Historic Core | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Historic Core Location within Downtown Los Angeles | |
| Coordinates:34°03′13″N118°14′43″W / 34.05349°N 118.245319°W /34.05349; -118.245319 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Los Angeles County |
| City |  Los Angeles |
| Named | 1990s |
| Zip code | 90013 |
| Streets | 3rd Street,4th Street,Broadway,Hill Street,Main Street,Olympic Boulevard,Spring Street |
TheHistoric Core is a district withinDowntown Los Angeles that includes the world's largest concentration of movie palaces,[citation needed] former large department stores, and office towers, all built chiefly between 1907 and 1931. Within it lie theBroadway Theater District and theSpring Street historic financial district, and in its west it overlaps with theJewelry District and in its east withSkid Row.
The Historic Core falls into two business improvement districts, Historic Core (south of 4th St.) and Downtown LA (from 2nd to 4th Street). The total Historic Core is thus composed of:[1][2][3]
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The Historic Core was the central business district of the city from the first decade of the 1900s through the 1950s. Before 1900the business center was further north, betweenthe Plaza and about Third Street.[4][5] Starting in the 1950s what is now the Historic Core started to decline. Upscale shopping had moved west to the Seventh & Hope area starting in the 1920s, and toMid-Wilshire by the 1930s. When consumers lived and worked near the prolific streetcar lines, it was relatively easy for them to reach downtown, the hub of both theLos Angeles Railway andPacific Electric systems. Now, an ever increasing number of consumers had cars, lived further away from downtown, and due to the proliferation of suburban retail, were able to shop, dine, and go to the movies there without worries about downtown parking and traffic congestion. In addition, after World War II,financial institutions moved several blocks to the west, ending up onFigueroa Street, Flower Street, andGrand Avenue. In the 1950s the Historic Core became the center ofLatino retail and entertainment in the city, e.g.: theMillion Dollar Theatre featured the biggest names in the Spanish language entertainment world. This paralleled the generalwhite flight occurring inCentral Los Angeles at the time, which saw Broadway become a major center for Latino life in the city.
Althoughprostitution anddrug dealing had occurred in the area as far back as the early 1920s, they became epidemic in the 1960s. The area's movie palaces, built between 1911 and 1931, becamegrindhouses. The last of them closed in the 1990s; theOrpheum Theatre recently underwent a complete restoration at a cost of several million dollars, and is now used for major movie premieres (such as "Collateral" in 2005), celebrity events (Michael Jackson's birthday party), comedy shows (Bill Burr), fashion shows, concerts (Opeth), and plays. Most of the older buildings have stores that cater to the Latino immigrant working class.
The developingstreet gang problem inLos Angeles which began to worsen at the end of the 1960s and got considerably worse in the late 1970s, also hurt traditional commercial activity in the area, as it did much of downtown. While theLAPD indicates that the area is a sort of neutral zone, which has not been claimed by any single gang and random gang violence is rare, the area remains one of the major areas for street drug sales in Los Angeles.
In 1999, theLos Angeles City Council passed an Adaptive Re-Use Ordinance, allowing for the conversion of old, unused office buildings to apartments or "lofts." DeveloperTom Gilmore purchased a series of century-old buildings and converted them into lofts near Main and Spring streets, a development now known as the "Old Bank District." Other notable redevelopment projects in the Historic Core have included theEastern Columbia Building, Broadway Trade Center,Higgins Building,The Security Building, thePacific Electric Building,The Judson, and theSubway Terminal Building. As of 2005, redevelopment projects in downtown Los Angeles have been divided about evenly between rentals andcondominiums; though projects near theStaples Center arena in theSouth Park neighborhood have been overwhelmingly dedicated to condominiums.
Landmarks are shown on the following street grid of theHistoric Core ofDowntown Los Angeles.
