Los Angeles’ Broadway Theater and Commercial District is the historic core of downtown of the city and is known for its architecturally ornate theaters and department stores. By 1931 the area had the highest density of theaters in the world, with seating capacity for 15,000 viewers, and the many department stores made it the main shopping area in greater Los Angeles. Today the district contains the country’s only remaining cluster of vintage movie palaces and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

When James had a work meeting in Los Angeles one Friday, we stayed the following weekend in downtown Los Angeles with a view to two of those historic buildings, the 1927 Orpheum Theatre and the 1930 Eastern Columbia Building, and spent the weekend exploring the surrounding area.

Below are highlights from May 9th through 11th, 2025.. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

5/9/2025

Mt. Rainier Position: 47°7.41’N, -122°0.24’W View to 14,411 ft (4,392 m) Mt. Rainier, with Mt. St. Helens visible in the distance. We’re en route to Los Angeles, where James has a business meeting today. Then we’ll spend the weekend in downtown LA.

Mt. Hood Position: 45°24.90’N, -121°53.92’W Looking down to the peak of 11,249 ft (3,429 m) Mt. Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon.

Rancho Park Golf Course Position: 34°1.00’N, -118°25.22’W The bright green Rancho Park Golf Course stands out from the urban development surrounding it. The high-rise buildings closer to the center of the photo are within Westfield Century City, a compact commercial district surrounding Fox Studios, Century City.

Hollywood sign Position: 34°1.82’N, -118°19.60’W View to the landmark Hollywood sign as we descend towards LAX. The sign originally read Hollywoodland, and was originally erected in 1923 as part of a promotion for a local real estate development. The sign became associated with the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema and was left up, and eventually shortened to its current form in 1949.

SoFi Stadium Position: 33°57.53’N, -118°20.24’W SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Ram and Chargers NFL teams, opened in 2020. Constructed at a cost of $5.5 billion, it is the most expensive sports stadium ever built.

Muhammad Ali Position: 34°1.36’N, -118°16.37’W Portrait of Muhammad Ali, by California-based artist and designer MADSTEEZ, on the wall of the City of Angels boxing gym in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant Position: 34°1.63’N, -118°16.20’W One of at least 345 murals in Southern California dedicated to basketball Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020. Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the LA Lakers, where he won 5 NBA championships, was an 18-time all-star and 2-time scoring champion. He ranks fourth in the NBA for all-time regular

Frank Sinatra Position: 34°1.67’N, -118°16.17’W Mural of Frank Sinatra by 213signs outside Mal’s Bar in Los Angeles.

Jose Jose Position: 34°1.68’N, -118°16.17’W Another mural of a singer at Mal’s Bar in Los Angeles, this one of famous Mexican tenor and actor Jose Jose.

Ola Volo Mural Position: 34°2.66’N, -118°15.46’W Canadian artist Ola Volo’s distinctive style on display in this mural at the Level Los Angeles hotel.

Level Los Angeles Position: 34°2.64’N, -118°15.45’W Our room with a view for the weekend at Level Los Angeles.

Broken Shaker Position: 34°2.69’N, -118°15.39’W An afternoon drink at the rooftop pool deck of Caribbean-inspired Broken Shaker in Los Angeles.

Garfield Building Position: 34°2.69’N, -118°15.39’W The Garfield building, named one of the “Ten Worst Eyesores” of downtown Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Downtown News, was once an elegant Art Deco office building that in 1970 was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Completed in 1930, the building has been vacant since 1991 and a target of the graffiti artists that plague downtown Los Angeles.

Tower Theatre Position: 34°2.63’N, -118°15.30’W The historic Tower Theatre in Los Angeles in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles. Opening in 1927, it was the first theater in Los Angeles to support talking pictures and the first with air conditioning. Note the name is spelled with the British “theatre” rather than the American “theater”. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Noah Webster, through his dictionaries, popularized an “American spelling” for many words, swapping “re” for “er” and “or” for “our” in word suffixes. But the art and fashion industry generally retained the British suffixes, likely because the American spellings seemed more pedestrian.

United Theater Position: 34°2.50’N, -118°15.39’W The United Theater was the tallest building in Los Angeles when it was completed in 1927. The ornate Spanish Gothic architecture is patterned after Segovia Cathedral in Segovia, Spain. Called the United Artists Theatre from 1927-1990, the building went through several rebrandings and now is called the United Theater using the American spelling.

