and city. In terms of glamour particular during the middle 20th century, it was second only to Hollywood. The streets were home to the prime movers and shakers of Southern California with ornate and decorative banks, corporate headquarters, intermingled with major high department stores, restaurants, and boutiques all interspaced with family neighborhoods and diners.

Despite the common misconception that the city's sprawl is a product of the automobile and an immense freeway system, Los Angeles' famous "76 cities in search of a downtown" is due primarily to trains and iron rails, not cars and concrete. Long before the middle class could afford the luxury of private car ownership; long before the first shovel of dirt was turned for its first freeway, Los Angeles was a sprawling city.

By 1920, the city's private - and later - municipal rail lines were among the most far-flung and most comprehensive in the world. By that year, helped along by building height limits, relatively flat terrain, a steady influx of residents, and some very aggressive land developers, the city's metropolitan area was immense. Rail lines connected 4 counties with well over 1000 miles of track.

So, it was during the booming 1920s, when private automobiles moved from the play things of the rich to the work horses of the middle classes, the already sprawling Los Angeles was ripe for even further expansion. Prior to that time, most commuters, shoppers and theater-goers used streetcars and interurbans for transportation. With the automobile, those same (already far-flung) commuters, shoppers and theater-goers could hop in their cars and drive the growing network of streets and boulevards to their destinations. Witness the growth of department stores and specialty shops along the famous Wilshire Boulevard. By 1924, rail transit use had hit its peak. In the already-sprawling Los Angeles, the car was now king. The death of the city's rail system was not caused by some sinister collusion of car makers, tire makers and oil companies. The system was already dying - though there's probably some truth to the accusation that the movers and shakers in auto, tire and oil industries may have, in the late 1940s, added the final nails to rail's coffin.

Downtown's corporate headquarters also slowly dispersed to outer areas or dissolved in the de-industrialization of the age. Banks and some financial institutions remained but as the population left the central core toward cheaper, newer housing in the suburbs, demographics also changed. Desegregation of the school districts proved the final end for the remaining white middle classes who soon fled to the suburbs.

With crime, vagrancy, and gang activity increasing, the remaining major upscale department stores shuttered in the 1970s and 1980s, while a few moved into newer more modern office, hotel and shopping complexes in the Financial District. A department store is a Retail establishment which specializes in selling a wide range of products without a single predominant merchandise line. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Macy's Plaza and Robinsons-May (now closed and operating as a second Macy's store) are just two examples. Macy's is a chain of mid-range American Department stores Its Flagship store in Herald Square, New York City has been billed The May Department Stores Company was a national Department store chain in the United States, founded in 1877 by David May

With the movement of the city's commercial center westward, downtown Los Angeles was devoid of much nightlife from the 1950s until the residential population increase of recent years. What little nightlife existed was concentrated in Little Tokyo. Little Tokyo, also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnic Japanese American district in Downtown Los Angeles and one of only three official

However, some corporations retained their headquarters in the downtown area while new service-oriented institutions replaced the industrial- and agricultural-oriented ones which preceded them, thereby keeping downtown Los Angeles from sinking into obscurity. In 1999, the Los Angeles City Council passed an adaptive reuse ordinance, making it easier for developers to convert vacant office and commercial buildings (many of which were the lavish headquarters buildings of banks and other financial institutions in the early part of the Twentieth Century) into renovated lofts and well-secured luxury apartment complexes. The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California United States Adaptive reuse is the process of adapting old structures for new purposes Loft mainly refers to two different types of rooms It typically refers to an upper story or Attic in a Building, directly under the Roof Ironically, among those moving into these buildings were workers fed up with the city's notorious traffic commuting to and from the suburbs which was the result of the planning of the '50s that precipitated urban flight in the first place. Commuting is the process of Travelling between one's place of residence and regular place of work South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. Another sign of the fledgling Downtown renaissance is that the Ralphs supermarket chain opened a new store in Downtown in late July 2007. Ralphs Grocery Company is a major Supermarket chain in the Southern California area Ralphs had its first store in Downtown in the late 1800s and closed its doors in Downtown in the 1950s as the suburbs grew.

The residential population of Downtown LA has boomed since 2005, with a 20% jump in two years (2005-07) to 28,878 residents. [2] This number surpassed previous estimates and, with units under construction, pushes the estimated Downtown population to more than 40,000 by the end of 2008 instead of 2015, the previous target milestone.

