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The area marked as Little Tokyo includes both Little Tokyo and the Arts to the east.

Little Tokyo itself was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1995. Japanese Americans were removed from the original Little Tokyo during WWII. When they returned from the internment camps, many moved nearby to areas like Boyle Heights. There was very little housing remaining in Little Tokyo.

But Little Tokyo as an area continued to exist. Because of its location, the land was always attractive for redevelopment. A lot of the business redevelopment of the area involved Japanese banks and businesses. It remains as a community center for Japanese Americans, a tourist attraction, and a home to a small population.

You can go to Little Tokyo to experience a taste of Japan. There are ramen shops, sushi bars, and places to buy Japanese merchandise. You can find all types of Japanese cuisine as well as sweet shops. The Weller Court offers many of these as well as karaoke clubs. The Kinokuniya Bookstore is in Weller Court. You can buy Japanese books, manga, and CDs there. This Japanese bookstore has branches all over the world.

The Japanese Village Plaza in the center of Little Tokyo is very “touristy.”

The largest market there, Mitsua Market, is no longer purely Japanese as it was bought by a Korean company. (There are other Mitsua Markets in other parts of Southern California). Marukai Supermarket, although small, still offers “one-stop” Japanese shopping.

The Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens is in little Tokyo. While it calls itself a serene location, it also boasts of its proximity to the Music Center and the Staples Center.

The Japanese American National Museum should not be missed. It has an exhibition chronicling 130 years of Japanese American History. There are many events held at the museum featuring live performances or movie screenings. They also host walking and tasting tours of Little Tokyo.

The East West Players is the premier Asian-American theatre organization, which was established in 1965. The Players perform with a blend of Eastern and Western traditions, aiming to build bridges between East and West. They have an active performance calendar, plus workshops and other events.

The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center is the home to many civic arts organizations. It has a gallery which hosts exhibitions from Japan, a theatre, a Japanese garden, a cultural room, and memorials to Japanese Americans who died fighting in U.S. wars.

The Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple is close to the Japanese American Cultural Center. The Zenshuji Soto Mission is east of Alameda Street. To the south of it is the Shotokan Karate of America dojo.

The extension of the Museum of Contemporary Art, called Temporary Contemporary or the Geffen Contemporary, is on the east side of Little Tokyo.

While there is much to do in this area, and many businesses operate there, not very many people live in Little Tokyo. There are some buildings for older adults, plus condominiums, and converted lofts available.

The L.A. Zoo area includes most, but not all of Griffith Park. This part of Griffith Park has three golf courses, the Griffith Park Observatory, Travel Town and Museum, the Autry National Center Museum, the L.A. Zoo, an equestrian center, bicycle rental, a Merry-Go-Round, the Greek Theater, and a lot of park area. While all of these destinations can be enjoyable, some parts of the area are not as safe as they could be, and visitors need to be aware of their surroundings. It is not a residential area.

The LA Zoo was founded in 1966. It is owned by the City. It houses some 1,100 animals from all over the world. The Zoo has a California condor breeding program which has been successful in increasing the numbers of these rare birds. There are many habitats, from a gorilla reserve to sea lion cliffs, with more being planned and built. There are also Botanical Gardens. The Zoo is open every day except Christmas.

The Autry National Center Museum of the American West is near the Zoo. There are ongoing exhibitions called Opportunity, Conquest and Community, in addition to changing exhibits, festivals, lectures, and music. There is something here for everyone, especially during the summer.

The Greek Theater is an outside 5801-seat venue which presents concerts by a wide variety of
musicians.

The Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park tells the story of railroad history. It is has a small, restored and operating stretch of rail. There are a number of different trains and cars running at Travel Town. There are also trains running at the south end of Griffith Park.

Griffith Park itself is over 4210 acres of natural terrain as well as landscaped park. It is the largest municipal park with an urban wilderness area in the United States. There are many habitats within the park. Hiking and picnicking are allowed. There are two sleepover camps in the park. The land for the park was donated by Griffith J. Griffith. The Park is managed by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

The Griffith Park Observatory, which was planned by Griffith, has recently been renovated. In addition to the Planetarium, there is a theater named for Leonard Nimoy, who helped fund the renovation. There are public telescopes, exhibits, lectures, school programs, and more.

There was a fire in 2007 that destroyed 817 acres of Griffith Park. The fire came close to the Zoo. The city is working on stabilizing the slopes and restoring the area. In this area of Southern California, fire is always a risk. You have to be careful at all time and aware of where you are when visiting any part of this area.