Waymo Position: 34°2.46’N, -118°15.43’W One of several Waymo self-driving cars we saw operating in Las Angeles. It still pretty wild watching a car drive past with nobody in the driver’s seat.

Cabra Position: 34°2.39’N, -118°15.51’W A delicious meal on the rooftop terrace at Cabra restaurant in downtown Los Angeles’ Broadway Theater District.

Wilshire Grand Center Position: 34°2.64’N, -118°15.45’W The Wilshire Grand Center, at left, glowing orange in the dusk sky.

Violinist Position: 34°2.64’N, -118°15.45’W A talented violinist in the building opposite our hotel filling the air with a haunting melody.

Evening Position: 34°2.71’N, -118°15.42’W Los Angeles lit up colorfully under a deep blue sky, viewed from our room at the Level hotel.

Orpheum & Eastern Position: 34°2.64’N, -118°15.45’W Looking east from our hotel room to the Orpheum Theatre and the Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles’ Broadway Theater District. Opened in 1927, the Oprheum has hosted entertainers such as the Marx Brother, Jack Benny and Aretha Franklin. The Eastern Columbia Building opened in 1930 as the 39th store and new headquarters for Eastern-Columbia Department Store and is an Art Deco landmark and one of the city’s most photographed structures.

5/10/2025

Breakfast Position: 34°2.64’N, -118°15.45’W Scrambled eggs and bacon for a sunny breakfast in our room at the Level Los Angeles.

Fashion District Position: 34°2.53’N, -118°15.36’W Heading to the Los Angeles Fashion District to shop for a leather jacket.

Stalls Position: 34°2.32’N, -118°15.29’W Most of the “stores” in the LA’s Fashion District were simple stalls selling fairly low-quality commodity items. There were dozens and dozens of them, with a surprising number specializing in suits. We did find a few nicer stores, but most of the better ones were closed on Saturday.

Scooter Gang Position: 34°2.61’N, -118°15.05’W A scooter “gang” roaring down 7th Avenue in downtown LA. Other than being loud, running lights and operating on both sides of the road, they seemed relatively harmless.

California Pizza Kitchen Position: 34°2.94’N, -118°15.64’W Lunch on the terrace at California Pizza Kitchen in the FIGat7th mall.

Coco Position: 34°2.93’N, -118°15.64’W A Coco autonomous sidewalk food-delivery robot on the job at the FIGat7th mall.

Mastro’s Ocean Club Position: 34°2.50’N, -118°16.01’W An excellent dinner on the terrace at Mastro’s Ocean Club in downtown Los Angeles.

Grana Position: 34°2.47’N, -118°15.87’W The Grana mural is another tribute to Kobe Bryant, also showing his daughter Gianna, who died with him in a 2020 helicopter crash. On the left is a mamba, reflecting Bryant’s nickname “Black Mamba”. The mural was unveiled on “Mamba Day”, the annual celebration of his life that takes place on August 4th, or 8/24, based on the two numbers he wore during his 20-year career with the LA Lakers basketball team.

Serve Robotics Position: 34°2.48’N, -118°15.83’W Liliana and Tanmay, two Serve Robotics autonomous food delivery robot, parked along Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles. Server Robotics was spun off from Uber in 2021 and primarily delivers for Uber Eats and 7-Eleven.

Prank Bar Position: 34°2.54’N, -118°15.78’W The quote-laden patio at Prank Bar caught our attention as we walked past, so we stopped for a drink. The place had a real neighborhood feel, where everyone seemed to know each other.

Oceanwide Plaza Position: 34°2.53’N, -118°15.79’W Graffiti-tagged Oceanwide Plaza has become a bit of a tourist attraction in Los Angeles. Construction began in 2015, but ended in 2019 when Beijing-based Oceanwide Holding ran short of funds. In late 2023, three graffiti artists broke into the unfinished buildings and spray-painted their names across the floor-to-ceiling windows. More have followed, and the three towers that comprise the development are now covered in graffiti.

5/11/2025

Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant Position: 33°56.11’N, -118°25.86’W View to the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant as our flight to Seattle takes off from LAX. The plant is the oldest and largest wastewater treatment facility in Los Angeles, with a capacity for handling 450 million gallons per day.

Channel Islands Position: 34°4.40’N, -119°8.74’W The Channel Islands, off the coast of Los Angeles, viewed from our flight home to Seattle from LAX.

Eagle Harbor Position: 47°36.31’N, -122°27.33’W Washington State ferry entering Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island shortly before our flight from LAX lands in Seattle.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.