Abbreviations
Text, colors etc.
| Architectural styles | Architects
|
|
| H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T H I L L S T R E E T | 250 333 W. 3rd | 259 | B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y B R O A D W A Y | 257 | S P R I N G S T R E E T S P R I N G S T R E E T S P R I N G S T R E E T S P R I N G S T R E E T S P R I N G S T R E E T S P R I N G S T R E E T | 256 | M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T M A I N S T R E E T | L O S A N G E L E S S T R E E T L O S A N G E L E S S T R E E T L O S A N G E L E S S T R E E T L O S A N G E L E S S T R E E T L O S A N G E L E S S T R E E T | |||||
| THIRD ST. | THIRD ST. | THIRD ST. | THIRD (orig. MAYO)ST. | ||||||||||
301–313 | 300–310
312-6 | 301–311 Washington B. |
now Reagan State Bldg 1990 | 300–4 | 126–30 E. 3rd | Toy District | |||||||
| Angels Flight |
1897 JPHomer Laughlin B. | 318-22 | 337-41 |
Round House
| 312–324 Rotunda (rear) now 🅿️ | ||||||||
357–361 | 331–335 355–363 | 340 Trustee B. 1905 PB 350 O. T. Johnson Block1895 It RBY 356 O. T. Johnson Bldg | 361 | 354 | 103 W 4th | 332–346 | |||||||
| FOURTH ST. | FOURTH ST. | FOURTH ST. | FOURTH ST. | ||||||||||
1915: 401–23 B'way, 414–34 Hill were joined as the: The Broadway Department Store1896–1973 | 400 | Angelus Hotel1901–56d JP[32] | 400 410 | 401 411 | 400 | Toy District | |||||||
417 | 436–8 St. Clarenden H. | 443–7 | 424 | 433 | 416 Dog Park | ||||||||
(411 W. 5th) | (515 W. 5th) | Chester Williams B.1926 | 453 | 460 | 451 | 121 E. 5th | |||||||
| FIFTH ST. | FIFTH ST. | FIFTH ST. | FIFTH ST. | ||||||||||
| PERSHING SQUARE |
| Fifth Street Store ds | 518 Roxie Th. 528 Cameo Th. 534 Arcade Th. now retail | 501 | 510 | 514 | 500–2 | 501 | |||||
538–546 Spring Arcade 537–543 543 | 514 | 545 | 550 | ||||||||||
550 | 555–61 | 556–558 | (215 W. Spring) | 548 | 560 | ||||||||
| SIXTH ST. | SIXTH ST. | SIXTH ST. | SIXTH ST. | ||||||||||
Consolidated Sun Realty B.1931 635 | 606 608 | 601-605 615 | 600–610 616 620 630 Palace Th.1911 GAL RR 644 648 | 601 621 625 639 | 600 618 626 632–4 | 610 640 | |||||||
651–7 |
Bullock's ds1907 P&B | 656–666 (219 W 7th) | 215 W. 7th 651–3 | 650 | |||||||||
| SEVENTH ST. | SEVENTH ST. | SEVENTH ST. | SEVENTH ST. | ||||||||||
701 | 703 State Th. | 700 720 722 740 | 701 | 700–4 | 700 | ||||||||
[37] 757–61 | Union Bank | 756 | 755 | 756 Great | |||||||||
| EIGHTH ST. | EIGHTH ST. | EIGHTH ST. | EIGHTH ST. | ||||||||||
825 |
May Company B. | 802 Tower Th. 812 Rialto Th. 842 Orpheum Th. | 200 W. 8th | 810 | 824 | ||||||||
855 | 850 | 849 | 833 | 851 | 860 | ||||||||
| NINTH ST. | NINTH ST. | NINTH ST. | |||||||||||
| small retail | 912 939 | 901 1927 W&E/CHC SG 929 | 910 | ||||||||||
| OLYMPIC BL. | (formerly TENTH ST.) | OLYMPIC BL. | |||||||||||
1000 53 fl 🏠 | 1026 S. BroadwayBroadway Palace Apts2017 S. Hill 1001–51 | ||||||||||||
1038 1927 SOC | 1023 1925 W&E BA | ||||||||||||
1061 | 1050 | 1060 | |||||||||||
| ELEVENTH ST. | ELEVENTH ST. | ELEVENTH ST. | |||||||||||
1111 | (146 W. 11th St.) 1101 | 1100 | 1101 | ||||||||||
The Law Students' association of this city has selected permanent rooms in Pridham block, No. 317 South Main street.
Historic Core Business Improvement District
34°03′13″N118°14′43″W / 34.05349°N 118.245319°W /34.05349; -118.245319
