California Plaza

Los Angeles, California Travel Guide

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California Plaza

Overview: In the middle of the Downtown L.A.’s Financial District and Bunker Hill hustle and bustle, you will find a picturesque and serene multi-tiered open court where you can relax and “get away from it all” – at least briefly. The California Plaza is like Pershing Square: both are incongruous places of reprieve from the surrounding bustle of a buzzing, metropolitan life. The California Plaza is located between, appropriately, the two California Plaza towers in Downtown Los Angeles on Grand Avenue.

Why visit and what goes on between two corporate buildings? There is a number of reasons: one of them is that between the towers and in front of the Omni Hotel (the Omni Hotel is recessed in the back of the California Plaza) is an open courtyard with a beautifully spiraling staircase from the street to a level below. Once you descend (there are ramps), you’ll find the Watercourt at the California Plaza where, in the large open-air space, lie serene pools of water between patio areas and tables and a central water fountain, erupting with a nice water show.

Free Summer Concerts
The courtyard on both floors is very large and large enough to hold sizeable, outdoor concerts. The concerts are held during the summers and are facilitated by Grand Performances. The great thing about the concerts, whether they’re jazz or rock, they are free of charge. Check out the www.grandperformances.org for upcoming event information.

At rear of the California Plaza sits the now revitalized Angel’s Flight Railway, the world’s shortest railway that used to carry the well-to-do from Hill St to Grand Ave. Also from the balcony of the Angel’s Flight Railway, the California Plaza offers one of the most exhilerating views of Downtown Los Angeles there is.

If concerts, beautiful scene and the shortest railway in the world doesn’t do it for you, head over to the ever popular and intriguing Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), which is connected to the courtyard. The Colburn School of Performing Arts is also there next to the MOCA.

Other highlights of the California Plaza include a number of restaurants and retail shops. And of course, standing in the middle of the California Plaza, just look up and you will notice with pleasure that you are in the middle of giants; that is, view of all the surrounding skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles.

Location: 350 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Grand Performances: 350 S Grand Ave, Suite A-4, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Site: www.grandperformances.org
Ph: (213) 687-2159

Cost: Free

Accessibility: The California Plaza and the adjoining MOCA are wheelchair accessible with ramps and elevators.

Getting There: www.metro.net, www.ladottransit.com