New Downtown Los Angeles is a small area that contains the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Musem of Contemporary Art, the Biltmore Hotel, other high-rise hotels, and many of the skyscrapers that can be seen as the Los Angeles skyline. A large part of this area is called Bunker Hill, which is downtown Los Angeles as far as locals are concerned. The rest of New Downtown as seen on the map is a residential area to the west.

Bunker Hill was a fashionable area between the late 1800’s and WWI. The original Angels Flight railway took people from the bottom of the hill up. With time, it got crowded and eventually people moved out, making it a fairly empty and dilapidated region after WWII. The city planners wanted to clean up Bunker Hill, and built some highrises there as the limits on building height in LA were raised. Many of the skyscrapers belong to business or banks. One and Two California Plaza were the last two large buildings constructed.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has three locations in the Los Angeles area. The largest branch is in Two California Plaza. Also in Two California Plaza are the Colburn School of Performing Arts, the Omni Hotel and a water court.

The MOCA branch has a huge collection of American and European contemporary art (since 1940). It is the only Los Angeles museum housing only contemporary art.

Also in the area is the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, which bills itself as “The premiere choice for celebrities, presidents and travelers for over 85 years…” It has the Gallery Bar and Cognac Room, a number of restaurants and live music Friday and Saturday nights. While the Staples Center and LA Live are not actually in New Downtown, they are about one-and-a-half miles away. People from out of town can stay at the Biltmore and then go to a Lakers Game.

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel is in this area. It is the tallest buiding, round in shape, with a revolving restaurant and bar at the top. The Jonathan Club, a famous, private club for the rich and elite is located in the area. There are bank buildings, bars and restaurants. Part of this area is also called the Financial District.

However, the downturn in the economy hurt this area, preventing the construction of what would have been Three California Place. Some of the buildings are now being used for multiple purposes, including residential lofts.

The other side of the Harbor Freeway is in New Downtown as shown on this map, but not Bunker Hill. It is a more residential area, with a number of schools and hospitals. There are also apartments. The L.A. Chamber of Commerce is located there, as is the Children’s Home Society of California, New Beginnings Recovery Treatment and other drug/alcohol rehab centers, and a number of motels.

If you work anywhere in the area, housing is probably more affordable on the west side of the Harbor Freeway. There is much more to do up on Bunker Hill.

The Civic Center, part of downtown Los Angeles, comprises a very small area from 1st Street at the southwest border to West Aliso Street at the northeast border. The northwest border is the 110 freeway, and the southeast border is more-or-less Alameda Street.

As its name implies, the area contains many civic buildings, including Los Angeles City Hall, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the L.A. County Criminal Appeals building, the County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning, the Los Angeles Police-Fraud Section, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Los Angeles County: Small Claims, and the Los Angeles General Services Department.

The Los Angeles Police Department is just across the street from the 1st Street border.
The LA Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the country.
The Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Hill Street is a branch of the LA Superior Court serving the Central District. Citizens can be called to jury duty here. This courthouse handles civil complaints.

The L.A. County Law Library, the second largest public law library in the country, is in the Civic Center.

In terms of federal government buildings, the United States Bankruptcy Court (Central District of California branch), the United States Government Department of Veterans Affairs – Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center, a branch of the US Justice Department, and the U.S. District Court Clerk are all in the area.

In addition to the many local and federal governmental buildings, this area also contains a very important church, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. It is also called the Los Angeles Cathedral. This is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is the seat of the archbishop. The church replaced the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, a smaller church which served as the archbishop’s seat until it was damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The Music Center, the performing arts center of Los Angeles County, is towards the northwest border. The Music Center complex includes the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall (which is on the other side of first street, and strictly speaking, not in this neighborhood). These venues range in size and function.

You can attend performances of the L.A. Opera, The L.A. Philharmonic, the L.A. Master Chorale, and the Center Theatre Group at the Music Center. There are usually a series of musicals presented at the Ahmanson, and a series of plays at the Mark Taper. The performances at these venues tend to be high priced (although students can sometimes get last minute rush tickets) and high quality. Some plays go from L.A. to Broadway, or the other way around.

There are a very few restaurants for theater-goers or people who work in the area. There are few residences – some buildings have loft conversions. There are no schools in the area.

For a description of the Walt Disney Concert Hall see “New Downtown.”

