A TRULY GRAND AVENUE CONCERT HALL, CATHEDRAL LEND NEW SPARK TO DOWNTOWN L.A.Byline: Story by Eric Noland Travel Editor Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or has been battling an image problem for quite some time now - at least since the days of snap-brim fedoras. In his 1942 novel ``The High Window,'' Raymond Chandler Noun 1. Raymond Chandler - United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959) Chandler, Raymond Thornton Chandler referred to the once-tony Bunker Hill Bunker Hill “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes”; American Revolutionary battle (1775). [Am. Hist.: Worth, 22] See : Battle district as ``old town, lost town, shabby town, crook town.'' The tourist guidebooks of today are no less gentle. The Access guide remarks of downtown, ``Well, it's not exactly what you might expect ...'' Best Places calls it ``the most historic, maligned ma·lign tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of. adj. 1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent. 2. and stubborn part of the city.'' Lonely Planet charts out prospective Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, itineraries of one, two and three days, and doesn't get around to this area until the third day, at which time it suggests, dismissively, ``Quickly pay your respects to Downtown L.A., then ...'' With the arrival of your summer guests, you'll likely be presented with the same uphill challenge. There will be the inevitable clamor for visits to Hollywood, Disneyland, the beach, Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. . But downtown L.A. deserves consideration, too, especially in light of two striking recent additions to the urban landscape: the Walt Disney Concert Hall This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is a cathedral church of the United States in the City of Los Angeles in California. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles[1] and seat of its archbishop, Roger Cardinal Mahony. . Newly revived and notably inviting is the stretch of Grand Avenue from the cathedral south past the concert hall, over the crest of Bunker Hill and down to the L.A. Central Library and the Millennium Biltmore Hotel The Biltmore Hotel is a hotel located in downtown Los Angeles, California. Built by John McEntee Bowman, it opened in 1923. At the time, it was the largest hotel west of Chicago and designed by architects Schultze and Weaver. It is now named the Millennium Biltmore. . It is appealing both on busy weekdays and on all-but-deserted weekends, during the daytime and for evening cultural performances. Also, defying the cliche that nobody walks in L.A. (as fueled by the 1980s band Missing Persons), Grand Avenue is a delight to explore on foot, though the return climb can be exacting. Walt Disney Concert Hall Since it opened last year, Frank Gehry's flight of architectural fancy has had a magnetic effect on visitors to downtown. The swooping contours and stark gray stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. - which varies subtly with every change in the available light - begs for a peek inside or a walk around the perimeter. Audio tours, narrated by actor John Lithgow, provide exceptional insight into the design of the building and its garden, but they won't give you a look inside the auditorium itself. The acoustics are so precise in this hall that the opening of doors and the tramp of tourist feet disturb musicians in their rehearsals. To experience the Disney Concert Hall fully, you'll have to buy a ticket, but unfortunately during the summer the performance schedule is a bit thin. The primary tenant, the L.A. Philharmonic, summers at the Hollywood Bowl, and only a few scattered performances - many of them pop acts (Indigo Girls, Jewel, David Byrne) - are scheduled for the hall. To do this place justice, however, you really should take in a performance of music that isn't artificially amplified, since that was the intent of the auditorium's design. The California Philharmonic is playing a Ravel program here on July 25. The interior is remarkable, with curving surfaces covered in fine-grained wood - and not a single 90-degree angle in which sound can rattle around. Even the ceiling has tentlike folds, though entirely of wood. The seating, steeply pitched for optimal sight lines, wraps around the performance stage. Diffused light finds its way in through tucked-away skylights in the corners - rare for a concert hall. The rich sound of an orchestra bursts toward you, and the acoustics are so impeccable that every cough, every rustled program and certainly every whisper reaches you as if through headphones Head-mounted speakers. Headphones have a strap that rests on top of the head, positioning a pair of speakers over both ears. For listening to music or monitoring live performances and audio tracks, both left and right channels are required. . You get the sense that as the wood of the hall ages, the concert sound will gain character, as with a vintage string instrument. The only element of the Disney Concert Hall that falls flat is its dispensation DISPENSATION. A relaxation of law for the benefit or advantage of an individual. In the United States, no power exists, except in the legislature, to dispense with law, and then it is not so much a dispensation as a change of the law. of information. There seems to be no master calendar anywhere for performances at this place. The L.A. Philharmonic lists its schedule separately, as does the L.A. Master Chorale chorale (kōrăl`, –räl`), any of the traditional hymns of the German Protestant Church. The form was developed after the Reformation to replace the plainsong of the earlier service and as a means of congregational participation in . For leased events, Music Center box-office personnel direct callers to Ticketmaster, whose Web site lists only about a third of the concert hall's scheduled events for this summer. Even if you don't Even If You Don't is a single released by the band Ween in 2000 on Mushroom Records. Formats Enhanced CD single Includes the quicktime video of "Even If You Don't" directed by Matt Stone & Trey Parker of "South Park". get to a performance, however, the $10 audio tour provides a fascinating look around the edges. It guides you through the lobby, along the exterior walls and through the garden. People involved in the design and construction are heard describing the challenges of erecting a building that openly defies right angles. You learn that a global-positioning system was employed so that the builders could hit the precise coordinates for a wall that slopes outward at a 17-degree angle, for example. A peek behind a stairwell stair·well n. A vertical shaft around which a staircase has been built. stairwell Noun a vertical shaft in a building that contains a staircase Noun 1. screen also reveals the Erector-Set superstructure that made it all possible. In the garden, set in a patio 34 feet above the street, are a variety of flowering trees, intended to provide splashes of color year-round. Scented geraniums appeal to another of the senses. But the most intriguing feature here is Gehry's Lillian Disney Memorial Fountain. To construct it, he acquired hundreds of Royal Delft Delft (dĕlft), city (1994 pop. 91,941), South Holland prov., W Netherlands. It has varied industries and is noted for its ceramics (china, tiles, and pottery) known as delftware. Founded in the 11th cent. porcelain vases and tiles from the Netherlands ... then systematically shattered them. The shards were used to create a mosaic fountain in the shape of a rose. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Los Angeles is a land of perpetual sunshine - or so the myth goes - and architect Rafael Moneo celebrated that distinction in this magnificent edifice, completed in 2002. Light filters into the cathedral through windows of Spanish alabaster alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the evaporation of bedded deposits that are precipitated mainly from , which subdues the harsh rays, eliminates glare and creates a natural glow within. Above the entry, the halo atop Robert Graham's Our Lady statue is simply a crescent-shaped hole in a wall, designed to capture east-west sunlight for a radiant effect. A 60-foot cross is lit from within at night, effectively presenting a giant lantern. Volunteers lead free tours at 1 p.m. weekdays. Our tour, which lasted a little over an hour, was superb. It began moments after the cathedral's 37-bell carillon carillon, in music: see bell. carillon Musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze bells tuned in chromatic order. Usually located in a tower, it is played from a keyboard. Most carillons encompass three to four octaves. burst to life to herald the hour. ``People are disappointed that the bells don't move when they ring,'' said our guide, Mary Parker of Northridge. ``They're computerized. That little man who pulls the rope? He's gone.'' Particularly intriguing was Parker's information on the tapestries of John Nava that adorn the interior walls of the nave. Nava drew images of saints at his Ojai studio, then had them digitally rendered and woven on computerized looms in Bruges, Belgium. And he used the familiar faces of his community for inspiration, Parker said, because ``how do we know what the saints looked like?'' Rose of Lima Saint Rose of Lima, (20 April, 1586 - 24 August, 1617), the first Catholic saint of the Americas, was born in Lima, Peru. Biography St. Rose was born April 20 1586, in the city of Lima, the capital of Peru. She received the baptismal name Isabel Flores de Oliva. ? That's actually a girl who works at a coffee shop in Ojai. Like the concert hall, there are no right angles in the cathedral, either, and unlike classic European churches, there is no main door at the back. Instead, the entrance is on the south side, flanked by 25-ton inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. bronze doors (the fire department has decreed that they never be closed, for safety reasons). A slightly inclined south ambulatory leads to the church interior. Also missing are the ornate adornments common to historic cathedrals. The walls have the beige cast of California missions. The altar is a simple if massive block of Turkish marble. The floor is composed of limestone pavers, radiating outward from the altar. The ceiling and pews are of rich but unadorned wood. But the light through those alabaster panels ... now that's something special. Los Angeles Conservancy The Los Angeles Conservancy is the preeminent historic preservation organization in Los Angeles, California. It works to document, rescue and revitalize historic buildings, places and neighborhoods in the city. walking tours Bert Mora MORA, In civil law. This term, in mora, is used to denote that a party to a contract, who is obliged to do anything, has neglected to perform it, and is in default. Story on Bailm. Sec. 123, 259; Jones on Bailm. 