However, reflective of the growing outsourcing of service jobs and the continued dearth of retail shopping customers with disposable income sufficient to maintain merchants, at the same time, the number of jobs in the downtown area has dropped to 418,000 in 2005, down from a high of 605,000 in 1995. [2]

On August 7, 2007, the Los Angeles City Council approved sweeping changes in zoning rules for the downtown area and including a corridor extending from Downtown south along Figueroa Street to Exposition Park and USC. The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California United States [1] Strongly advocated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the changes allow larger and more dense developments downtown; developers who reserve 15% of their units for low-income residents are now exempt from some open-space requirements and can make their buildings 35% larger than current zoning codes allow. Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio Ramon Villar Jr on January 23 1953 or Tony Villar, is the mayor of Los Angeles California. [1]

Subdistricts

Union Station.
Union Station. For other meanings see Union Station. See List of Union Stations for a specific station with the name

Attractions

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bunker Hill
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bunker Hill

Some of the buildings of the Downtown core date from the early 1900s, with the topmost floors of most of the office buildings at mostly 13 stories. The Arts District, previously known as the Warehouse District occupies the eastern side of Downtown Los Angeles. The Civic Center neighborhood of Los Angeles California is the administrative core of the City of Los Angeles and a complex of City, State Gallery Row is a strip in Downtown Los Angeles that the City Council designated in 2003 to promote the concentration of art galleries along Main Street and Spring Street and to create a thriving The Fashion District is a design warehouse and distribution nexus of the clothing accessories and fabric industry in Downtown Los Angeles. The centerpoint of Downtown Los Angeles, the Financial District was built adjacent to and parallel with the redevelopment of Bunker Hill. The Toy District is located in the industrial section of eastern Downtown Los Angeles roughly bounded by Los Angeles Street on the West Third and Fifth Streets to the North and South The Jewelry District is a section of Downtown Los Angeles where a variety of jeweled products are sold Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles California, is a short developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. Chinatown in Los Angeles, California ( is a Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles that was founded in the late 1800s See also South Park (disambiguation 052607-010-SouthParkLAjpg|thumb|250px|none|The Located in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, the Old Bank District is a group of early 20th century Commercial buildings many of which have been Downtown Los Angeles ' Historic Core consists of the area between Hill and Main streets on the west and east and 3rd and 9th street on the north and south Skid Row is an area of Downtown Los Angeles. The area officially known as Central City East is home to one of the largest stable populations of homeless persons in the Central City West is a name sometimes given to refer to the eastern edge of the neighborhood of Pico-Union in Los Angeles California. Little Tokyo, also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnic Japanese American district in Downtown Los Angeles and one of only three official The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Between 1917 and 1957, a city ordinance capped building heights at 150 feet, leading to an unusually homogenous skyline. This has been mistakenly said to be due to earthquakes, but it was done to keep a uniform height in the area and to prevent Manhattan style congestion. However, starting in the 1950s developers started either ignoring the ordinances, challenging them in court, or receiving exemptions of dubious legality from the city commissioners. Thus, while the Los Angeles City Hall was the tallest building for decades at 454 ft. Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928 is the tallest base isolated structure in the world , that ended with the development of the 18 Story California Bank Building at 600 S. Spring. That building is now being converted into condos. The unique Bradbury building, built in 1893, has a courtyard with spectacular wrought iron staircases and railings, and a glass and iron ceiling over the spacious courtyard. The Bradbury Building is an Architectural Landmark in Los Angeles California, in the United States. The Grand Central Market captures an early 1900s feel, with customs in distinct contrast to the current supermarkets of the U. Located at 317 S Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, Homer Laughlin Building is a Los Angeles landmark building best known for S.

Skyline

Main article: Skyscrapers in Los Angeles
As the civic center and county seat, downtown Los Angeles is home to many courthouses and law offices.
As the civic center and county seat, downtown Los Angeles is home to many courthouses and law offices. This list of tallest buildings in Los Angeles ranks Skyscrapers in the U
John Ferraro Building, Bunker Hill
John Ferraro Building, Bunker Hill

Despite its relative decentralization, Los Angeles has one of the largest skylines in the United States, and its development has continued in recent times. John Ferraro ( May 14 1924 &mdash April 17 2001) served as a Los Angeles City Councilman from 1966 until his death The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The skyline has seen rapid growth due to improvements in building standards, which has made some buildings highly earthquake-resistant. Many of the new skyscrapers are housing, especially in Downtown--what the office tower rush in the 1970s and 1980s added to the skyline is now occurring again in the form of residential construction. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Some current and upcoming examples of skyscraper construction include:

This is a brief list, and there are many more. The recent "rise" of South Park, the low-rise district of downtown south of Bunker Hill (roughly south of 8th Street and north of the Santa Monica Freeway), is bringing skyscrapers that will be high enough in quantity and height to create an extended downtown skyline within a few years from 2005. See also South Park (disambiguation 052607-010-SouthParkLAjpg|thumb|250px|none|The Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles California, is a short developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. In the US state of California, Interstate 10, the major east-west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States, runs east from Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Due to numerous films, television, and music videos that are shot in Los Angeles and uses downtown Los Angeles as the backdrop, the Los Angeles skyline is probably one of the most recognizable skylines in the world.