The official boundaries of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles are Third Street on the north, Seventh Street on the south, Alameda Street on the east and Main Street on the West. That represents about half of this neighborhood, the rest, on the east, being the Wholesale District.

Some 7,000 to 8,000 people homeless people live on Skid Row. They are legally allowed to sleep on the sidewalks between 9PM and 6AM, at least until 1,250 units are built to house these homeless people. This was an agreement settled between the City of Los Angeles and the ACLU.

Since 2006, conditions on Skid Row have improved. The missions, the LAPD, the Mayor of Los Angeles and the ACLU have all worked to better the situation in the area. The Safer City Initiative aims to clean up Skid Row.

Hospitals have been prevented from “dumping” their homeless patients in the area. Nearby parts of downtown Los Angeles have been renovated, improved, and “gentrified,” all of which helps to clean up Skid Row.

As of 2000, there were some 17,000 people living in the neighborhood, representing approximately 2,400 households. Around 50% of the residents were Hispanic or Latino. 25% of the neighborhood was White, 17% African-American, and 6 % Asian. Over 40% of the residents had incomes below the poverty line. Although some 10% of the population is under 18, there are no schools inside of Skid Row.

The fire trucks and ambulances that are assigned to Skid Row have the name on their sides. They do not want to remove it.

The Wholesale District is to the east of Skid Row. It used to be called the Warehouse District because it is home to a group of industrial warehouses near area rail lines. Very few people live in the Warehouse District. There are people who work in the area.

The main reason to visit Skid Row is if you volunteer for one of the groups helping the impoverished people there. These include, among others the Union Rescue Mission, L.A. Mission Community Clinic, Volunteers of America, and the Downtown Women’s Center.

The so-called “Historic Core” of Los Angeles is an area that presumably was once the core of downtown Los Angeles. While “Skid Row” is in a small corner of the Historic Core, much of the area has been renovated and has much to offer.

There are so many sites of historical interest as well as beauty that it is worth visiting. Many have been used as settings for movies.

The Bradbury Building at Third and Broadway is an architectural landmark in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #6) and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1893. Its outside is considered Romanesque. The interior is exceptional, a Victorian court almost 50 feet tall, filled with ornate iron railings, open cage elevators and marble stairs. It is light and airy. The building was completely restored in the 1990.

Angels Flight Railway, a short, funicular rail line, is near the Bradbury Building. The original location nearby was dismantled in 1969. The new location uses the two original funicular cars but with brand new track and equipment. It was reopened in 1996. However, it was closed and redesigned after a fatal accident in 2001. It is now open again. It costs 25 cents to ride one way from the Historic Core to Bunker Hill California Plaza and the Museum of Contemporary Art- MOCA.

The Grand Central Market has been a fresh produce, meat and seafood market since 1917. It is frequented by those purchasing food for local restaurants, tourists, and residents wanting to shop and eat. It is Los Angeles’ largest and oldest open-air market. The Market was also recently restored.

The Million Dollar Theater on South Broadway is one of the oldest movie theaters in the country. It has been restored, and shows Spanish language films. It has been used for live entertainment and movie premiers. The front of the theater was featured in Blade Runner (1982).

The Orpheum Theater was opened in 1923 for vaudeville performances. It has undergone many transformations, from offering live music performances, to location filming for film and television. It is currently hosting live performances by talents as diverse as Melissa Etheridge, The Fab Faux Beatles tribute band, and chef Buddy Valastro.

Pershing Square is a park which hosts outdoor concerts and events. Many are free. This space was dedicated as a park in 1866. There were many militia receptions and speakers there during WWI, and it was renamed after the famous General Pershing in 1918. After WWII it was neglected, but between 1992 and 1994 it was restored. There is now a garage under the park, as well as a Metro station. It is a popular site for political demonstrations.

Clifton’s Cafeteria has been open since 1931. No one was ever turned away from Clifton’s hungry, even during the Depression. They still offer “quality food at a reasonable price” and they “make a friend of every guest.

Many of the older buildings in the Historic Core of LA have been converted to residential lofts. For example, the historic Pacific Electric building now offers loft living. This is not for everyone. The neighborhood is not quiet or necessarily safe. Some lofts are advertised as luxury living, and some people are very happy living in them. Others are not. There are a diverse group of people living in the Historic Core, but it is not primarily a residential neighborhood.

It is definitely worth a visit. Walking tours are available.

