Hemispheres Magazine

DAY TWO / Relax over breakfast at The Blvd., in the Beverly Wilshire; then head downtown. Travel eastward along Wilshire Boulevard, originally planned as the city’s most impressive thoroughfare. Vestiges of its prominence remain in several grand buildings, including the art-deco, green terra cotta Wiltern Theatre at Western Avenue.

After arriving downtown, park under Pershing Square, dominated by a sun-bleached purple campanile, part of Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta’s “some hate it, some love it” makeover. Walk along largely Latino Broadway, enjoying the boisterous collection of T-shirt shops, panadarias, and music stores blaring cumbia music. Amid this scene, the landmark Bradbury Building maintains a serene presence. Built in 1893, it

features one of the most dramatic yet delicate interiors in the city. It has been immortalized in many films, most famously Blade Runner Next door, walk through the open-air Grand Central Market, LA’s oldest and largest marketplace. With sawdust on the floor and a mix of vendors selling wares such as Salvadoran pupusas, exotic tamarind candy, and bulk Asian spices, it’s no wonder this is a favorite place for Angelenos to shop, eat, and explore.

Exit onto Hill Street to Angels Flight, a steep funicular built in 1901 to access the then-tony neighborhood of Bunker Hill. With Angels Flight closed for restoration, walk up the adjacent stairs to Bunker Hill, now a collection of office buildings and home to two of the city’s most popular cultural venues. Tour the Museum of Contemporary Art, with its fine collection of contemporary American and European works. Stop for lunch at the museum’s stylish café, Patinette. Just north on Grand Avenue is one of LA’s newest cultural landmarks, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, often considered a variation on architect Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. Angelenos are quick to point out that Gehry actually designed Disney Hall before the Bilbao. The lobby’s wildly raked walls and undulating surfaces convey the full effect of Gehry’s genius.

Explore the hall’s gardens; then walk several blocks to the twin Wells Fargo towers and stroll through the plaza. The cluster of dark-glass cylindrical towers ahead is the Bonaventure Hotel. If they look like something out of a sci-fi film, that’s because they are, having served in numerous 1980s films and ads as emblems of the future. On Fifth Street, the 1926 Central Library, crowned with a colorful tile pyramid, has aged significantly better. The soaring rotunda is decorated inside with stunning 1920s murals depicting the history of California.

Walk down LA’s version of the Spanish Steps, beside U.S. Bank Tower, the West Coast’s tallest building. Nearby is the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, downtown’s grand dame, known for its elaborate 1920s décor and hand-painted ceilings. Walk through the gilded lobby and back to Pershing Square.

Now you’re off to the Hollywood & Highland Center to catch a shuttle to see the most-anticipated Hollywood comeback of the decade: the restored, art deco–style Griffith Observatory. Even if your idea of a star is more George Clooney than Beta Centauri, the view of the city is definitely worth the trip. (Timed tickets are required for entry; they’re easily obtained by your hotel concierge.)

Hollywood is known as the comeback capital, but it also has a few notables with real staying power—or “legs” as they say in this town. There’s no finer example than the Chinese Theatre, which opened in 1927 and still looks much as it did then: a hallucinatory structure of carved dragons, red lacquer, pagodas, and every other imaginable Chinese motif. But most everyone in front of the theater is looking down—at the footprints, hand-prints, and autographs left in the cement by celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant.

Next, you’re ready for dinner at another Hollywood comeback. This time it’s the former Hollywood Athletic Club, where silent screen–era royalty—including Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino—pumped iron. Now, it’s Social Hollywood, a stunning if improbable fusion of ’20s-era glam, Moroccan casbah-chic, Bauhaus aesthetics, and an eclectic, international menu.

After dinner, travel several blocks to the Arclight Cinemas. Once you’ve indulged in the Arclight, you won’t want to return to the local cineplex. And why would you? Arclight’s amenities include a full bar, restaurant, reserved seating, and a concierge in each theater.

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