Grand Avenue is a major north–south thoroughfare inLos Angeles, California. Primarily located indowntown'sBunker Hill,Financial, andSouth Park districts, the avenue features many of the area's most notable destinations, and also connects toCity Hall viaGrand Park.
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Originally called Charity Street (or Calle de la Caridad in Spanish), Grand Avenue was renamed byCity Council in 1887.[1] During this time, the avenue was home to many mansions and hotels, with most of the mansions converted into rooming houses or hotels in the early the 20th century.[2]
In the 1950s, the much of Grand Avenue was converted from residential to a financial district. As stated in theNew York Times, “first conceived in the 1950s by downtown power brokers likeBuffy Chandler, the wife ofNorman Chandler, who was then the publisher of The Los Angeles Times, the avenue was intended as a citadel of office towers and cultural monuments at the top of Bunker Hill.”[3] In order to do this, neighborhoods were bulldozed down, replaced by skyscrapers, freeway ramps, tunnels, parking lots, underground roadways, and streets.[4]
In 1966, theCivic Center was built between Grand Avenue andHill Street.[2]
In 2001, the Grand Avenue Committee was created with the goal of "uniting the separate government entities that often were at odds — the City and the County of Los Angeles — by bringing their representatives together in a joint powers authority focused on just one issue – reimagining Grand Avenue."[5] In 2005,Frank Gehry was hired to design an entertainment area and shopping complex, and this along with theWalt Disney Concert Hall were critical to the avenue's success.[6]
In 2022, theGrand Avenue Project was completed, further developing the avenue.[7]
The Los Angeles Dodgers2024 World Series championship parade was held down Grand Avenue. An estimated 225,000 fans attended the event.[8][9]
TheLos Angeles Music Center, located on the corner of Grand Avenue and1st Street is a performance arts complex that houses theAhmanson Theatre,Dorothy Chandler Pavilion,Mark Taper Forum,REDCAT, andWalt Disney Concert Hall. The Walt Disney Concert Hall, famous for its steel focused design,[10] was completed in 2003 and since then has paved the way for further developments in the area.[11]
Grand Park is a three block park that connects the Music Center on Grand Avenue withCity Hall onSpring Street. The park's redevelopment was a major part of the Grand Avenue Development Project.Grand Hope Park, the final landscape along theLos Angeles Open Space Network,[12] is also located on Grand Avenue.[13]
Two museums are located on Grand Avenue: theMuseum of Contemporary Art andThe Broad. The Broad was built as part of the Grand Avenue Development Project.[14]
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the largest church in California and sixth largest in the United States,[15] is located on the corner of Grand Avenue andTemple Street. Glory Church LA, the American English ministry of theKorean Glory Church, is also located on Grand Avenue, in theGrand Olympic Auditorium.[16]
California Plaza is an outdoor plaza on Grand Avenue, next toOne andTwo California Plaza.
TheMillennium Biltmore, the largest hotel in the United States west ofChicago when it opened,[17] is located on Grand Avenue and5th Street.Los Angeles Central Library and theGas Company Tower also abut Grand Avenue at this intersection.
Several higher education campuses are located on Grand Avenue, includingColburn School,Los Angeles Trade–Technical College,Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, andMetropolitan Junior College. High schools on Grand Avenue includeHigh School for the Visual and Performing Arts andOrthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet.
Dignity Health'sCalifornia Hospital Medical Center is located on Grand Avenue at14th Street.
Other landmarks on or abutting Grand Avenue include theWells Fargo Center,Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration,Stanley Mosk Courthouse,One Wilshire,South Park Lofts,Trinity Auditorium, and theLos Angeles branch of theFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Transportation is provided byLos Angeles Metro, and includes anA Line station,A and E Line station,J Line stops, and bus lines 37, 38, 55, 70, 76, and 78.[18]
While Charity street is certainly part of the historical record -- City Council officially renamed it on February 15, 1887 -- Faith street may just be a piece of storytelling legend.
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