ON TOUR IN L.A. FOR DNC VISITORS -- OR ANGELENOS SEEKING TO GET REAQUAINTED WITH THEIR CITY -- DOWNTOWN AND ENVIRONS OFFER SOME CAN'T MISS SITES.

Byline: Story by Eric Noland Travel Editor Photos by Charlotte Schmid-Maybach Staff Photographer

For years, tourists visiting Los Angeles have bypassed Los Angeles itself. Or at least its core.

Sightseeing excursions generally have been confined to attractions on the outskirts of the city: Disneyland, Hollywood, the beach, Beverly Hills, Universal Studios.

The downtown district? No, thanks. It might have been the center of commerce for the nation's second-largest city - and presented a pleasing skyline for those passing through at a comfortable distance - but there was otherwise little to recommend it. It was grimy and about as inviting as a bunker.

Recently, however, downtown has enjoyed quite a renaissance. And just in time.

Visitors to this week's Democratic National Convention will find that they won't have to stray too far from the Staples Center or their downtown hotels to enjoy a few minutes of tourist indulgence. When a speech is dragging or a floor vote is delayed or a protest demonstration is proving to be a nuisance, they will find ample options for sightseeing right here - within a few blocks, or at most a few miles.

But there's no reason the conventioneers should have these attractions all to themselves. Southern California residents who haven't kept up with the changes downtown might want to get reacquainted with the city, too.

For the sake of all, here are 10 gems for Dems (and the rest of us) - including just a couple of reliable chestnuts on the fringe of the city center.

1. Music Center

It was Woody Allen who said that Los Angeles' sole cultural contribution was a right turn on a red light, but on a drive up Figueroa from the Staples Center, you'll only make one such turn en route to this impressive complex of three performing arts venues. (It takes up a city block bounded by Grand, First, Temple and Hope.)

The cavernous but elegant Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The intimate Mark Taper Forum. The recently renovated Ahmanson Theatre. Even if you can't free up time for one of the programs here, the Music Center, which is situated on some of downtown's highest ground, is still an intriguing place to visit.

During the day, its plaza is popular with brown-baggers from nearby skyscrapers and court buildings, and Jacques Lipchitz's syncopated fountain, ``Peace on Earth,'' can make even a searing August day seem a trifle cooler. Young people in particular squeal in delight as they try to time the fountain's irregular rhythms and dash through in its brief, teasing instances of dormancy.

Free tours are conducted of the complex, usually around midday during the week (11:30 a.m., noon, 1 p.m.); they form at the entrance to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Plans for a production of ``Finian's Rainbow'' fell through at the Ahmanson, but it might be L.A.'s gain. The replacement show is ``The Dead,'' the Tony Award-winning musical based on the James Joyce short story. It might seem odd timing - the story is set in Dublin at Christmastime - but we've never taken ourselves too seriously when it comes to culture in L.A.

At the Taper is ``Expecting Isabel,'' a comedy about how the decision to have a baby can throw a monkey wrench into the marriage of 30-somethings. (Imagine that.) The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, meanwhile, will be dark this week - the Philharmonic is busy at the Hollywood Bowl.

2. Museum of Contemporary Art

The photographs are all black and white. And universally sensational.

Two such exhibits are running concurrently at MOCA, half a block south of the Music Center (at 250 S. Grand Ave.). The most compelling is surely ``The Social Scene,'' an exhibition that is in its final week.

Part of the museum's permanent collection (but not always on display), ``The Social Scene'' is a look at America from the 1930s to the '70s through the lenses of nine notable photographers. It's a frank, unblinking and often ironic gaze.

Robert Frank focuses on small-town and rural life from the '50s and '60s, allowing us to peer in at scenes in coffee shops, public parks, barber shops, African-American funerals. Diane Arbus offers fascinating character studies.

And Garry Winogrand, once you get past his shots of young women that border on voyeurism, provides views of subjects that should be dear to conventioneers' hearts: anti-war and abortion-rights rallies. Our convention visitors might want to skip his ``Nixon Victory Celebration'' from 1972, but neither should they fret - seems he skipped their infamous get-together in Chicago in 1968.

Another exhibit that just opened is ``John Gutmann: Culture Shock.'' He was a Jew in Germany in the 1930s before fleeing to San Francisco, and on display here is the photographer's documentary work, mostly shot in America.

3. Grand Central Market/Angels Flight

On the other side of Bunker Hill from MOCA is a downtown treasure that dates to 1917 - a vast public market where visitors can celebrate cultural diversity ... with a knife and fork.

Your appetite is likely to be activated the instant you step through its warehouse-like doors and begin breathing in a rich convergence of cooking aromas. (The market is bordered by Hill, Broadway, Third and Fourth). You'll find L.A.'s full ethnic mix at the casual food stands here: Chinese, Salvadoran, Thai and, of course, a generous complement of Mexican outlets.

The food at L.A.'s suburban Mexican restaurants tends to be toned down for the gringos, but you'll find fare here so authentic that you might not recognize some of the featured items, you could have trouble comprehending the English of the counter man, and you're likely to need that extra napkin to wipe your eyes during lunch.

It's a lively, vibrant place, with a light dusting of sawdust on the concrete floor, and even if you're not hungry, it's fun just to stroll and gaze through the display windows. You'll find produce, flowers, ice cream, booze, bread, health food, delis (they still make luncheon loaf?), a fish market and a giant machine that cranks out fresh tortillas at Chapalita Tortilleria.

The place is pleasantly scruffy, but most of the food stands seem to be displaying the county health department's highest cleanliness rating: ``A.'' For Mexican food that shames the chains of Southern California, you can't go wrong at Tumbras, Ana Maria, Maria's or Roast to Go (yes, that's the actual name of the establishment).

To or from the market, sample another throwback to the early 1900s: the Angels Flight funicular railway, which traverses the short but steep climb between Hill Street (catty-corner to the market entrance) and Olive. This relic from L.A.'s past was recently reassembled after being in storage for nearly 30 years. It costs a whole quarter to ride it.

4. L.A. Conservancy walking tour

The Los Angeles Conservancy has taken the lead in celebrating the city's past and offers some stellar walking tours on Saturdays, but unfortunately the organization wimped out in the face of the convention's potential crush. The conservancy canceled all but one of this week's tours.

Too bad. That schedule includes an examination of L.A.'s art deco architecture, the old movie palaces along Broadway, and the Pershing Square landmarks. Program coordinator Annie Laskey explained that the tours meet at the Biltmore Hotel, which will house convention honchos, and there was fear that conditions would be too hectic.

The Bradbury Building, included on one of the tours, is still worth a look, though. At 304 S. Broadway, it is a Victorian wonder whose exotic atrium features lacy black ironwork, tiers of open stairwells, cage elevators and polished wood, all lit naturally through a glass ceiling. When the makers of the 1982 movie ``Blade Runner'' needed a futuristic look for L.A. in 2020, they ventured back in time to this place.

The conservancy will, however, conduct a tour of Union Station on Saturday, and it would be well worth the time of any conventioneers who linger through the weekend. It explores the architecture, art work and history of one of the last great railway stations, an L.A. landmark that features 52-foot ceilings above marble floors - all now wasted on Amtrak. Laskey says reservations for the 10 a.m. tour are a must: [phone].

5. Olvera Street

This blatantly touristy site, a few steps uphill from Union Station, is included only because it's where it all began for this city. In the 1700s, some Spanish soldiers pitched camp in a flood plain and came up with a name that was probably longer than their settlement: El Rio Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.

A pueblo followed, and the name was edited down so that it would fit on campaign buttons.

Today, Olvera Street has been conquered by the souvenir traders, and they don't exactly stand on tradition - framed photos of pro-wrestling stars are offered among the sombreros and blankets.

However, many of the buildings along the plaza date to the early 1800s - which is old for Los Angeles. Wander through the U-shaped Avila Adobe (circa 1818), which features wood floors, open beams and a broad, pre-air-conditioning overhang rimming the inner patio. Find shade beneath mature olive trees. Survey grape vines that have overtaken lines tied overhead.

With the imagination unleashed, you might acquire a sense of L.A. long before it represented a fourth of California's electoral votes.

6. Little Tokyo

This region a few blocks south of Olvera Street was beginning to boom when its residents were shipped off to internment camps during World War II, but it since has made an impressive comeback, all the more so in recent years.

Its jewel is the 8-year-old Japanese American National Museum (369 E. 1st St.). Currently among its exhibits is ``Common Ground: The Heart of Community,'' which addresses the issues of assimilation for this country's first Japanese immigrants and their American-born children. It deals frankly with wartime incarceration, and the word ``concentration'' is subbed for ``internment.''

Two other exhibits explore the athletic participation of Japanese-Americans, notably as an assimilation vehicle in the 1920s and '30s.

Across First Street from the museum is the Japanese Village Plaza, whose brick walkway features waterfalls and shady trees and is lined with sidewalk cafes and shops. You can seek out an acupuncture treatment. Or, at Tawa's Spa, get a shiatsu massage (steady, Mr. President).

7. Exposition Park

The National Football League viewed this complex as an urban war zone when Los Angeles was seeking an expansion team recently. Obviously, the league's billionaires hadn't visited it recently - at least during daylight hours.

The area directly north of the Coliseum is emerging as a treasure and thrives with activity most days. Among its offerings are the California Science Center, the Natural History Museum, an expansive rose garden and the California African American Museum. (The California Aerospace Museum will be added to the mix when its refurbishment is completed.) All of this lies exactly two miles down Figueroa from the front door of the Staples Center - don't walk; no one in L.A. does.

The California Science Center is free ($5 donation suggested), although there is a charge for several rides and features, and it is proving to be a wonderland for inquisitive kids. Hear the sounds of human digestion (right down to the belches), feel what it's like to be in an earthquake (at least an extremely mild one), take a high-wire bicycle ride, observe various magic acts (shoehorned into the theme of the building under the subtext ``The Science of Illusion'').

The facility also features no fewer than four IMAX movies.

The African American Museum (also free) currently has a terrific exhibit titled ``Rhythms of the Soul,'' which is in its final week. It displays ancient African instruments - lutes, bow harps, bata drums - while also tracing black music on this continent through calypso, blues, ragtime, jazz, be-bop and hip-hop. Put on a set of headphones, for example, and hear a 1933 recording of Bessie Smith singing ``Gimme a Pigfoot.''

But it's no fun to spend all your time indoors on a sunny, summer day. That sprawling rose garden has bushes that were planted 72 years ago, and when the breeze is up, a stroll here is like a visit to a perfumery.

8. Hollywood Bowl

This is the farthest flung of the 10 attractions, but it is an L.A. institution that shouldn't be missed. Nothing can match a summer night of classical or popular music in the open-air splendor of this hillside amphitheater.

It's the rare venue that will allow you to bring in your own food - and even your own alcoholic drink. Up and down the rows, and in the boxes closer to the stage, patrons sup from their picnic baskets and sip from their bottles of wine.

This week's entertainment offerings are typically eclectic: Rodgers and Hammerstein's ``Carousel,'' performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and some Broadway singing talent (tonight); Rachmaninoff, performed by the L.A. Philharmonic and pianist Nicolai Lungansky (Tuesday); jazz with Dave Brubeck, his quartet and the bowl's Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (Wednesday); Ravel and other Latin composers performed by the Philharmonic and guitarist Manuel Barrueco (Thursday); and, for a touch of Hollywood, John Williams conducting the Philharmonic in his movie-theme hits (``Star Wars,'' ``Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' ``Schindler's List,'' etc.).

Of course, all the important stuff at a political convention happens at night. So DNC visitors might want to sneak off to the Bowl for daytime rehearsals. They're conducted from about 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for all performances except Wednesday's jazz show (sound check held in the afternoon, undoubtedly to accommodate night-owl musicians). And here's something that should really appeal to politicos: They're free.

9. Griffith Observatory

This represents another delightful slice of L.A.'s past, but it also offers an unsurpassed view of the city.

It was built high on a knoll in the Hollywood Hills in 1933, long before the glare of millions of incandescent bulbs rendered it worthless for serious astronomical study. Particularly on summer nights, when cooler temperatures allow the city's snuggly brown blanket to lift, the observatory provides a sweeping view from downtown to the ocean, with Hollywood sprawling in between.

So many lights. So many miles of streets. So many houses. So many registered voters.

There's no charge to look through the observatory's 12-inch Zeiss telescope, which is usually trained on a heavenly body that is big enough to be distinguishable through all the light pollution. The planetarium theater, meanwhile, features nightly shows for modest admission rates - the current feature examines how Earth's dinosaurs were wiped out by the globe-wide cataclysm that followed collision with a massive asteroid or comet.

10. Dodger game

Funny, but many teams in major-league baseball have declared their 1960s-era stadiums obsolete and clamored for new facilities. Dodger Stadium, despite being built in 1962, still seems to gleam as if it just opened.

And after a heretical lapse a few years ago when stadium management started steaming the hot dogs, the air is once again filled with the unmistakable aroma of foot-long Dodger dogs being cooked on an open grill.

The Dodgers are on the road at the beginning of this week, but convention visitors who are milking an extended stay out of this event might be pleased to hear that the weekend opposition will be provided by the formidable New York Mets.

For Friday night's game in particular (day games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday), avoid the outfield bleachers. That way you can enjoy an experience that probably contributes to the stadium's timeless charm: Look out over the bright-green field of play, through the palm trees beyond center field; enjoy the glow of the setting sun on the Elysian Hills and the cool of gathering dusk.

In the face of all this, who needs Disneyland?

IF YOU GO

TRANSPORTATION: An excellent way to get around downtown is the DASH shuttle bus system. Information brochures are available at hotels and various tourist sites. The F Route reaches as far south as Exposition Park. Information: [phone]; www.mta.net.

Music Center: 135 N. Grand Ave. For information on ``The Dead'' at the Ahmanson or ``Expecting Isabel'' at the Mark Taper Forum, call [phone]. Web: www.taperahmanson.com. For information on the free, hour-long tours of the complex conducted by the Symphonians, call [phone]. For general information on the Music Center, call [phone] - and tumble into perhaps the most labyrinthine phone tree in the city.

Museum of Contemporary Art: 250 S. Grand Ave. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Remains open Thursday evenings, at no admission charge, from 5 to 9 p.m. during the summer. Admission is $6 adults, $4 seniors (65 and up) and students with ID, children under 12 free. Information: [phone]; www.moca.org.

Grand Central Market: 317 S. Broadway. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Information: [phone].

Angels Flight: Funicular railway operates between Hill and Olive just south of Third. Open daily, 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fare is 25 cents each way. Information: [phone].

L.A. Conservancy walking tours: Conducted Saturdays; 11 different tours are offered. Tours generally start at 10 a.m. and last 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Information: [phone]; www.laconservancy.org.

Olvera Street: 845 N. Alameda St. (officially El Pueblo De Los Angeles Historic Park). Open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., though some stores may open earlier and close later. Self-guided tour brochure available at El Pueblo Visitors Center, located in Sepulveda House, midway down Olvera Street on the west side. Information: [phone]; www.olvera-street.com.

Japanese American National Museum: 369 E. First St. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Remains open Thursday evenings, at no admission charge, until 8 p.m.; also free the third Thursday of every month. Admission is $6 adults, $5 seniors (62 and up) and students with ID, $3 children ages 6-17. Information: [phone]; www.janm.org.

Exposition Park: Corner of Exposition Boulevard and Figueroa Street (parking lot off Figueroa). The California Science Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission free. Information: [phone]; www.casciencectr.org. IMAX information and show times: [phone]. The California African American Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission free. Information: [phone]; www.caam.ca.gov. The Natural History Museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. Admission is $8 adults, $5.50 seniors (62 and up) and students with ID, $2 children ages 5-12. Information: [phone]; www.nhm.org.

Hollywood Bowl: 2301 N. Highland Ave. Evening performances throughout this week. Information: [phone]. Tickets: [phone]. Web: www.hollywoodbowl.org. Advisory: Parking is hellish at the bowl, and spokesman David Barber advises visitors staying downtown to catch the Metro Red Line at any stop and take it to Hollywood and Vine. Shuttles will operate from there to the bowl (and back after the performance).

Griffith Observatory: 2800 E. Observatory Road. Open daily from 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. No charge for admission to the Hall of Science astronomy museum and the telescopes. Planetarium show admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors (65 and up), $2 children ages 5-12. Information: [phone] or [phone]; www.griffithobs.org.

Dodger Stadium: 1000 Elysian Park Ave. Single-game ticket prices range from $6 to $17. Information and purchases: [phone]; www.dodgers.com.

L.A. tourism by the numbers

23.8 million

number of overnight visitors to L.A. in 1999

$12.3 billion

amount of money they spent

37.7

average visitor age

33

percentage of visitors renting a car

5.1

average length of stay, in days

680,000

number of visitors from Japan in 1999

1.14 million

number of visitors from New York in 1999

$68,400

average household income of visitors

83

L.A.'s average daily high temperature in August

CAPTION(S):

13 photos, 2 boxes, map

Photo: (1 -- color) One of downtown's more endearing attractions is the Angels Flight funicular, which dates to 1901. It makes the steep climb from Hill Street to Olive.

(2 -- color) No visit to Los Angeles would be complete without a stop at the Bradbury Building, whose elaborate interior was used as a backdrop for the futuristic movie ``Blade Runner.''

(3 -- color) The Los Angeles Conservancy canceled most of its historic walking tours this week, but it will offer a tour of one of the country's great railway edifices, Union Station.

(4 -- 5 -- color) The Grand Central Market is a popular gathering place downtown. Visitors can browse the market's wide array of fresh produce, or watch tortillas being made a Chapalita. the market reflects the city's rich ethnic mix.

(6) no caption (music center fountain)

(7) no caption (Angels Flight)

(8) no caption (stacked sombreros)

David Sprague/Staff Photographer (9) no caption (tower in Little Tokyo)

(10) no caption (California Science Center)

(11) no caption (Hollywood Bowl)

(12) no caption (kids looking through telescope)

(13) no caption (field inside Dodger Stadium)

Box: (1) L.A. tourism by the numbers (see text)

(2) If you go (see text)

Map: no caption (locations of listed attractions)

Traci Wooden/Staff Artist