The skyline of Los Angeles consists of several different clusters of high-rise buildings; most of these clusters are not directly connected to each other. Century City and the parts of Wilshire Boulevard through Westwood together form a rather busy skyline that is often confused with the downtown skyline. Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west Arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. Westwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States.

Building height limits: 1904-1957

The first height limit ordnance in Los Angeles was enacted following the completion of the 13 story Continental Building, located at the southeast corner of 4th and Spring Streets (presently converted to use as lofts by developer Tom Gilmore). Tom Gilmore (born 1953 is a Los Angeles California real estate developer The purpose of the height limit was to limit the density of the city. There was great hostility to skyscrapers in many cities in these years, mainly due to the congestion they could bring to the streets, and height limit ordinances were a common way of dealing with the problem. In 1911, the city passed an updated height limit ordinance, establishing a specific limit of 150 feet. Exceptions were granted for decorative towers such as those later built on the now-demolished Richfield building and the still-extant Eastern-Columbia Building.

Though there is a common belief that the limits were imposed due to the risk of earthquakes, it is notable that the first limit was imposed in 1904, two years before the San Francisco earthquake, and that even after that seismic event it was long believed in Los Angeles that Southern California (despite historic evidence to the contrary) was not subject to such violent temblors. The motivation behind height limits was primarily to limit congestion in the city.

It is also notable that building height limits were first imposed long before the 1928 City Hall was built, so the story that they were enacted in order to keep the City Hall the tallest building in town are also mere legends. The 1911 ordinance was repealed in 1957. The first private building to exceed the old limit was the 18 story California Bank Building, located at the southeast corner of 6th and Spring Streets in Downtown Los Angeles.

Emergency services

Fire services

The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 9 (Central City) and Station 3 (Civic Center/Bunker Hill), serving Downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department ( LAFD) also known as the Los Angeles City Fire Department to distinguish it from the Los Angeles County Fire Department

Police services

The Los Angeles Police Department Central Community Police Station serves the neighborhood [1].

Education

Downtown is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Los Angeles Unified School District (" LAUSD " is the largest (in terms of number of students Public school system in California.

Belmont High School and Miguel Contreras Learning Complex jointly serve a portion of Downtown. Belmont Senior High School is a public High school located at 1575 West 2nd Street in the Westlake community of Los Angeles, California, Miguel Contreras Learning Complex (MCLC is a high school in Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States.

Santee Education Complex serves another portion of Downtown. Santee Education Complex is a secondary school located at 1921 South Maple Avenue in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Downtown Magnets High School is serves the entire county, as students are bussed in from many different places. Downtown Magnets High School (also known as Downtown Business Magnet It is the closest to the center of Downtown LA, with students being able to walk to the Richard Riordan Los Angeles Central Library, the third largest public library in the country, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels among many other landmarks. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, also called the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a Cathedral church of the United States in Los Angeles

Loyola High School

Pop culture

Downtown Los Angeles is one of the most popular film locations in the world because of its proximity to the motion picture and television production industry. Because it looks like a typical North American city, for audiences across the globe it is both instantly recognizable and somewhat generic. Movie makers have been able to make downtown L. A. look like just about any other city in any historical era. For example, on streets with older buildings developed in the early part of the 20th Century, downtown is often a stand-in for old New York. On other streets with modern developments, downtown has been the backdrop for stories taking place in the future. It is also a very popular location for filming television commercials, especially for cars.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Sharon Bernstein and David Pierson, L.A. moves toward more N.Y-style downtown, Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2007. South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South LA, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown
  2. ^ a b Cara Mia DiMassa, Downtown L.A. has gained people but lost jobs, report says, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2007.

External links

Downtown Los Angeles as seen at street level.
Downtown Los Angeles as seen at street level.
Wikitravel is a Web -based project "to create a free, complete up-to-date and reliable worldwide travel guide.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic