Downtown Los Angeles

Los Angeles skyline during sunset as seen from behind the Observatory in Griffith Park in October 2006

Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The area features many of the city's major arts institutions and sports facilities, sightseeing opportunities, a variety of skyscrapers and associated large multinational corporations and an array of public art and unique shopping opportunities. Downtown is the hub of the city's freeway network and growing Metro public transit system.

Overview

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, 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.

Downtown Los Angeles is currently undergoing a transformation, with many historic buildings being converted into lofts, many new high-rise residential buildings being built and slated to be built, and with two major construction projects: L.A. Live and the Grand Avenue Project.

History

Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles

Angels Flight

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)

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, in mileage even rivaling that of New York City, as shown (and parodied) in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. 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 four counties with over 1,100 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. Macy's Plaza and Robinsons-May (now closed and operating as a second Macy's store) are just two examples.

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.

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. 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. Another sign of the fledgling Downtown renaissance is that the Ralphs supermarket chain opened a new store in Downtown in late July 2007. 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. 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.

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. Strongly advocated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the changes allow larger and denser 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.

Attractions

Union Station Area and Olvera Street

Los Angeles Union Station

• On the northeastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles, the bustling Los Angeles Union Station (known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations") serves as the region's main transportation hub, with the convergence of six commuter rail lines, two subway lines, a light rail line, Amtrak service and multiple local and regional bus services. The station, opened May 1939, is a massive building in the Art Deco, Moorish and Spanish Mission styles, that serves a growing rail and bus passenger market. The Los Angeles Conservancy offers guided tours of Union Station for a small fee. Station grounds include soaring ceilings, deep leather-and-wood chairs, and two adjoining greenspaces and fountains flanking the main passenger concourse.

• Across Alameda Street from Union Station is the historic center of the city, enshrined as Olvera Street, a collection of historic shops, restaurants and museums, as well as La Placita Olvera and Our Lady Queen of the Angels Church.

• The Old Plaza Firehouse is a museum dedicated to historic firefighting artifacts and memorabilia, including historical maps of the city of Los Angeles.

• The Chinese American Museum is located in the historic Garnier Building and features exhibits detailing the lives of Chinese Americans in early California as well as contemporary works by Chinese American artists.

• One block north at Alameda and Main streets is Philippe the Original, a 1908 eatery that lays a competing claim (along with Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet) to the invention of the French dip sandwich. Philippe's is among the oldest eateries in the city.

Chinatown

Chinatown

North and west of Union Station lies Chinatown, a mixed-use district of restaurants, nightlife, art galleries, trinket shops, a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system and residences.

• Centered along North Broadway and North Hill Street, Chinatown Central Plaza, also known as "New Chinatown," is the central gathering place in the neighborhood.

• Los Angeles State Historic Park, Downtown's largest greenspace, lies north of the Metro Gold Line Chinatown Station on North Spring Street.

• Operated by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, the Chinatown Heritage & Visitors Center is open to the public and aims to share the Chinese-American history of the Los Angeles area.

Civic Center

Caltrans District 7 headquarters

Los Angeles Civic Center is home to several federal, state and municipal administrative buildings, including the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, the Caltrans District 7 headquarters, and Los Angeles City Hall. The main office of the Los Angeles Times is also located in the district.

• The Los Angeles Mall (park) stretches between City Hall on the east and the Music Center on adjoining Bunker Hill. Plans call for a 16-acre replacement park, with public input currently being sought on a design by Rios Clementi Hale Studios. The plan includes a large community gathering space at the foot of City Hall, new gardens and green space, and an overhaul of the existing fountain.

• An observation deck on the 27th floor of City Hall is open to the public on weekdays.

• The new Los Angeles Police Department Police Administration Building, designed by DMJM Architects, is set to replace the aging Parker Center, which is slated for demolition.

Bunker Hill and Grand Avenue

The DWP John Ferraro Building

Bunker Hill is the cultural heart of Los Angeles, with several arts schools, theaters and performance venues along Grand Avenue. Guided tours of the neighborhood are provided by the Los Angeles Conservancy for a small fee. The neighborhood is accessible via the Metro Red and Purple lines at the Civic Center Station[2].

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bunker Hill

• Central Los Angeles Area High School Number 9, a new performing arts school on Grand Avenue, is scheduled to open in September 2009. At $232 million, the high school is among the most expensive ever built in the United States and features a futuristic post-Modern design by Austrian architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au. The project is noted for its conical theater, spiral tower facing the 101 Freeway and glass-and-steel entryway on Grand Avenue.

• Acting as the headquarters of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at Grand Avenue and Temple Street was completed in 2002 after the nearby St. Vibiana's Cathedral was damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The 58,000 square-foot complex can hold 3,000 attendees and was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo in a post-Modern style. A plaza and small park are open to the public.

• The Los Angeles Music Center is a complex of music and theatrical halls on the Grand Avenue cultural corridor between Temple Street to the north and Second Street to the south.

• In 2003 the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall opened as the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, increasing the number of major theaters at the Music Center to four. A pocket park and garden sit atop the hall. Also housed in the building is the smaller REDCAT Theater and art studio. Audio and guided tours are provided by the Music Center.

• Architecture firm A.C. Martin designed the 1961 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power headquarters building at the intersection of First and Hope streets, which was later renamed the John Ferraro Building after the late John Ferraro, a former Los Angeles City Councilman. Its iconic modern architecture and backlit fountains form the backdrop of many movies, television shows and commercials.

• South of the Music Center is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), LA's only museum dedicated solely to contemporary artworks produced after 1940; and the Colburn School of Performing Arts.

• The Water Court at California Plaza is a dining and performance complex adjacent to MOCA. Free outdoor concerts are scheduled during the summer, operated by the nonprofit Grand Performances. Many restaurants have recently opened in the surrounding area.

• Recently undergoing load testing, the historic Angels Flight Funicular Railway sits at the eastern portion of California Plaza. Since closing in 2001, efforts to restore and operate the twin rail cars Olivet and Sinai have progressed steadily, and Angels Flight is projected to reopen in late 2009, restoring a vital transportation link to the Historic Core neighborhood.

Little Tokyo

"Ramen Row" in Little Tokyo

Weller Court in Little Tokyo

Despite the suburbanization of Southern California's Japanese Americans over the past several decades, Little Tokyo remains the cultural heart of the Japanese American community. The neighborhood is home to several Buddhist temples, dozens of shops, restaurants and taverns, two museums, and a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system.

Little Tokyo is accessible via the Metro Red/Purple Line Civic Center Station. The neighborhood's own light-rail station on the Metro Gold Line opens June 26, 2009, when the Metro Gold Line Eastside extension project is completed.

• Weller Court is a retail complex anchored by Marukai Market at the intersection of Second and San Pedro streets. Three levels of Japanese-themed shops and restaurants face an interior courtyard.

• Pedestrian activity in the neighborhood is focused around the Japanese Village Plaza, an open-air shopping area spanning First and Second streets. The center is home to Nijiya Market, Mikawaya Ice Cream, Yamazaki Bakery and several other stores and eateries, as well as the landmark watchtower on First Street.

• Historic First Street is an active restaurant row, with many establishments specializing in Japanese ramen noodles. Fugetsu-do, a century-old establishment that specializes in mochi, a Japanese rice-based snack, is located on this corridor.

• The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is Little Tokyo's largest cultural facility and plays host to several exhibits detailing the plight of Japanese American citizens during the World War II era, as well as historical perspectives and contemporary works by Japanese American artists.

• Little Tokyo is home to a secondary campus of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Geffen Contemporary, though the campus is currently closed to the public due to budget cutbacks.

Historic Core and Old Bank District

Old Bank District in Downtown LA

Grand Central Market

The Historic Core neighborhood is a heavily residential neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, and many of those residences are adaptive reuse loft units created from formerly vacant historic commercial and office buildings. Guided tours of the Historic Core are offered by the Los Angeles Conservancy for a small fee.

The neighborhood is accessible via the Metro Red/Purple Line Pershing Square Station.

• The Old Bank District, centered around Fourth and Main streets, is a mixed-use, residential district in Downtown. Developers have purchased many historic buildings and converted them into lofts under the city's adaptive reuse ordinance. At the same time, a growing number of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars are contributing toward the revitalization of this neighborhood. The Old Bank District is also home to the Museum of Neon Art (MONA).

• Gallery Row is an art gallery district in the Downtown Historic Core. Starting with three art galleries in 2004, Gallery Row claimed 48 art galleries as of 2008. The Downtown Art Walk is held on the Second Thursday of every month from 12 - 9 pm, and attracts thousands of people to the area.

• The Bradbury Building, built in 1893, is the oldest office building existing in Los Angeles and features an interior courtyard with spectacular wrought-iron staircases and railings, and a glass-and-iron ceiling.

• Grand Central Market, an open-air produce market and food court, captures a multi-ethnic, early 1900s feel, with vendors selling produce, spices, and ethnic meals in the ground floor of the 1905 Homer Laughlin Building.

• Cole's is the oldest existing restaurant in Los Angeles, opening in 1908. Known for its French dip sandwiches, along with Philippe's to the north, the restaurant and bar recently underwent a restoration with a new kitchen, chef, and restored bar.

• The Broadway Theatre District is a collection of historic movie palaces, some of which are undergoing renovation for use as performance spaces. Guided tours of the Broadway Theatre District are offered by the Los Angeles Conservancy for a small fee.

