Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [97]
Next door, at the Aratani/Japan America Theater (Map; 213-680-3700) a handmade peacock-motif silk doncho (curtain) from Kyoto dramatically opens the stage for Kabuki, No (stylized dance-dramas), Bunraku (puppet shows) and Western-style performances.
ARTS DISTRICT
In the gritty, industrial section southeast of Little Tokyo an increasingly lively arts district has sprung up. It’s drawn a young, adventurous and spirited crowd of people who live and work in makeshift studios above abandoned warehouses and small factories. There’s enough of them here to support a growing number of cafés, restaurants and shops.
The area got a nod of respectability when the Southern California Institute of Architecture (Sci-Arc; Map; 213-613-2200; www.sciarc.edu; 960 E 3rd St) moved into the former Santa Fe Freight Yard in 2001. It’s a progressive laboratory whose faculty and students continually push the envelope in architectural design. You can see some of the results in the gallery (Map; admission free; 10am-6pm) or attend a lecture or film screening; call or see the website for upcoming events.
Northeast, across LA’s trickling ‘river,’ is the Brewery Art Complex (Map; 323-342-0717; www.breweryart.org; 2100 N Main St; ), LA’s largest artist colony, in a former brewery. There are a few galleries, but studios are generally closed to the public except during the biannual Artwalks (usually in spring and fall; call or check the website for details), though you can wander around to examine the large installations – usually works in progress – scattered throughout.
Near the art complex is the San Antonio Winery (Map; 323-223-1401; www.sanantoniowinery.com; 737 Lamar St; admission free; 8:30am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat & Sun; ), LA’s last remaining historic winery. It was founded in 1917 by Italian immigrant Santo Cambianica whose descendants still make buttery chardonnay, velvety cabernet sauvignon and other varietals. You can sample some of them for free in the tasting room, enjoy a meal at the Italian restaurant or learn more about the noble grape at a wine seminar. Free behind-the-scenes winery tours take place at noon, 1pm and 2pm from Monday to Friday, and on the hour from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
SOUTH PARK & FASHION DISTRICT
In the southwestern corner of Downtown, South Park isn’t really a park at all but an emerging neighborhood bordering the Staples Center, LA Convention Center and what will soon be a new entertainment hub called LA Live. City planners and developers are betting the farm that this $1.7 billion dollar megaproject will pole vault Downtown LA onto the map of must-go destinations for both locals and visitors. At the time of writing, construction was progressing feverishly; the 7100-seat Nokia Theatre, which will host awards shows and major spectacles, should already have opened. There will also be a huge live-music club, a megaplex movie theater, a dozen restaurants and a 54-story hotel tower shared by Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton.
The area got its first jolt in 1999 with the opening of the Staples Center (Map; 213-742-7340; www.staplescenter.com; 1111 S Figueroa St; ), a saucer-shaped sports and entertainment arena with all the high-tech trappings. It’s home turf for the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Sparks basketball teams, the Kings ice-hockey team and the Avengers indoor-football team. When major headliners – Bruce Springsteen to Justin Timberlake – are in town, they’ll most likely perform at the Staples. Parking costs $20.
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TOURS
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) campus (Pasadena, Click here)
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Downtown, Click here)
Downtown LA Walks
El Pueblo de Los Angeles & Olvera St (Downtown, Click here)
Getty Center (Brentwood, Click here)
Los Angeles Times (Downtown, Click here)
Metro Rail Art Tours
San Antonio Winery (Downtown, left)
Seabiscuit Tour at Santa Anita Park (San Gabriel Valley, Click here)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus (Westwood, Click here)
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A few steps north of here is the