| Length | 20.9 mi (33.6 km)[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| South end | Lomita Boulevard at theCarson–Wilmington line |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Mission Road /Valley Boulevard inLincoln Heights |
Main Street is a 21-mile-long (34 km) major north–south thoroughfare inLos Angeles, California. It serves as the east–west postal divider for the city and the county as well.[2]
From the northeast, Main Street begins as a continuation ofValley Boulevard west ofMission Road inLincoln Heights as 'North Main Street'.
Main Street entersDowntown Los Angeles passing by the edge of theLos Angeles Plaza. It continues through theCivic Center area, which is built on top of the site of the buildings — nearly all demolished — that in the 1880s through 1900s formed the city'sCentral Business District. At 3rd Street it enters theHistoric Core district. At 9th Street, it merges with Spring Street in Downtown LA, and betweenCesar E. Chavez Avenue and 9th Street, Main Street shares a one-way couplet with Spring Street.
Main Street continues south throughSouth Los Angeles and entersCarson 2 miles (3.2 km) north at the intersection ofLomita Boulevard. InWilmington Main Street moniker ends, the street continuing on as Wilmington Boulevard.
Pico House was a luxury hotel built in 1870 byPío Pico, a successful businessman who was the last MexicanGovernor ofAlta California. With indoor plumbing, gas-lit chandeliers, a grand double staircase, lace curtains, and a French restaurant, theItalianate three-story, 33-room hotel was the most elegant hotel in Southern California. It had a total of nearly eighty rooms. The Pico House is listed as aCalifornia Historical Landmark (No. 159).
Masonic Hall at 416 N. Main St., was built in 1858 as Lodge 42 of theFree and Accepted Masons. The building was a painted brick structure with a symbolic "Masonic eye" below the parapet. In 1868, the Masons moved to larger quarters further south. Afterward, the building was used for many purposes, including a pawn shop and boarding house. It is the oldest building in Los Angeles south of the Plaza.
TheMerced Theater, completed in 1870, was built in an Italianate style and operated as a live theatre from 1871 to 1876. When the Woods Opera House opened nearby in 1876, the Merced ceased being the city's leading theatre.[3] Eventually, it gained an "unenviable reputation" because of "the disreputable dances staged there, and was finally closed by the authorities."[4]
This two-story building at 507–511 N. Main St. houses part of theLA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which includes the Vickrey -Brunswig Building next door.[5] It is inscribed on its upper floor, and on 1890s maps it is marked, "Garnier Block" (not to be confused with theGarnier Block/Building on Los Angeles Street, one block away). Commissioned in 1883 by Philippe Garnier, once housed the "La Esperanza" bakery.[6]
This five-story brick building facing the Plaza at 501 N. Main St. housesLA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which also occupies thePlaza House next door. It was built in 1888 and combinesItalianate andVictorian architecture; the architect wasRobert Brown Young.[7]
The Sentous Block or Sentous Building (19th c., demolished late 1950s) was located at 615-9 N Main St., with a back entrance on 616-620 North Spring St. (previously called Upper Main St., then San Fernando St.). Designed in 1886 byBurgess J. Reeve. Louis Sentous was a French pioneer in the early days of Los Angeles.[8] TheSan Fernando Theatre was located here. The site is now part of the El Pueblo parking lot.[9][10]
This block is part of the site of the currentSpring Street Courthouse. Buildings previously located here include:
On this corner stood four buildings in succession, the first two of which had a key role in thehistory of retail in Southern California, as it was home to a number of upscale retailers who would later grow to be big names in the city, and some, regional chains.
South of the Baker Block stood buildings that are now the site of the northwestern-most part of theLos Angeles Mall:
TheLos Angeles Mall replaced these blocks; it is a small shopping center at theLos Angeles Civic Center, betweenMain andLos Angeles Streets on the north and south sides of Temple Street, connected by both a pedestrian bridge and a tunnel. It featuresJoseph Young's sculptureTriforium, with 1,500 blown-glass prisms synchronized to an electronic glass bell carillon. The mall opened in 1974 and includes a four-level parking garage with 2,400 spaces.
