We had checked out Hollywood, the beaches, some celebrity haunts and taken some trips out of LA but one place we hadn’t visited was downtown; although we had driven through the high rises on the freeway a few times. It was time to see what it had to offer.
Angel’s Flight
In the UK we had watched a series called Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. The series was based in LA and we had already visited the house and views of the Hollywood hills but another famous landmark featured in it was Angel’s Flight, the shortest funicular in the world and the scene of a gruesome murder in the series -where better to start 😊. Sat nav set to the funicular we parked just opposite and went to board our flight.
It costs a mere $1 for the few minutes ride up to the top, we had to wait a bit as covid meant some of the seats were out of action due to social distancing. We also sat underneath the advert for the new series of Bosch (which we watched in a day when we were here)
Grand Central Market
Directly opposite the lower station for the funicular, the market is haven for foodies who want to try different food from around the world. It has been in existence since 1917 is a very popular place and you can find asian, latin american and mexican food here as well as plenty of other options from individual vendors. We didn’t buy anything but did have a walk around and it was quite an experience.
City Hall
We headed here in the hope of being able to have free access to the viewing tower which apparently gives you unrivalled views across the city; unfortunately on the day we visited it was closed; not sure if that was because of the day or because of covid. It was an impressive building none the less.
Street Art
Just walking around in downtown we came across quite a few murals worth taking a few moments to appreciate. The main ones we saw were heading from Grand Central Market towards City Hall.
Walt disney Concert Hall
The concert hall is currently closed due to covid but is due to reopen soon. It is quite an impressive building so we decided to swing by there anyway and have a look. The concert hall is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and is recognised as an architectural landmark in downtown LA. It is also known for hosting several visiting artists from around the world.
The Last Bookstore
The Last Bookstore may not sound like much but it is an impressive place to visit. Luckily it is not the last bookstore but it spans over 22,000s square feet and sells a huge variety of used books.
The original building is over a hundred years old and was a bank so it features vaults and apparently is haunted. We didn’t see any ghosts or anything like that but we had fun in the building checking out the different areas; the crime section can be found in the vault.
Final Thoughts
Downtown LA was quite a surprise; there is a lot to offer in terms of art and culture and some quite fun things to do. We spent an afternoon here and there was plenty to keep us occupied. Lots of things arent yet fully open because of covid but everything was accessible by foot and near each other. We only touched on a few of the things the area has to offer but what we did see we enjoyed.
This is the last blog post of our LA series; our month is Los Angeles has gone very quickly and for the most part it has been an enjoyable time. We have covered a lot of places both in LA and on day trips out which have been very enjoyable; whilst we are not in a huge hurry to return to LA specifically, California overall was fantastic, we met some good people and it was good to have the time to explore it properly.
Carol & Nigel x
