Welcome to part 2 of 4 of my Los Angeles trip report series! In this installment, we’ll be visiting Downtown LA, AKA DTLA, known for attractions such as the Broad, Grand Central Market, the Last Bookstore, and Angel’s Flight. It’s gonna be another full day of touring so I hope you guys are ready!

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Wake Me Up

I learned from my mistake the day before and set multiple alarms on my phone to be sure I woke up early. Today was going to be a very full day and I needed to get as early a start as possible. I ate my breakfast, got ready, and was out the door by 8:20 and rode another Uber going to Downtown LA (DTLA) that cost about $23. DTLA is basically on the other side of LA from where I live so I had to leave early if I wanted to get there early. DTLA is not the best place to be at night due to the questionable characters that populate nearby districts such as Skid Row. So it was imperative that not only do I get to DTLA early, but that I get through the entire day before the sun sets.

I soon arrived at my first destination: the Spanish district also known as El Pueblo. I had seen in pictures that this area had many shops and had a festive, kinetic atmosphere. But when I arrived there, it was dead. To be fair, I was dropped off at 8:49am, which was probably why no one was there yet. I decided to pivot and head for the Los Angeles City Hall instead. I walked away from El Pueblo, heading down a few streets, until I faced the massive complex of the Los Angeles City Hall in front of me.

Views for Days

At first, I couldn’t find the entrance to City Hall because apparently the main entrance is different from the guest entrance. After a few minutes, however, I found the guest entrance on Main Street and entered at exactly 9:00am. City Hall is one of the many places you can visit in LA for free, which is why I wanted to see it. When I entered, I was greeted by a metal detector and four security guards. I was the only visitor in the entrance hall.

I was asked by a security guard why I was at City Hall, and, when I said I was there for the observation deck, he let me through. I placed my bag in the x-ray machine, walked through the metal detector, and was directed to a man sitting behind a desk. He asked for my ID so I gave him my driver’s license. He then pointed me in the direction of the elevators.

The way to get to the top of the building is a little bit convoluted. You first have to catch an elevator to the 22nd floor. From there, you take another elevator to the 26th floor. It was when I was headed to the 26th floor that I accidentally pressed the bell button for half a second. I was scared that I had just called the fire department by accident. But nothing seemed to happen so I continued going upward.

After you get to the 26th floor, you then take a flight of stairs to reach the 27th floor, which is where the observation deck is located. When you arrive at the 27th floor, you’ll enter a huge room that looks like it’s used for press conferences. Exit through any of the side doors and you’ll find yourself at the observation deck overlooking Los Angeles.

As you guys may know, I’m a sucker for a good view, and this one was especially nice. Seeing Los Angeles stretch far and away in all directions was a cool sight to see. Out of the four possible views, three of them were very picturesque. One of them, however, was facing Union Station so it only offered views of the rail yard, which isn’t the most scenic view in the world. The other three views were stunning, however, making this one of the great free things to do in Los Angeles. There was only one other visitor with me at the time and he was a professional photographer taking pictures of the skyline. I would highly recommend this if you’re like me and love views and sceneries.

So after staring at the views for a bit, I decided it was time to move on. Before I left, a man asked me to take his photo in the press conference area of the 27th floor. Apparently, he’s worked for City Hall for more than 2 decades and was retiring that day. I happily took his picture and chatted with him for a bit. The one thing I forgot to ask him was his name, but wherever he may be, I hope he’s enjoying retirement. I left the building at 9:25am.

Grand (Not Central) Park

After admiring the views from the top of City Hall, I made my way to Grand Park. Grand Park is a sloping garden area that connects City Hall with the Ahmanson theater complex. It’s 12 acres large and has a series of water fountains and grassy areas that crawl upwards. I started from the lower end of the gardens and it took me about 10-15 minutes to walk through the entire park.

To be honest, it wasn’t the best park in the world. The water features were nice but they weren’t fully operational, which made the park feel a little dead. There were some people milling about, but for the most part this park was completely empty. If you’re trying to get to the other attractions in as fast as possible, in my opinion you can skip this park.

I quickly made my way up the gardens, taking some pictures and videos along the way. I passed by a Starbucks that was about halfway up the gardens and contemplated whether or not I should stop by for something to eat. But I told myself that I already ate breakfast so this would just be an extra expense I don’t need. So I continued up until I reached a street. I crossed the street and ended up at the Ahmanson theater.

I had been to the Ahmanson theater before to watch some musicals, but I had never seen what was around it. I had no idea that City Hall was so close by and that there was a huge park right beside it. It was cool getting to see it in the context of the area around it. The Ahmanson complex had a little water feature in the center of it, but other than that there was nothing much to see. So I made my way back to the street I crossed to get to the complex, took a right after going down the escalator, and made my way down the street towards the…

The Metallic Sheets of Music

…the Walt Disney Concert Hall! As I was walking towards it, I could see it rise majestically out of the concrete ground. The hall, which opened in October 2003, looked like a bunch of oversized metallic pieces of sheet music dancing their way to the sky. It was such a beautiful sight, and the fact that it was dedicated to Walt Disney, a man whose work I deeply admire, made it all the more special to me.

Visits to the Walt Disney Concert Hall are completely free and you can take a self-guided audio tour to learn more about the hall. They are normally open for tours from 10:00am to 3:00pm but may be closed if there are performances at the hall that day. Check their website here for  up to date information. All tours will begin at the Grand Lobby, go up to the second floor, and then go outside for a tour around the gardens that are set up on the upper floors.

Upon crossing the street towards the hall, I was initially confused as to where the Grand Lobby was located. I eventually found the entrance near a coffee place that was right outside the hall. If you’re looking for the lobby, find the little coffee stand out front. I headed inside at around 10:05am and immediately found a small table. It was there that I picked up a mic and scanned the QR code with my phone to get access to the tour. I then headed for the elevator, went up one floor, and began my tour.

The tour was actually really interesting and informative. When I was on the second floor, the guided tour talked about how the hall was designed to let in as much natural light as possible. The wood they used was also conducive to sound. There was a really elegant BP room (it’s off to the side of the entrance) and a nice exhibit with pieces from the Library of Congress.

I was also lucky because they opened the concert hall that day. Normally the main hall isn’t open for guests, but I guess I lucked out and there was no event scheduled for that day so I got to see it. It was a very lavish room. The seats were multicolored and the organ they had at the back of the stage was really intricate.

After seeing the inside, it was time to head to the outside of the concert hall. You wouldn’t think by looking at it, but there was an entire garden area complete with trees, statues, and a pretty interesting looking water feature that was meant to look like a lotus in the upper areas of the concert hall. There was also a mini-theater where they hold concerts specifically targeted for kids. It was all very well-designed and, even if it was much smaller than Grand Park, I liked it a lot more. I spent way too much time taking in the serenity of the garden and ended up getting behind schedule. But I don’t regret it as that was one of the highlights of my day.

I then climbed up some stairs and ended up towards the roof of the building. From this angle you could see the back of the steel pages, and it was an interesting sight as they had a bunch of beams forming the shape of the building. I had a hard time believing that people were responsible for how great this building turned out. The use of space and shape was so interesting and you could tell that every design choice was painstakingly made to make sure that the building came to life in an ethereal way. This building is an architectural wonder and should definitely be on your Los Angeles itinerary.

A Broad City

I left the Walt Disney Concert Hall at 11:29am and arrived at The Broad, which was basically down the street from the Concert Hall, at 11:35am. The Broad is a modern art museum that opened in 2015 and was named after Eli and Edythe Broad, who financed the building that houses the museum.  The best part about this museum was that it’s free to anyone who wants to enter. I don’t know why a lot of museums in LA are free but I’m not complaining. It should be noted that while it is free, you need to reserve a time slot for when you can enter the museum. When I arrived, however, I was about an hour early for my time slot, but they let me in early anyway.

If you want tickets to Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, you’ll need to reserve your slot there as well. This is a separate reservation system from the one for The Broad in general. You can find more information about it here.