The Financial District

Financial District of Downtown LA

South of Bunker Hill is the Financial District of Downtown Los Angeles, the center for corporate headquarters and skyscrapers in Los Angeles. The neighborhood is accessible via the Metro Red/Purple/Blue Line 7th Street/Metro Center Station.

• The Library Tower, now known as the U.S. Bank Tower, is the seventh tallest building in the United States, and the tallest building between Chicago and Auckland at 310 m (1018 ft) tall. Built in 1989, it was initially called Library Tower because the purchase of the air rights from the Los Angeles Central Library, located across the street, were used to allow a building of such height to be built.

• At the base of Bunker Hill and the Library Tower lie the Bunker Hill Steps, a classically designed stairway consisting of 103 steps connecting the Financial District to Bunker Hill. The Bunker Hill Steps are often described as Los Angeles's version of Rome's "Spanish Steps."

• After suffering two arson fires in 1986, money from air rights purchased for the construction of the Library Tower was used toward expanding and renovating the Richard Riordan Central Library, which was built in 1926 in ancient Egyptian revival style. The library is the third largest in the United States. An ornate rotunda and exhibition gallery greet visitors on the second floor.

• Adjacent to the library is Maguire Gardens, a public greenspace and sculpture garden at the intersection of Fifth and Flower streets.

• The Millennium Biltmore Hotel is one of the grandest hotels in Los Angeles and opened in 1923. The Beaux-Arts style architecture and several historic ballrooms are a draw for sightseers and tourists. Guided tours are offered by the Los Angeles Conservancy for a small fee.

South Park

L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles

South Park is a growing residential and entertainment neighborhood consisting of the Los Angeles Convention Center, Staples Center and the mixed-use L.A. Live entertainment campus. The area has seen a revival due to an increase in new residential buildings and restaurants.

South Park is accessible via the Metro Red/Purple/Blue Line 7th Street/Metro Center Station and Metro Blue Line Pico/Chick Hearn Station.

• The L.A. Live campus consists of over one dozen restaurants, an ESPN Zone arcade, the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre, the 2,300-seat Club Nokia performance venue and nightclub, and the Latin-themed Conga Room nightclub.

• The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, opened in 2008 in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of the Grammy Awards. The museum features many interactive exhibits, music memorabilia, and learning opportunities.

Public Transportation

Current Los Angeles Metro System Map

Local and Regional Service

Downtown Los Angeles is the center of the region's growing rail transit system, with six commuter lines operated by Metrolink, and two subway lines, two light rail lines and local and regional bus service operated by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).

Major subway and light rail stations in Downtown include Chinatown Station, Los Angeles Union Station, Civic Center Station, Pershing Square Station, 7th Street/Metro Center Station, and Pico/Chick Hearn Station.

• The first leg of the modern Los Angeles metro rail system, the Metro Blue Line light rail, debuted in 1990, followed by the Metro Red Line subway in 1993 and the Metro Gold Line light rail in 2003.

• Metro operates an extensive bus network, including Metro Local, Metro Express commuter lines, and Metro Rapid buses with signal priority and limited stops.

• Los Angeles Department of Transportation operates seven local DASH shuttle lines in Downtown.

Amtrak

Metro Gold Line light rail line

Amtrak operates intercity passenger train service on five routes through Los Angeles Union Station: The Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle.

Connection with Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

Los Angeles Union Station main passenger concourse

Though there is currently no direct rail connection between Downtown Los Angeles and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) operates a direct shuttle every 30 minutes between Los Angeles Union Station and airport terminals, named the LAX FlyAway.

Future Transit Expansion in Downtown Los Angeles

• An eastern extension of the Metro Gold Line light rail is currently under construction and will be completed June 26, 2009. The extension project continues tracks through Union Station south on a viaduct over the 101 Freeway through Little Tokyo. The line then turns east through the Downtown Arts District and Boyle Heights, terminating in East Los Angeles, an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County.

• Another light rail project, the Metro Expo Line is currently under construction. The project would connect 7th Street/Metro Center Station in Downtown Los Angeles with Culver City via the former Pacific Electric Railway Santa Monica Air Line right-of-way.

• Los Angeles Union Station is set to be a major stop on the future California High-Speed Rail project, which is expected to begin construction in 2012. The project would connect Northern and Southern California via the San Joaquin Valley, with service averaging 220 miles per hour.

• Work is underway to bring streetcar-style trolley service to Downtown Los Angeles via Broadway, connecting the L.A. Live development with the Grand Avenue cultural corridor and Bunker Hill. The project is currently projected to be operating by 2014.

• Metro is currently in the planning phase for the Regional Connector Transit Corridor project. The line would connect the Metro Gold Line light rail, the Metro Blue Line light rail and the future Metro Expo Line light rail via an underground tunnel, increasing capacity at nearby subway stations and allowing for one-seat rides through Downtown Los Angeles. Three new stops would be added: Fourth and Flower streets, Bunker Hill, and Second and Main streets.