70; Poth. Pret a Usage, c. 2, Sec. 2, art. 2, n. concluded our Saturday morning walking tour, ``Downtown's Evolving Skyline,'' at the Wells Fargo Plaza on Grand Avenue. We were directed to gaze directly up at the edge of a triangular skyscraper to marvel at the knife-edge effect the design creates. It was a fascinating perspective. And we pretty much had it to ourselves. ``I don't think we'll ever be a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , 24-hour-a-day type city,'' said Mora. ``We're just not built that way. But just in the three years I've been living here (downtown), I've seen a lot more people coming down here on Saturday and Sunday. The Disney Concert Hall has had a lot to do with that.'' The L.A. Conservancy, the city's membership-supported architectural steward and watchdog, deserves some credit, too. It offers an outstanding menu of 14 Saturday walking tours, most of which concentrate on downtown treasures - the art deco heritage, the historic core, Little Tokyo, Union Station, City Hall, the Biltmore Hotel. On our two-hour tour, which cost $8 for nonmembers, we ducked through the enchanting Maguire Gardens west of the Central Library, ascended to the rooftop of the Superior Oil Building (now the Standard hotel) for a view through the high-rise canyons, found the hidden-away resting place of the ornate elevator doors of the lamentably la·men·ta·ble adj. Inspiring or deserving of lament or regret; deplorable or pitiable. See Synonyms at pathetic. lam  en·ta·bly adv. departed Richfield Building and examined public art ranging from Alexander Calder's ``Four Arches'' in the Security Pacific Plaza to Robert Graham's bronze nudes in the Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center is the name of several buildings in the United States:
We concluded with a descent of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin's Bunker Hill Steps, fashioned after the Spanish Steps in Rome. A tumbling stream down the center mimics the cascading feel of the staircase itself. Museum of Contemporary Art You'll get a chance to broaden your artistic horizons at ``A Minimal Future?'' which runs through Aug. 2 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It exhibits more than 150 works from 40 American artists who emerged in the early 1960s. Theirs was an iconoclastic i·con·o·clast n. 1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions. 2. One who destroys sacred religious images. vision, seeking to impel im·pel tr.v. im·pelled, im·pel·ling, im·pels 1. To urge to action through moral pressure; drive: I was impelled by events to take a stand. 2. To drive forward; propel. the art world to think in three dimensions and in all manner of materials. Hans Haacke's ``Blue Sail,'' for example, is a blue chiffon chiffon (shĭfŏn`), plain-weave, lightweight, sheer, transparent fabric made of cotton, silk, or synthetic fiber; it is made of fine, highly twisted, strong yarn. sheet suspended over an oscillating os·cil·late intr.v. os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing, os·cil·lates 1. To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm. 2. fan and anchored at the corners by fishing weights. The work is ever-changing, driven by the air currents from the fan, no two of which have the same effect on the sail. In other exhibit areas, you might be more hard-pressed to make sense of plywood panels or a stack of children's blocks. An open mind is essential. MOCA MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art MOCA Multimedia over Coax MoCA Museum of Chinese in the Americas MOCA Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance MOCA Montezuma Castle National Monument (US National Park Service) has had a significant impact on Grand Avenue's revival in recent years, notably with special exhibits showcasing the work of David Hockney and Andy Warhol, as well as documentary photographs from the likes of Diane Arbus. Elsewhere Other noteworthy stops along what is being called Grand Avenue's cultural corridor: --Los Angeles Central Library. Fire in 1986 and an earthquake in 1987 wreaked havoc on Bertram Goodhue's 1926 homage to all things Egyptian (spurred by the discovery of King Tut's tomb), but the library is a model of tender, loving restoration today. Don't miss Dean Cornwall's 1933 murals in the rotunda rotunda In Classical and Neoclassical architecture, a building or room that is circular in plan and covered with a dome. The Pantheon is a Classical Roman rotunda. The Villa Rotonda at Vicenza, designed by Andrea Palladio, is an Italian Renaissance example. , which present a romanticized view of California's eras of Spanish exploration, the establishment of the missions and the coming of the railroads. On the same floor, the Getty Gallery has presented some solid historical exhibits in recent months. Currently on view is ``Enterprising Women,'' which tells the stories of more than 40 women who shook up the American business world, from architect Julia Morgan to potter Maria Martinez to Barbie doll creator Ruth Handler. --Music Center. It may now have a staid 1960s appearance alongside Gehry's whimsical concert hall, but this is still the place to catch Broadway-style productions (Ahmanson), cutting-edge theater (Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a small thrust stage with 745 seats at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Beckett and Associates. It has presented innovative plays since 1967. The world premiere of Angels In America was produced here. ) and opera (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center (which