Great Outdoors Orange County/Long Beach Chapter
presents
Urban Walk in Downtown Los Angeles
Date Sunday, January 14, 2023, starting at 10:00 AM
Contact: Frederick Brown E-mail: fredincal346@gmail.com Phone: 562-754-1838
The estimated time for this outing is two to four hours, depending on how much time participants spend at each of the sites. At lunch time, wherever we are on our tour, many options for lunch will be available.
Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothing and bring a liter of water. There are restrooms in the Grand Central Market, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Last Book Store, and the Macy’s Store across 7thStreet from the metro station.
Downtown Los Angeles has many interesting sites. The recommended way for participants to travel is to take the Los Angeles Metro A Line which runs from Long Beach to Azusa, or the E Line which runs from Santa Monica to Atlantic Avenue, East Los Angeles into Los Angeles. We will meet up outside the Historic Broadway Station on the corner of Broadway and Second Street (click here for map) no later than 10 AM. For those who want to leave on the A Line from the Willow Street station, we can meet at the ticket machines at no later than 8:35 AM and take the train at 8:50 AM. Please let the trip leader know by text if you plan to meet there. For those who choose to drive, the parking garage across the street from the station at 221 2nd W Street costs $7 for the entire day. We will meet at the entrance sign outside the station (See picture above).
From the station, we will walk to the Bradbury Building for a photo stop and a walk through. Exiting the Bradbury Building by the back door, we will walk through the Bridget “Biddy” Mason Memorial Park, arriving back on Broadway.
Crossing Broadway, we will enter the Grand Central Market, a Los Angeles landmark since 1917. The Market has an extensive food court and is a good (albeit crowded) place to eat. Besides eating places, the market has a few market vendors remaining, an ice cream shop and a donut shop.
We will leave the market on the Hill Street side, crossing over to Angel’s Flight. Angel’s Flight originally opened in 1901 to ferry Angelinos up Bunker Hill. The fare is $1.00 to ride up, payable at the top. A $0.50 Metro fare discount is available for TAP Card users with Stored Value for a one-way trip.
From the top of Angel’s Flight, we will head across Bunker Hill to the Library Steps which descend the hill between the U. S. Bank and Citicorp buildings to arrive at the Los Angeles Public Library. Postmodern in style and reminiscent of Rome’s Spanish Steps, the steps are choreographed as an urban experience similar to a city street, complete with terraced landings, retail shops, and outdoor cafes with a range of activities for relaxing, dining, or shopping.
Inside the library, we will see the new wing rebuilt after the fire, as well as the beautiful children's library under the dome on the second floor. We will also visit the current exhibition on the second floor.
Leaving the Library, we will head West on 5thStreet, taking a quick detour through the ornate Biltmore Hotel and exiting the hotel across the street from Pershing Square. Continuing on 5thStreet, we arrive at The Last Book Store located in a former bank.
After browsing through the bookstore, we will head South on Broadway, turning East on 7thStreet to reach Saint Vincent Court. Saint Vincent Court is an alleyway with a European atmosphere made of colorful shopfronts, cobbled brick paving, and charming cafes.
Then, almost at the end of our tour, we will head further East on 7thStreet, passing the Bank of Italy building (predecessor of the Bank of America) on our way to the Metro station at 7th and Metro Center. From the station, all participants will head for home.
Contact: Frederick Brown E-mail: fredincal346@gmail.com Phone: 562-754-1838
