Seventeen openwork spires rise from the ground, reaching toward the sky like jagged, inverted ice cream cones. These towers, the tallest of which stands ninety-nine and a half feet, are covered in a mosaic of broken glass, seashells,…
Best of Los Angeles
We will take a sweeping journey across Los Angeles to see its most iconic historical landmarks and cultural wonders. From downtown's founding site and legendary architecture to the hilltop views of Griffith Observatory and the ocean breezes of Santa Monica Pier, this route highlights the essential stories of the city.
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1. Watts Towers
2. El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument
The forty-four acres of El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument center on a public plaza, recognized by its historic gazebo and statues of figures like King Carlos the Third of Spain and Governor Felipe de Neve. This district marks…
3. Grand Central Market
Grand Central Market occupies the ground floor of the Homer Laughlin Building, a landmark recognized by its Beaux-Arts facade and its history as the first steel-reinforced, fireproof structure in Southern California. The market opened in…
4. Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is unmistakable for its sweeping, exterior curves covered in over six thousand gleaming stainless steel panels, which rise above the surrounding city like a set of silver sails. Located on Grand Avenue in…
5. Griffith Observatory
The Griffith Observatory sits on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood, capped by three distinctive copper-sheathed domes that rise above the ridgeline of Griffith Park. It is a public observatory and planetarium that opened to the…
6. TCL Chinese Theatre
The TCL Chinese Theatre rises above Hollywood Boulevard as a sprawling, pagoda-shaped fantasy, its ninety-foot roof held aloft by two massive coral-red columns topped with wrought iron masks. Imported stone Heaven Dogs guard the entrance,…
7. Urban Light
Urban Light is a forest of two hundred and two cast-iron street lamps that stand at the Wilshire Boulevard entrance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. You can identify the piece by its uniform gray paint and its dense, rhythmic grid…
8. The Getty
The Getty Center is a sprawling hilltop campus defined by its heavy cladding of over one million square feet of honey-colored, fossil-bearing travertine stone, contrasted with sharp, white-enameled aluminum panels. Architect Richard Meier…
9. Santa Monica Pier Carousel
The Looff Hippodrome is a large, oval-shaped structure built in nineteen sixteen, easily spotted by its eclectic blend of architectural styles including Byzantine, Moorish, and various decorative turrets. Designed by master carousel…