Downtown Los Angeles Walking Tour
The best way to do this tour is to take the Metro Red Line downtown to the Pershing Square stop. You will see the Grand Central Market just to the North of 4th Street at 317 S. Broadway Street. The market is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Immediately across the street is Angels Flight, the funicular railway that was built in 1901, closed and was ressurected in the 1960s, closed and was ressurected in 1996, and closed again in 2001 following an accident that claimed one life. Go North on S. Broadway to 1st and then go West. The Frank Gehry designed Disney Hall will be impossible to miss on the horizon. Across the street is the original Music Center plaza, home to the Ahmanson, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. Continue North on Grand Avenue; the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which was dedicated in 2002, sits on a mighty parcel of land at Grand and Temple. To enter the Cathedral, go East on Temple and you will see the entrance to the courtyard. Wander about outdoors, stroll through the inside, or have a seat on the colorful patio--the people watching is incredible if you happen to catch a mass exodus! To get back to the Metro Red Line, exit and continue East on Temple, then go South on Hill; the Civic Center Station entrance is just a couple of blocks away. Or, head back down to South Broadway and check out any of the many sights and places to grab a bite to eat. You can take all this in in about two hours, not counting Red Line travel time and whatever you may decide to do after seeing the Cathedral. In any case, enjoy!
Grand Central Market and Angels Flight
The Music Center
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
All photographs are by Lindsay William-Ross
(c) 2005
Return to Previous Page
or LAist.com