Upon entering The Broad, you’re met by a long escalator that pierces through the lobby’s grey ceiling. At the top of the escalator is a huge space that houses hundreds of artworks and installations. Immediately when you arrive you’re greeted by huge sculptures and paintings. It’s here that you can wander towards any direction you want. The museum is small compared to other museums, but there’s still a lot to see here. If you’re a fan of modern art, like me, you’re going to get a kick out of this museum.

Some of my favorite artworks included those by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and Basquiat. Off the top of my head, I remember the sculptures of inflated balloon animals by Jeff Koons and an oversized table with accompanying chairs by an artist whose name escapes me right now. Other highlights included a Campbell Soup painting by Andy Warhol and these intricate quills that were fairly large and made with different kinds of materials. The art on display, as I’ve mentioned, is more modernist and abstract. The various artist’s use of shapes to convey emotion and feeling or to get an idea across in an indirect way was thought-provoking.

It took me over 2 hours to see everything, but I’m usually very slow at museums. I like to appreciate everything and take in the little details of each artwork, which means I’m staring at each artwork for a good thirty seconds to one minute. And when there are hundreds of artworks, this can all really add up. And The Broad had some incredible ones. I’ll share some pictures of my favorites below.

I left at about 1:30 and decided to head to Grand Central Market for lunch.

Lost My Way and Found an Angel

I left The Broad and decided that it was time for lunch. The problem was, I had no idea how to get to Grand Central Market. I looked at Google maps and saw that Grand Central Market was to my left, so I decided to go down this plaza that was directly outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. I made my way down some stairs and through an alley between shops only to find myself at a dead end. I went back to the street where the entrance to the Museum of Contemporary Art was located and decided to walk a bit to find a place where I could head downhill. 

Little did I know that I would find one of the tourist attractions I wanted to do later that day by accident: Angel’s Flight. For those of you that don’t know, Angel’s Flight is a funicular railway and it’s the shortest railway in the world. It was built in 1901 and has had a very tumultuous history. At one point someone even lost their life after one of the cars slid down the track and collided with the other car. After closing and reopening many times over the years, the railway is now open daily for guests to experience. I wanted to go on it ever since I saw it featured in La La Land, which is my favorite movie ever. 

Upon approaching the station at the top of the hill, I scanned my TAP card in the reader and quickly got on the carriage. If you have a Tap card, a ride costs $0.50. If not, you’re going to have to shell out a dollar. You could tell that this thing was old because with every step I took the wood beneath my feet would creak like a hundred door hinges. This thing was OLD and it was showing its age.

I took a seat in the middle of the car. There were probably 5 other people with me in the car. The car then started to move. It was all smooth sailing at first, until we got to the part of the journey where the cars have to turn a bit to the right to avoid colliding with each other. Upon turning, the cars SCREECHED pretty loudly. It felt like the car was going to disintegrate at any second with the way it was yelling. But eventually we arrived safely at the bottom of the hill. I exited the car and made my way across the street to the Grand Central Market.

Grand Central (not Station)

Grand Central Market is another iconic location featured in La La Land that I just had to see. The market, which opened in 1917, is an LA institution that is a go to place for good food for a lot of people. When I entered the market, I was overwhelmed. All my senses were on overdrive as I tried to weave my way through the massive crowds to look at each stall. They were selling everything and anything under the sun. I was pleasantly surprised to even see a Filipino stall and, while I was thinking of buying from there, I ended up at a pizza place called Olios as I was craving for pizza for a while.

I bought the pizza and a water, which came to $13.58, and ate it at a table where I people-watched for a good 20 minutes. I’ve always enjoyed people-watching and, during my travels, I always make a point to do it once or twice. After I devoured the pizza, as I was way hungrier than I thought I was, I got up and continued on with my day.

