Down Town Los Angeles

Spanish missionaries founded the Ciudad de Los Angeles on Olvera Street in 1871, today Little Mexico is located here. To the south the Financial District begins with the skyscrapers of Down Town. Down Town Los Angeles is currently experiencing a boom, with new office and residential towers rising into the sky. The currently tallest skyscraper in Los Angeles is the Wilshire Grand Tower, built in 2017, at 335 m. Before that, the First Interstate Bank (now the US Bank Tower) was the tallest building in the city with a hight of 310 m. The most famous attraction of Down Town is the Los Angeles City Hall with the 138 m high Art Deco tower built in 1928. In Down Town you can find interesting shops and restaurants.

 

Olvera Street

 

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The "Walk of Fame" was created in 1960 on the initiative of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Since then, over 2,000 stars have been let into the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard and adjacent streets. Tourists from all over the world are looking for their star's star and costumed super heroes hope for a few dollars for a photo. The Walk of Fame is the main attraction of Los Angeles. Hollywood Boulevard is currently being transformed into a shoppers' paradise. New shopping centers have been built since the Walk of Fame is connected by the Los Angeles metro system.

 

Hollywood Boulevard

www.walkoffame.com

 

Chinese Theatre

In front of the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, many stars, including Marilyn Monroe, have left their hand and footprints in the fresh cement. The premiere cinema was built in 1927 by Sid Grauman. The Chinese Theater was built in the style of a Chinese fantasy pagoda. Sid Grauman also built the first movie theater in Hollywood, the Grauman's Egyptian Theater which still stands on 6712 Hollywood Boulevard. This is how Grauman made the suburb of Hollywood famous. The Oscar awards were held here from 1944-1946. The cinema was renamed Mann's Chinese Theater in 1973 after Ted Mann took over the theater. In 2013 the Chinese electronics company TCL bought the naming rights, and the cinema has been called TCL Chinese Theater since then.

 

Hollywood Boulevard

www.tclchinesetheatres.com

 

Hollywood Sign

The Hollywood Sign was set up in 1923 and was an advertising sign for the Hollywoodland housing project. In 1949 the letters "LAND" were removed. The letters are 14 m high and made of white painted sheet metal. The Hollywood sign is 137 m long and protected from vandalism by a fence and surveillance technology. Anyone who tries to get to the lettering must expect to be arrested. If you want to get close to the sign, you should follow Mulholland Hwy in Hollywoodland to the highest point, here you have a good view of the Hollywood Sign and the skyline of Down Town Los Angeles. The Hollywood Sign the world-famous trademark of Los Angeles.

 

Mount Lee Drive

www.hollywoodsign.org

 

Griffith Observatory

The planetarium was built in 1935 on Mount Hollywood, in Griffith Park. Colonel Griffith donated the park to the city and helped erect other buildings on the site. The Griffith Observatory was designed by architects John Austin and Russell Porter in Art Deco style. Next to the planetarium there is an exhibition about space, with rocks from Mars, the moon and meteorites. The Griffith Observatory was made world famous by James Dean in the movie "Rebel without a Cause". Why every visitor should visit the Griffith Observatory is the unforgettable view above the roofs of Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean.

 

2800 East Observatory Ave.

www.griffithobservatory.org

 

Walt Disney Concert Hall

The "Walt Disney Concert Hall" was designed by Frank O. Gehry for the Philharmonic Orchestra, the building  was opened to the public in 2003. The architecture, with wildly curved steel elements, is the hallmark of the famous architect from Santa Monica. Gehry became famous with his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain.

Buildings by Gehry:

Fondation Luis Vuitton Paris   Siedlung Goldstein Frankfurt   Gehry Tower Hannover   8 Spuce Street New York 

 

111 South Grand Ave.

www.laphil.com

 

Memorial Coliseum

The stadium, which has a seating capacity of 115,000, was built in 1922. It was erected to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the city of Los Angeles. The 1932 and 1984 Olympics were held at the Memorial Coliseum. In 1967 the first America Football Super Bowl took place here. Today the stadium is used by the USC Trojans university team.

 

Exposition Park

 

Santa Monica Pier

The pier was built in 1909 as a sewage pipeline into the sea. The "Santa Monica Pier" was extended in 1918 to built a roller coaster and became an amusement park. In 1983 the pier was destroyed and rebuilt in 1990. The historic Route 66 ends at the "Santa Monica Pier".

 

Santa Monica Pier

http://santamonicapier.org

 

Third Street Promenade

The "Third Street Promenade" is a pedestrian zone in Santa Monica. The shopping center "Santa Monica Place" is at the southern end of the 3rd Street. Santa Monica is one of the most beautiful places in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles.

 

3rd Street, Santa Monica

www.santamonicaplace.com

 

Venice Beach

The Boardwalk of Venice Beach is the stage of freaky people, California Girls, bodybuilders and street performers. Many shops and restaurants make Venice Beach a popular destination.

 

Ocean Front Walk, Venice LA

 

Queen Mary

The "Queen Mary" sarted it's maiden voyage from the port of Southampton (Great Britain) in 1936. The majestic ship anchores in Long Beach since 1967. Today the "Queen Mary" is a hotel.

 

1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

www.queenmary.com

 

Map of sights in Los Angeles

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Los Angeles, California

Welcome to Los Angeles

The film metropolis Los Angeles is situated in a dry plain between high mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The city of Los Angeles has about 3.7 million inhabitants, in the metropolitain area live about 12 million people. Many suburbs of Los Aangeles are fames themselves such as Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Paramount, Anaheim, Malibu and Santa Monica. The most famous district of Los Angeles is "Hollywood". The skyline is located in the financial district in Downtown Los Angeles. Close to the historic center of Los Angeles are "Little Mexico", "Chinatown" and "Little Tokyo". 

 

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Discover Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a car city even if there is now a small subway system. There used to be a dense tram network, which was bought up by the car industry (Streetcar conspiracy) in 1930 and replaced by a wide-meshed bus network. Los Angeles is known for its city highways. The "10" runs from west to east, the "110" from north to south and the "5" from San Diego to San Francisco, cuts across the city. The "Angelenos" drive as far as possible on the highways and only change to the "local" streets shortly before their destination.

 

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