Tarzana is a bedroom suburb of Los Angeles out in the San Fernando Valley between Encino and Woodland Hills. It was one of the first developed areas out of what was once rural, agricultural land. Sometime between 1915 and 1919 Edgar Rice Burroughs bought land, and built his Tarzana Ranch. Later he sold the land in small parcels for homes to be built; other nearby small farms met the same fate. By the end of the 1920’s, locals were calling the area Tarzana, after Rice Burrough’s famous literary creation, Tarzan. There is still an active Burroughs fan club with a large website and yearly conventions, some of which include touring Burroughs-related places in the area.

Tarzana was advertised as a place where people could buy large lots and live away from the crowds. There are still beautiful houses going up the hills into the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Most of homes in the foothills are expensive, and there are gated communities and two country clubs. Residents who live on the north side of Ventura Blvd live in smaller houses or apartment buildings.

Approximately 40,000 people live in Tarzana. Many of the older residents had children who grew up and left the area. The median age of people in Tarzana and the percentage of residents 50 and older are very high for Los Angeles County. About 35% of the residents of Tarzana were born in another country; the most common countries of origin are Iran (Persia) and Mexico. Persian culture contributes to the community, particularly cuisine. Darband Restaurant on Ventura Blvd serves Persian food and is a local favorite. Shoomal and Ventura Kabob also offer Persian food.

Although the stretch of Ventura Blvd going through Tarzana looks a lot like nearby stretches, lined with office buildings, restaurants, and small businesses, many restaurants can be found on Ventura Boulevard, which offers something for everyone. Chablis Food and Wine is popular, as is the Oxygen Lounge and Restaurant, where you can inhale oxygen, drink, eat and dance. Paladinos (actually on Reseda in northern Tarzana) offers live tribute bands, drinks and dancing.

For people who want to get away from the city, Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park is easily accessible at the end of Reseda Boulevard, at the south of Tarzana. There is parking, access for the disabled, drinking water and there are bathrooms. Those who want to do more than just enjoy the park can venture into Topanga State Park and the wild areas of the Santa Monica Mountains. Hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers frequent these mountains.

Locally, the Tarzana Recreation Center provides facilities for meetings, sports and entertainment. Providence Tarzana Medical Center is an excellent hospital.

Tarzana is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Many of the schools, including all of the high schools, are actually outside of Tarzana. Looking at some of the graduates of nearby Taft High School, or checking out celebrity websites lets you know that many television and film personalities have lived in Tarzana or near Tarzana at some point in their lives.

Tarzana is a great choice for those who can afford to live there and want to be out of Los Angeles but not too far away.

Century City is not really a city. It is a mainly commercial area developed just west of Beverly Hills. It used to be one of 20th Century Fox’s backlots. In 1961, the studio sold the parcel, which is only 180 acres, to a developer who eventually built a number of high rises, including office space, a shopping mall, the Century City Plaza Hotel and the ABC Entertainment Center. These were some of LA’s first “skyscrapers.”

The ABC Entertainment Center contained ABC’s television network operations. It also boasted the Schubert Theater, which, despite its unfriendly seating, was the place to see many performances from the late 1970’s until its demolition in 2002. The space is now occupied by a new glass building where the famous Creative Artists Agency calls home.

The shopping mall in Century City opened to the public in 1964. At the time, it was small and the only major retailer was the Broadway. It has been renovated several times, each time bringing more space and more choices, including a Bullock’s and a market (the “Marketplace”) instead of a food court. The AMC movie complex added in 1987 contained 14 theaters, making it one of the largest in the country. This was probably the high point for the mall. As department stores went under in the 1990’s, Broadway and Bullock’s were both casualties. Bought by the Westfield Group in 2002, the mall was redone once again, and has acquired more trendy and expensive shops. The current name is the Westfield Century City, and it is still a very popular place to shop for residents of surrounding areas.

The people who live in Century City live in condominiums or apartments. There are no single homes.

According to the LA Department of City Planning estimates in 2008, there are just under 6000 people living in Century City, less than 700 of them being school age.

While Century City is part of the LA Unified School District, there are no schools within the area. High School students used to go to Hamilton High School to the south; they now go to University High School to the West. Century City is immediately adjacent to Beverly Hills and residents facing east can Beverly Hills High School out the window. However, BHHS generally does not allow Century City residents to attend.

During the day there are almost 50,000 people working in Century City. The office space is consider prime and is used by a wide range of businesses.