My 500 Days Moment in DTLA

I left Grand Central Market at around 2:35pm. I crossed Broadway and headed for the end of the street so I could see the famous interior of the Bradbury building. Famously featured in the film 500 Days of Summer, the ornate brasswork of the red-brick and wooden interior make it a sight to behold. I made my way over there, walked up to the door, and pulled it…

…only it wouldn’t budge. Confused, I left and turned a corner onto W 3rd Street and came across another set of doors. I tried opening those doors but they also wouldn’t open. Now I was really confused. I turned around and went back the way I came and at that moment saw someone exiting the first entrance I saw. I quickly ran to the door before it closed and went inside.

To say I was floored with what I saw would be an understatement. It was one of the most beautifully designed buildings I’ve ever seen. I grew to really love and appreciate architecture ever since I studied abroad in France so stuff like this is right in my wheelhouse.

As soon as I entered and started filming for my vlog, however, the two security guards immediately told me to stop. They told me it was only open for pictures. Why I couldn’t take videos I didn’t understand, but I wasn’t about to go against what these guys said. I took some pictures, stared at it for a while to take it all in, then left from where I entered. I stepped inside the building at 2:37 and was out by 2:45.

My First Last Bookstore

Next place I headed to was The Last Bookstore, which is just about two blocks away from the Bradbury Building. The Last Bookstore is the largest used and new bookstore in California, and it’s known for its interesting design and labyrinthine layout. Upon arriving at the bookstore at 2:55, I had to leave my bag at the counter out front and then entered the store.

What I experienced was a cavernous bookstore that covered two floors whose rows and shelves of books twisted and turned like a maze. The bottom floor was laid out like a traditional bookstore with straight shelves forming rows of books that had every title imaginable.

But it was the second floor, in my opinion, that made the bookstore stand out. When I reached the second floor, it felt like I was going through a cavern that would never end. Just row after row of books, some of them designed to resemble tunnels or other installations. This made going through this store interesting on its own.

It also helps that they probably have every book known to man in there. You want a Spanish translation of Game of Thrones? Guess what, they had that there, among many, many, MANY, other books. They even had a records section. I originally didn’t put this in my itinerary because I didn’t think a bookstore would be interesting, but I’m so glad that I did. Among everything I saw that day, this was the one place that exceeded my expectations the most. Definitely put it on your Los Angeles itinerary and visit it if you get the chance.

Back, Back, ALL THE WAY Back Through DTLA

I left the Last Bookstore at 3:35pm. I knew I had to go back to El Pueblo, and I don’t know why I didn’t look this up, but I decided that I would just walk back the way I came AKA walk by every single DTLA attraction I did that day. This probably wasn’t the most efficient route to get to El Pueblo, but I didn’t want Google Maps to take me to Skid Row, so I thought the safest way to get back to El Pueblo was to just go back the way I came.

So I went back to Grand Central Market, rode Angel’s Flight back up the hill, walked past the Broad and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, walked through the Ahmanson complex, walked down Grand Park, passed by City Hall, and found my way back to El Pueblo. I arrived at El Pueblo at 4:15pm.

When I arrived, the scene was much different compared to when I was there earlier that day. The plaza was alive and full of people dancing to Spanish music. After watching them for a bit, I walked down the little alleyway that constituted the old Spanish town called Olvera Street. There were a bunch of different shops and stalls that were selling different kinds of colorful merchandise. I remember there being a section that had mannequins dressed up in traditional Mexican garb, which was cool to see.

On the right side as I walked down Olvera street, I passed by what claimed to be the oldest house in Los Angeles. I wanted to go inside, but for some reason it was closed. The whole area though was very quaint. After seeing all the modern buildings peppered throughout DTLA, it was nice seeing the historical part of the area.

Dotting the sides of the street were a bunch of restaurants, which I would have eaten at if I wasn’t still full from my pizza from Grand Central Market. After walking down the street and admiring the architecture, I decided it was time to call it a day. I called an Uber, which cost $22.65, and headed home for the day.

And that’s the end of that! Thank you for reading all 3800 words of this. Hopefully you found it entertaining and informative! We’ve got two more left and for the next one we’re going to Hollywood!

Links to the other installments of this trip report series:

Los Angeles Trip Report ’22 Part 1: West Side Stories

Los Angeles Trip Report ’22 Part 2: DTLA