Downtown Renaissance
Explores the former financial heart of the city, an area of Spring Street and Main Street that has a rich past and a vibrant future.
Main Street is one of the oldest streets in Los Angeles. Originally lined with haciendas and livestock corrals, it evolved into the city’s first major business district in the mid-nineteenth century. By the 1880s, the hub of commerce was shifting west to Spring Street, and Main Street emerged as an entertainment district with theatres, restaurants, and hotels, several of which remain.
Spring Street was the business center of Los Angeles throughout most of the twentieth century. Its concentration of banks and other financial institutions inspired its nickname, “Wall Street of the West.” Grand terra cotta facades and gleaming marble lobbies still define the street. Recognized for its remarkable historic integrity, Spring Street from Fourth to Seventh Streets is a National Register Historic District.
In 1999, the city of Los Angeles enacted an Adaptive Reuse Ordinance that fostered the renewal of underused historic structures, resurrecting neglected landmarks and spurring downtown’s revitalization. Spring and Main Streets are once again drawing people to the area with lofts, shops, galleries, theatres, and restaurants.
Places to Visit:
San Fernando Building
Farmers and Merchants Bank and Annexes
Hermann Hellman Building (now Banco Popular de Puerto Rico) *
Braly Block (now the Continental Building)
Stowell Hotel (also known as the El Dorado Hotel)
Title Insurance and Trust Building *
Alexandria Hotel*
Security National Bank Building (now Los Angeles Theatre Center) *
Broadway-Spring Arcade Building *
First Interstate Bank (now United California Bank)
Pacific Electric Building *
Rosslyn Hotel
Regent Theatre
(*Interiors visited, subject to availability)
Tour Organizer: The Los Angeles Conservancy – (213) 623-2489 – info@laconservancy.org
Tour Schedule: Second and Fourth Saturday of every month
Start time: 10:00 am
Length: 2-3/4 hours
Distance covered: About 1-1/4 miles total walking
Meeting Location: 400 S. Main Street (just south of 4th Street). Tour meets near the café to the right of the building’s Main Street entrance.