The hotel, still called the Century Plaza Hotel, it is now a Hyatt Regency, although it changed hands in 2008. The new owners were prevented from demolishing it since it is now on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the most endangered historic places in America. After a million dollar renovation of the guest rooms, as well as areas for business meetings and parties, the hotel markets itself as a luxury destination with an award-winning restaurant and popular bar. Because of its location, the Century Plaza Hotel is a good base to explore all of Los Angeles.

West Hills is an area located toward the west end of the San Fernando Valley. West Hills has its own sense of community, with residents fighting to get a separate name from Canoga Park, which happened in 1987. There are houses there that were built in the late 1950’s, when the area was still agricultural, but there are also a number of fairly new developments. Most of the homes are in the northwest part of the area, with the medical facilities, shopping and businesses located in the southeast.

West Hills is a somewhat upscale suburban neighborhood, with many public parks as well as wild spaces inside West Hills and around it. Most of the schools belong to the Los Angeles Unified School District. However, there is no public high school in West Hills proper. Most of the students go to either Canoga Park Senior High just to the east, or to El Camino High School to the south. El Camino has fielded the most winning Academic Decathlon teams in the entire country. Chaminade High School is a private school in West Hills; many area residents attend Chaminade, which is known for its football teams.

West Hills Hospital and Medical Center offers full services, and is upgrading its emergency department, ICU and the rest of its facilities. In fact, it will shortly become home to the Grossman Burn Center, one of the best burn treatment facilities in the country. The hospital is surrounded by medical offices.

There is shopping at the Fallbrook Center (or Mall), which in addition to a number of chain stores has a Laemmle’s movie complex that shows foreign and independent films that you can’t usually find at the local multiplex.

There are two Los Angeles Historical-Cultural Monuments in the area. One is the Orcutt Ranch Estate, a 1920 adobe, built by William Warren Orcutt, an early oil pioneer.

The other, Shadow Ranch, was a working ranch owned by an Australian who brought eucalyptus trees with him in the 1870’s. Some say that all the eucalyptus trees in California came from Shadow Ranch. They are a mixed blessing; they grow fast and provide shade, but are extremely combustible, in an area where fires are a problem. There are community facilities, sports and play areas on this site.

The open spaces around West Hills make it feel like you are out of the city. These include El Escorpion Park, Bell Canyon Park, and the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve which is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. There is hiking at all of these parks, and sometimes special scheduled events. There are also 8 or 9 neighborhood parks which vary in size, some of which have a selection of sports facilities, others with playgrounds, and picnic tables.

The West Hills Neighborhood Council is very active, helping to represent the community and make sure its voice is heard within Los Angeles County. There is an annual Fall Fest in October, with food and activities for the whole family.

Mid-City West encompasses some well-known L.A. landmarks, including the original Farmers Market with its iconic Clock Tower at Fairfax and 3rd. It was created in 1934, when farmers started bringing their produce to the spot. It quickly became a place to buy and sell just about anything you might want to eat. Du-Pars Restaurant has been open for more than 70 years – don’t miss the pot pie.

You can take a trolley to the Grove right next door. This is an upscale mall which boasts everything from designer stores in Nordstrom’s (Jimmy Choo and Stella McCartney) to live performances and high-end movie theaters.

Canter’s, north of Farmers Market on Fairfax has been serving authentic Jewish deli since 1953. Fairfax has traditionally been a Jewish area, and still has a very high percentage of orthodox Jews.
CBS studio is up the street from Canter’s. The Price is Right (Drew Carey), and other shows are taped there in front of a live audience.

If you head south on Fairfax to Wilshire, you will see the art deco building that used to be the flagship store of May Company. This building is now part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

LACMA boasts excellent collections of Asian, Latin American and Islamic art, and much more. LACMA sponsors public music and film programs and hosts many travelling exhibits.

You cannot miss the large, concrete towers of Park La Brea, which house many area residents. It also has some two story buildings with central courtyard-type areas where children can play. While there used to be a lot of older, retired people living in Park La Brea (and there still are those residents), there are also families. It has become very multicultural; tenants come from all over the world.

Nearby are a couple of newish, large condomium complexes. It took some time for these to sell and/or rent, but they seem occupied now.

A bit further north, above Beverly, much of the area is residential with a lot of mostly small homes.
If you are considering moving to the area, you have a choice between the apartments/condos in the southern part of this area, or the homes toward the north.

If you only have a few hours to vist, go to Farmer’s Market and the Grove. You can still catch celebrities there,