Subdistricts

Wells Fargo Center

• Arts District
• Broadway Theater and Commercial District
• Bunker Hill
• Chinatown
• Civic Center
• Fashion District
• Financial District
• Flower District
• Gallery Row
• Historic Core
• Jewelry District
• Little Tokyo
• Old Bank District
• Skid Row
• South Park
• Toy District

Skyline

Main article: Skyscrapers in Los Angeles

The AT&T Building flanked by several skyscrapers.

Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Residences at L.A. Live under construction

Despite its relative decentralization, Los Angeles has one of the largest skylines in the United States, and its development has continued in recent times. 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. Some current and upcoming examples of skyscraper construction include:

• Grand Avenue Project, designed by architect Frank Gehry, will include a 40-50-story iconic tower at the corner of Second and Grand.[3] The project has been delayed due to funding [4]
• LA Live, a multi-phased development that includes a Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott Hotel hybrid, is scheduled to open in phases in late 2009 and 2010. The project's main tower has reached the 54th and final floor.
• South, a tri-tower complex (13-, 19-, and 23-story towers) called Elleven, Luma, and Evo spanning the block from 11th Street and Grand Avenue to 12th Street and Grand Avenue.
• Metropolis, a mixed-use tri-tower (38, 47, and 52 stories, respectively) at Francisco and Ninth Street.
• Park Fifth Residential Towers, currently on hold pending financing.
• Concerto a 28-story residential tower, now open.
• 717 Ninth Street, a 35 story residential tower, is scheduled for completion in late 2009.

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. 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.

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). 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.

Education

Colburn School of Performing Arts

University of Southern California (USC)

Primary and Secondary Schools

Downtown is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

• Belmont High School
• Edward R. Roybal Learning Center
• Miguel Contreras Learning Complex
• Central Los Angeles Area High School #9
• Santee Education Complex
• Downtown Magnets High School
• Loyola High School

Colleges and universities

• The Colburn School of Performing Arts
• Los Angeles Trade-Tech College
• Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
• University of Southern California
• Loyola Law School
• Mount St. Mary's College
• The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

Pop culture

Downtown Los Angeles is naturally one of the most popular film locations in the world. 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.

• The 1971 film, The Omega Man is set in Downtown Los Angeles after a biological war leaves a sole human survivor. Figueroa Blvd., Wilshire Blvd., Third Street, Broadway and Eighth Street are prominently shown, along with several prominent towers under construction, notably the ARCO Towers, AON Tower, and the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Courts building.
• In the film Collateral downtown is the main setting for the film with a climactic car crash that happens on Figueroa street.
• In the film The Day After Tomorrow downtown is destroyed by an F-6 tornado while other tornadoes destroyed the rest of the city. Also one of Downtown's buildings, the 611 Place, is seen in the New York Skyline later in the movie.
• In the film Independence Day the US Bank Tower is destroyed, along with the rest of downtown Los Angeles by an Alien invasion.
• In Power Rangers: Wild Force, Animarium is setting by downtown Los Angeles.
• In the film Transformers a climactic battle is waged between the Autobots and the Decepticons in a fictional city mostly portrayed by recognizable Los Angeles streets and buildings, with some scenes shot in Detroit.
• In the film Dragon Wars, Dragons destroy downtown Los Angeles, and one dragon hangs onto US Bank Tower.
• In the video game Grand Theft Auto San Andreas an area of the city Los Santos is based on Downtown Los Angeles.
• In the music video A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton, she is seen performing on her piano through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles in the latter part of the video.
• The film Blade Runner is set entirely in and around Downtown Los Angeles, although its futuristic vision bears almost no resemblance to the modern Los Angeles.
• The video game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines uses Downtown Los Angeles as a setting.
• The Terminator movies take place in Los Angeles.
• The TV miniseries 10.5 shows the skyline collapse during the big 10.5 earthquake.

Emergency Services

Fire Services

The Los Angeles Fire Department operates the following fire stations in Downtown Los Angeles:

• Station 3 (Civic Center/Bunker Hill)
• Station 4 (Little Tokyo/Chinatown/Union Station/Olvera Street)
• Station 9 (Central City/Skid Row)
• Station 10 (Convention Center area)

Police Services

The Los Angeles Police Department operates the Central Area Community Police Station in Downtown Los Angeles. [5]

External links

File:City hall triforium.jpg

The Triforium sculpture with Los Angeles City Hall in the background

• Template:Wikitravelpar
• Central City Association of Los Angeles
• Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
• Downtown Los Angeles Guide
• Downtown Los Angeles Walking Tour
• Downtown Art Walk
• L.A.'s plan to revitalize downtown (Guardian.co.uk)