Currently, this site is the southernmost end of theLos Angeles Mall;Triforium is approximately on the site of Commercial Street.[29]
This block is, since 1928, the site ofLos Angeles City Hall
On the corner of Third and Main:[39]
Sources include the Clason map of Downtown Los Angeles:[40]
On the west side of Main St. south of 3rd Street were:
On the east side of Main St. south of 3rd Street were:

While theBroadway Theater and Commercial District several blocks west is famous enough to warrant constituting a National Register-listed historic district, Main Street was home to dozens of theatres and early cinemas as well. The peak era was the early 1910s, before the more upscale cinema market migrated west to Broadway. There were 27 theaters and cinemas running on Main in 1912. In 1939 there were still 18 operating between 2nd and 9th streets.[53]
The first 2 official Pharmaceutical doctors in Los Angeles, arriving in 1860/61.Both being German immigrants, were Theodore Wollweber at Main St. / Hall at 59and Adolph Junge at 99 Main Street. Junge was located at this address from 1861 until his passing in 1878, whereafter his son Ramon Junge continued the practice as his successor until ca. 1880.
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[80] | 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 | ||||||||
[85] 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 | ||||||||||
Main Street carriesMetro Local lines: 10, 33, 48, 55, 76, and 92; most of those lines run on Main Street in downtown only, while Line 76 serves Main Street inNortheast Los Angeles and Line 48 inSouth Los Angeles.TheA Line of theLos Angeles Metro Rail System meets Main Street at its intersection with North Vignes Street near theChinatown Station. The B and D lines are just past the intersection of Main Street and North Alameda Street nearUnion Station.[93][94]
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson–Los Angeles line | 0.0 | 0.0 | Lomita Boulevard / Wilmington Boulevard south | Southern terminus of Main Street, road continues as Wilmington Boulevard | |
| Carson | 0.7 | 1.1 | Sepulveda Boulevard | ||
| 3.8 | 6.1 | No access to I-405 north; I-405 north exit 36 | |||
| 4.0 | 6.4 | Broadway north | |||
| 5.2 | 8.4 | No direct entrance to SR 91 west, as this on-ramp connects to I-110 instead; exits from I-110 are via SR 91; SR 91 exit 7A | |||
| Carson–West Rancho Dominguez line | 6.2 | 10.0 | Alondra Boulevard | ||
| West Rancho Dominguez | 6.8 | 10.9 | Compton Boulevard | ||
| Los Angeles | 9.3 | 15.0 | Imperial Highway | ||
| 10.3 | 16.6 | Century Boulevard | |||
| 11.3 | 18.2 | Manchester Avenue | FormerSR 42 | ||
| 12.3 | 19.8 | Florence Avenue | |||
| 13.3 | 21.4 | Slauson Avenue | |||
| 14.2 | 22.9 | 46th Street / San Pedro Place toSan Pedro Street | |||
| 14.4 | 23.2 | Vermont Avenue | |||
| 14.9 | 24.0 | Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard | |||
| 15.2 | 24.5 | Broadway Place toBroadway / 36th Street / 36th Place | |||
| 15.4 | 24.8 | Jefferson Boulevard | |||
| 15.9 | 25.6 | Adams Boulevard | |||
| 16.4 | 26.4 | Washington Boulevard | |||
| 17.2 | 27.7 | Olympic Boulevard | |||
| 18.2 | 29.3 | 2nd Street | |||
| 18.3 | 29.5 | 1st Street | |||
| 18.4 | 29.6 | Temple Street | |||
| 20.9 | 33.6 | Mission Road /Valley Boulevard east | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
The Law Students' association of this city has selected permanent rooms in Pridham block, No. 317 South Main street.