Although it is a young city by East Coast standards, Los Angeles features many important and historic landmarks to explore. (Photo: Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images )
Born as a tiny village and founded shortly after America's Revolutionary War, originally called "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula," -- roughly translated as "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the (Los Angeles) River," -- Los Angeles is now the second-largest city in population in the United States. Many of the city's important landmarks are historic, artistic or education in nature, and some places combine two or more of these elements.
The original village from which the city of Los Angeles was born, Olvera Street (olvera-street.com) -- including the Avila Adobe, reputedly the oldest surviving building in Los Angeles -- was slated for destruction in 1926. Fortunately, a northern California socialite named Christine Sterling took it upon herself to save the landmark area. Restoration projects followed, and now Olvera Street is not only historically important, but draws many tourists to experience native art, food and crafts found on the street.
Labeled the "shortest railroad in the world," Angels Flight (angelsflight.com) is a funicular (cable cars that rise and lower via a counterbalance system) cable car railway line connecting South Hill Street near Pershing Square's Metro Red Line Station, running to South Grand Avenue at the California Plaza Watercourt on Bunker Hill. Built in 1901, Angels Flight was dismantled in 1969, relocated a half-block from its original site, refurbished and reopened in 1996. The nearly 300-foot long ride costs only a quarter.
Los Angeles' Chinatown (chinatownla.com), which dates to at least 1870, was originally located about a mile from where it now stands. The "new" Chinatown, one of the most distinctive of LA's many ethnic communities, was established in 1938 and was one of America's first malls. Rich in history, this area is home to many Chinese-Americans as well as several Vietnamese families and a mix of other cultures. Nearly every street is lined with restaurants, shops, markets and herbalists.
The La Brea Tar Pits (tarpits.org) is a treasure trove for archeologists, yielding over a million bones from over 230 vertebrate species. Animals living from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, mistaking the thin layer of water that once covered the molten asphalt for a pond, became mired in the tar when they came for a drink. The tar claimed the animals and preserved their bones, and most of the bones recovered from the pits are on display at the neighboring Page Museum.
Created by Italian immigrant Sam Rodia from 1921until 1955, the Watts Towers (wattstowers.us) was erected mostly from garbage. He dubbed the towers "Nuestro Pueblo" ("Our Town" in Spanish) on the triangular lot he had purchased. When he retired at age 75, he deeded the property to a neighbor. The city threatened to tear the towers down, but the Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts was formed to preserve them and donated the towers and the associated arts center to the city in 1975.
Sprawling through the Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park (laparks.org) is home to many of LA's most popular landmarks. The Los Angeles Zoo features a unique and large habitat for endangered Asian elephants. Across the street, the Autry National Center is an Old West museum with one section devoted entirely to Buffalo Bill Cody. The merry-go-round has entertained children in the park since 1937, and adults find similar joy at the four nearby municipal golf courses. The Griffith Park and Southern Railroad -- a miniature train -- has hauled kids around the park since 1948, and visitors can ride a full-sized train in Travel Town, which includes an outdoor museum filled with old trains and a large indoor working railroad model.
Exposition Park (expositionpark.org) is much more than a place for picnics. Home to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and the California Science Center and associated Air and Space Museum -- the latter two with free admission -- the park also holds the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, built for the 1932 Olympic Games, former home of the Rams and Raiders football franchises and now home of the University of Southern California Trojans football team. The Rose Garden on the north side of the park has been around since the 19th century, and while the Sports Arena no longer hosts any sports teams, it remains a popular music venue and was the site of John F. Kennedy's 1960 Democratic Convention acceptance speech.
The J. Paul Getty Trust (getty.edu) owns and operates both the J. Paul Getty Villa and Museum in Malibu and the Getty Center in Brentwood, as well as the associated research and conservation institutes, both located within the Getty Center. Featuring ancient and contemporary paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, tapestries and illuminated manuscripts from around the world -- as well as spectacular architecture -- neither museum has an admission charge, although you will pay to park, and due to limited parking space, reservations are required for the Malibu location.
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