Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
173
Moments
A Great Day in Downtown L.A.
If you haven't heard the news, it's hip to hang out in Downtown L.A. these days.
What used to be a ghost town after 5pm is speedily becoming a trendy destina-
tion as chic hotels (the Standard), bars (Edison), and venues (Walt Disney Con-
cert Hall) spr out up like w eeds between all those tall buildings . Start the da y
early with a 9¢ cup of c offee and cinnamon- dipped French toast at
Philippe
The Original
(p. 145). At 10am, join the gaggle for a highly entertaining
Inside
Historic Downtown L.A. Walking Tour
hosted by Red Line Tours (p. 180) fol-
lowed by a self-guided audio tour of the spectacular
Walt Disney Concert Hall
(bring a camera).
Time for lunch, so spend a few hours noshing your way through the dozens
of ethnic f ood stalls at the
Grand Central Market
(p. 244). A fter lunch, the
options abound: Wander the
Jewelry District
(a must-do is the beautiful open-
air
St. Vincent's Jewelry Center,
the largest jewelry complex in the world) for
great finds on cheap c ostume jewelry, or tour the poignant
Japanese Ameri-
can National Museum
(p. 172) or
Museum of Contemporary Art
(See below).
If you did your homework, you already made reservations for a play or perfor-
mance at the
Dorothy Chandler P avilion
or
Walt Disney Concert Hall
(see
chapter 10). After the show, it's time for a late-night bite at the suave
Noé
res-
taurant at the Omni hotel (p. 96), which stays open until midnight during per-
formances. Cap off this g rand day with a mar tini at the r evolving
BonaVista
cocktail lounge
high atop the Westin Bonaventure Hotel (p. 98).
Tip:
Be sure
to get a D ASH shuttle map (p . 36) so y ou can get ar ound Downtown quickly
and easily; rides are only 25¢.
7
elderly Japanese-American citizens who w ere interred in these camps during the war .
It's a very popular museum, attracting mor e than 150,000 annual visitors.
Tip:
Don't
miss the museum store, which carries excellent gift items ranging from teapots to cool
origami sets.
369 E. 1st St. (at C entral Ave.), Los Angeles.
&
213/625-0414.
www.janm.org. Admission $9 adults, $5
seniors, $5 students and kids 6-17, free for kids ages 5 and under; free to all the 3rd Thurs of each month
and every Thurs after 5pm. Wed-Sat 11am-5pm (Thurs until 8pm). Closed Jan 1, July 4,Thanksgiving, and
Dec 25.
The Museum of C ontemporary A rt, L os A ngeles (MOC A)
MOCA is Los
Angeles's only institution devoted to art from 1940 to the present. Displaying one of the
country's finest collections of American and E uropean ar t, the MOCA holds r oughly
5,000 objects of various visual mediums—ranging from masterpieces of abstract expres-
sionism and pop ar t to r ecent works by young and emerging ar tists—housed in thr ee
distant buildings. The Grand Avenue main building (250 S. G rand Ave.), which has
received numer ous design accolades, is a contemporar y r ed sandstone str ucture b y
renowned J apanese ar chitect Arata I sozaki. Also at the G rand Avenue location is the
museum's popular r estaurant,
Patinette
Café
(Mon and F ri 11am-5pm, Thurs 11am-
8pm, Sat-Sun 11am-6pm;
&
213/626-1178
), the casual-dining cr eation of celebrity
chef Joachim Splichal.