is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the United States). The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. ). On summer days, the center's plaza can feel like a vast, concrete pancake griddle, but at least the seemingly random squirts of Jacques Lipchitz's ``Peace on Earth'' fountain provide some relief. --El Paseo de Pobladores de Los Angeles. This park, directly across Grand Avenue from the Music Center, is one of downtown's lesser-known gems. It features a soaring fountain, ample shade (provided by palm, jacaranda jacaranda (jăk'ərăn`də): see bignonia. jacaranda Any plant of the genus Jacaranda (family Bignoniaceae), especially the two ornamental trees J. mimosifolia and J. cuspidifolia. , eucalyptus and pine trees) and colorful bougainvillea bougainvillea or bougainvillaea (both: b  'gənvĭl`ēə) [for L. A. . At lunchtime on weekdays, it teems with bureaucrats and jurors. --Angels Walk L.A. Keep an eye out for the informative signposts sprinkled throughout downtown (there are 15 in the Bunker Hill area alone). With historic photos and well-informed text, they provide a self-guided tour of the city. Eric Noland, (818) 713-3681 eric.noland(at)dailynews.com IF YOU GO DOWNTOWN ANGELS WALK L.A.: (213) 744-0016; www.angelswalkla.org. CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS: 555 W. Temple St. Free guided tours offered at 1 p.m. weekdays. Self-guided tour booklet available for $2. (213) 680-5200; www.olacathedral.org. LOS ANGELES CENTRAL LIBRARY: 630 W. Fifth St. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. (213) 228-7000; www.lapl.org. LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY: Fourteen different Saturday walking tours are offered on a rotating basis. Schedule varies, but most tours start at 10 a.m. and last 2 1/2 hours. Cost ranges from $8 to $10 and advance reservations are required. (213) 623-2489; www.laconservancy.org. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: 250 S. Grand Ave. Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Friday, until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday (free). Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. On days other than Thursday, admission is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 65 and up) and students. Children under 12 free. (213) 626-6222; www.moca.org. MUSIC CENTER/WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL: Grand Avenue and First Street. Getting information about performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall can be a maddening proposition. Brace for some interminable waits on hold, box office sales people who aren't fully aware of upcoming events (notably on events for which the hall was leased), and balkanized calendars - one for the Philharmonic, another for the Master Chorale, etc. Even the Music Center Web site doesn't have a master calendar for the hall, though a spokeswoman said one is in the works. The Music Center site (www.musiccenter.org) has some links. Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) has listings for some of the leased events. The California Philharmonic can be reached at (626) 300-8200; www.calphil.org. Audio tours of the concert hall are offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on days when no matinee is scheduled, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on matinee days. You can take your chances with a walk-up booking, 111 S. Grand Ave., or reserve ahead at (323) 850-2000 - expect long waits on hold. Another option is Ticketmaster, with the requisite booking fee: www.ticketmaster.com. Tour costs $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors. Allow 45 to 75 minutes for the tour. PARKING/TRANSPORTATION: The cost of parking at the Walt Disney Concert Hall is nearly double the cost of the audio tour - weekday rate for 70-plus minutes is $17, payable in cash, in advance. Weekend flat rate is $8. Another option is just a few steps away, at the corner of Hope Street and Kosciuszko Way - a private lot that charges a weekday maximum of $10, a weekend flat rate of $6. To avoid these hassles and expenses entirely, ride in on Metro Rail. There is a Red Line stop at the corner of First and Hill streets, two blocks east of the Music Center. www.mta.net. CAPTION(S): 9 photos, box, map Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) Skyscrapers reach for the clouds along Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, top, an area rejuvenated re·ju·ve·nate tr.v. re·ju·ve·nat·ed, re·ju·ve·nat·ing, re·ju·ve·nates 1. To restore to youthful vigor or appearance; make young again. 2. by the Walt Disney Concert Hall, left, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, above. (4 -- 6) Clockwise from right, California-themed murals adorn the walls in the Lodwrick M. Cook Rotunda at the Los Angeles Central Library, aircraft parts make up a sculpture in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the entrance to the Walt Disney Concert Hall is a feast for the senses. (7 -- 8) Climbing the steps on Bunker Hill, right, is a must for those with the required stamina. No ticket is needed to see the dancing fountains on the grounds of downtown's Music Center complex, above. Photos by John McCoy/Staff Photographer (9) Los Angeles Conservancy guide Bert Mora, left, pauses on the steps at One Bunker Hill during a walking tour focused on the evolving L.A. skyline. Eric Noland/Travel Editor Box: IF YOU GO DOWNTOWN (see text) Map: DOWNTOWN Gregg Miller/Staff Artist |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion