Some of the Interesting L.A. Architectural Landmarks
With so many amazing buildings designed by famous names, Los Angeles is an outstanding city to be able to view significant architecture that is beautiful to look at, adds to one’s photographic collection, has historic significance, and is accessible to the public usually on a free basis. You will also see many sites that have appeared in numerous television shows and movies.
Here are just a few examples:
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Forecourt of the Stars, and Hollywood Walk of Fame
The unique and ornate Asian-inspired facade and being able to step into the immortalized footprints and see the handprints of more than 200 celebrities is a must-see and most photographed landmark. Many consider it to be the most spectacular cinema that was ever built with its stone Heaven Dogs, pagodas, and temple bells imported from China.
How did it start? While under construction, Sid Grauman, the owner, by mistake stepped into a sidewalk that was freshly paved and then had an inspiration to ask film stars Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Norma Talmadge to add their celebrity footprints on the opening day in 1927. The opulent theater is still a popular location for Hollywood movie premiers and special events while movies run all day long on an IMAX screen in the upstairs TCL Theatres.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Located in Downtown Los Angeles, this is architect Frank Gehry’s monumental ship of stainless steel waves that are sailing down Grand Avenue at the corner of Second Street. Since opening in 2003, the building has become one of LA’s top architectural and most-photographed landmarks.
You can take an audio tour and can climb around and explore the building with its sweeping stainless steel sails on your own at no charge. You can imagine the unique view of the downtown landscape. There is also a free 90-minute guided tour of the whole Music Center campus or a 60-minute guided tour of just the Concert Hall. The 2,265-seat main auditorium is not included in the tour because of a full rehearsal schedule, so if you want to see the inside, you’d have to buy a ticket to a performance.
At the south end of the Concert Hall, with a separate entrance, is the Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theatre known as REDCAT. It is a 250-seat theater run by the California Institute for the Arts, which presents experimental theater, music, and dance performances.
Capitol Records Building
Located in Hollywood, built in 1956, and on the Los Angeles Register of Historic Places, it resembles a stack of vinyl 45 records (today it could well be viewed as a stack of CDs). At night, the light on top of the 13-story tower blinks and spells out “Hollywood” in Morse code. If you happen to be in the area at Christmastime, tree-shaped lights adorn the top of the tower.
Hollywood Bowl
It is free to come by during the day when nothing is going on and check out this famous outdoor band shell. The Hollywood Bowl Museum is also free, and you might catch the Los Angeles Philharmonic rehearsing in their summer home.
The Hollywood Bowl, just north of Hollywood and Highland, is the largest natural outdoor amphitheater in the United States and hosts a wide variety of concerts and music festivals. Many of the most popular musical names in history have performed and continue to perform there. The concert season runs from June to late September or early October.
Contact us to discuss any of your interior needs, and come back to read this blog for continuing interesting news on business and architecture in Los Angeles.
