Come walk and photograph the roots of the city known around the world: Los Angeles. It's amazing what you can see if you just look up and around. Downtown Los Angeles is a cornucopia of sights, sounds, buildings and history. From Bunker Hill to the Financial Core and ending in Historic Downtown with the Broadway theaters, this is a great opportunity for historical urban photography and walking.

RSVPs
This event is capped at 60 Yes RSVPs.

Meeting Place:
We will be meeting at the Pershing Square meeting platform, at the corner of Hill Street and 5th. This is ACROSS the street from the Pershing Square metro station and diagonal to the Subway sandwich shop. This is also a Metro Red Line stop. It’s a flat, easy to see area.

Parking:
There are metered street parking spaces and pay lots available.

Map:
http://maps.google.co...

The Walk:
We will begin our walk at historic Pershing Square, at S Hill Street and W 5th Street. Continuing northwest, we will follow 5th Street and pass the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. This hotel is a fantastic Beaux Arts landmark that is just beautiful. If you've never seen it, you're in for a visual treat. Classical art deco architecture is abound in this area. At 5th and Grand, we will turn right – up a refreshing incline – to the Water Garden at Two California Plaza. The Water Garden lives up to it’s name with a cascading waterfall and a dancing water fountain.

We will cross the street towards Hope Street to the sculpture garden at Wells Fargo Plaza. Continuing down Hope Street, we will continue toward the Bunker Hill Steps toward the Central Library at 5th Street. At the top of the steps, we will meander around the various metal sculptures before walking through the outdoor plaza, taking the steps down to 5th Street, and walking towards the famous circular Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Shopping Gallery.

After entering and exiting the Bonaventure, we will cross Flower and enter one of my personal favorite places: The Central Library sculpture and water garden.

Turning right onto Flower Street, we will continue our journey to the beautiful Los Angeles Central Library. This is one of my favorite buildings in DTLA, showcasing a timeless 1920s architecture, blending various identifiable cultural design styles. We won’t enter the library, but will explore the external architecture of design, the beautiful quotes in stone and the key figures in history, science and the arts that adorn the structure.

Walking away from the library on S Hope Street, we will continue to 6th Street, walking toward Pershing Square.

Continuing down 6th Street, we will cross Hill St. and turn right on Broadway. Welcome to the historic and a testament to classic Los Angeles beauty: Broadway District. This is one of my favorite places to walk during the Downtown LA Art Walk. Following South Broadway, we will pass the Los Angeles theater, The Tower, The Rialto, The Orpheum, The State Theatre, and the Palace Theatre.

While at the Orpheum, we will also have a chance to photograph the beautiful Eastern tower and clock. We will end at the United Artist Theatre.

Turning around, we will continue back up Broadway, turning right at 9th Street. At Spring, we will turn left and continue toward 6th Street. This is a good time for relishing the architecture of Old Downtown meeting its new, loft centric version. Coming to 6th, we will turn left and then right on Broadway towards our starting point. Here, we will pass The Palace Theatre, The Roxie, The Cameo and the Arcade along the way. At 5th and Broadway we will turn left, returning to Hill and 5th at Pershing Square.

*We will not be going by the Million Dollar Theatre, at 307 S. Broadway. Also, please note that many of the theatres of yesteryear in this area have been converted into various other things… from store fronts to concert halls.

Mileage:
This walk should be about 2.67 miles.

Helpful Books and Websites:

• Walking LA: 38 walking tours exploring stairways, streets, and buildings you never knew existed by Erin Mahoney Harris: Walk 38: Downtown Financial and Jewelry Districts: More Than Meets the Eye (page 209)
  
• Bunker Hill Staircase Information: http://books.google.c...
  
• History of Bunker Hill, Los Angeles: http://en.wikipedia.o...
  
• History of Broadway Street: http://en.wikipedia.o...)
  
• Cinema Treasures: http://cinematreasure...