Things to Do in Los Angeles

Centered on Pershing Square, this condensed collection of city blocks once comprised the most glamorous commercial area in Los Angeles; after a decade’s worth of rejuvenation efforts, it has once again become a desirable destination. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it encompasses the Broadway Theater District, the Old Spring Street Financial District and Bunker Hill.

Crowned by the gilded Art Deco splendor of the Biltmore Hotel, buildings like the Los Angeles Central Library (a columnar fusion of Art Deco and ancient Egypt), Grand Central Market (the oldest food market in the city); and the Bradbury Building (built in 1893 and famed for its Victorian interior) make this one of the most architecturally significant swaths of L.A. Also home to Angels Flight, a funicular billed as the world’s shortest railway, elegant MacGuire Gardens and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), you could spend half a day or more exploring the core of Downtown.

Encompassing an entire city block at the intersection of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, this eight-story shopping mall has been a popular attraction since its opening in 1982. With over 100 individual shops ranging from chain to high-end, the mall is also home to three department stores, a food court and several restaurants.

Once the site of a locally beloved amusement park, the mall's valuable property still encompasses a working oil field. Considered by many Angelenos to be an architectural eyesore studded with external escalators and a poorly-designed, $1-an-hour parking lot, the Beverly Center's iconic status with tourists has been fueled by its appearances in movies like Scenes from a Mall and Less Than Zero.

Resident stores include Henri Bendel, True Religion, Yves Saint Laurent, Jimmy Choo and H&M and restaurants include L.A.'s only outposts of The Capital Grille and Grand Lux Cafe. There is also a hair salon, an Apple store and various shops geared towards children and teenagers; the weekend crowd here skews towards the latter population, with some of L.A.'s most outlandish teen fashions on living display. The mall is open daily.

Since the early 1970s, the Comedy Store has been famous for launching the careers of some of the biggest stars in stand-up comedy. Mitzi Shore (mother of comedian Pauly) bought the club from her ex-husband Sammy in 1973, turning it into a multi-room venue that includes a 450-seat Main Room for headliners, and the Belly Room, a small upstairs space that was once dedicated to emerging female comics – like Whoopi Goldberg.

Paid regulars at the club include (quite possibly) lesser-known acts like Korean-American comic Bobby Lee, the twin Sklar Brothers, and TV-game-show host Joe Rogan, as well as stars like Sarah Silverman, Louis C.K., Marc Maron, Russell Brand, Craig Ferguson,  Chelsea Handler and Jay Leno.

Show ticket prices tend to be about $10. Admission is free before 7pm, but there is a two-drink minimum for all events and performance; per the club’s liquor license, only people 21 and over can attend shows here. Street parking near and on Sunset Boulevard is extremely limited, but valet parking is available at the club.

Built in 1928 as the lavish wedding present from oil tycoon Edward Doheny to his son Edward “Ned” Doheny, Jr. and his wife Lucy, this 55-room, 16-acre Tudor estate was, at the time, the most expensive home in California. Just five months after the couple moved in, in early 1929, Ned was tragically shot to death in the mansion, killed by a distraught friend who in turn killed himself. Lucy continued living in the home until 1955, but Ned’s ghost is still thought to roam the property.

Ned’s murder was often rumored to be a ripple effect of the Teapot Dome Scandal, a rate-fixing bribe between Albert Fall, the Harding Administration’s Secretary of the Interior and, among others, Doheny, Sr.’s company, Pan American Petroleum, over oil reserves in California; when exposed, this shocking deal resulted in Fall’s imprisonment and the public disgrace of Doheny, Sr.

However, Ned’s murderer, Hugh Plunkett, was his own personal aide and increasingly close confidante; just prior to the murder, Plunkett had (reportedly) been exhibiting signs of a nervous disorder and had filed for divorce from his wife. Gossiped about as a cover-up of either Lucy’s crime or a homosexual affair, the facts surrounding Ned’s death were never fully publicized, as his father’s fortune was enough to keep the most lurid details out of the papers.

Purchased by the City of Beverly Hills in the 1960s (in order to save it from demolition by commercial real estate developers) and later added to the National Register of Historic Places, the grounds of Greystone have been designated as a public park since 1971. Always facing a financial deficit, these grounds host a variety of annual fundraising events, such as the Beverly Hills Flower and Garden Festival and a vintage automobile show called the Concours d’Elegance.

On weekends, the mansion’s grounds are often closed for special events. If you’re planning a weekend visit, call ahead to (310) 285-6830 to avoid disappointment.

In 1901, Angeles Flight began its run as a funicular called the Los Angeles Incline Railway, offering a one-cent, one-minute ride up or down steep Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles. Closed in 1969 when the then-decaying district around it underwent a full-scale renovation, the Angels Flight signature black-and-orange cars (named Sinai and Olivet) stayed in municipal storage for 27 years.

After a long battle by city conservationists for its return, Angels Flight was re-opened in 1996, just a half-block from its original site, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Despite its completely modernized and re-designed operating system, Angels Flight experienced a tragic accident in 2001, when Sinai reversed without warning and plummeted downhill into Olivet, killing one passenger and injuring several others.

After immediately shuttering, Angels Flight would remain closed to the public until March 2010, undergoing yet another complete re-design and rigorous testing in the interim. Today the "Shortest Railway in the World" connects Downtown's Broadway commercial district with Bunker Hill's California Plaza Watercourt and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

Run by L.A.'s Metro system, the cost of a one-way ride is currently 50 cents or 5 rides for 2 dollars. It is open every day from 6:45 am to 10 pm.

Rising 13 round stories above Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame, this city landmark, built in the mid-1950s to house the first West Coast outpost of a major record label, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Famed for being the site of recordings by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and many other big artists, the distinctive tower, designed by Louis Naidorf and Welton Becket (the latter, architect of the nearby Cinerama Dome and other prominent L.A. buildings) was purportedly meant to symbolize a stack of record albums on a turntable.

The building houses a series of working recording, mixing and mastering studios, including a unique echo chamber designed by guitarist and inventor Les Paul. Though the building has made a handful of appearances in popular entertainment, it was most dramatically featured in the 2004 disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow, being smashed to the ground by a giant tornado (and computer-generated effects).

Aside from its tall, cylindrical shape, lights make it easy to see the Capitol Records Building from many spots around the Hollywood Commercial and Entertainment District: since 1956, a blinking red light atop the building has spelled out the word "Hollywood" in Morse code, and every winter, a Christmas tree-shaped cone of sparkling lights has been strung up on the roof. The Capitol Records Building isn't open to the public.

A joint project between the State of California and the California Science Center Foundation, this is the largest interactive science center on the West Coast. Home to an IMAX theater, the Space Shuttle Endeavour and much more, the Center is a comprehensive tour through the world of science.

Permanent exhibits here include explorations of ecosystems and how they work (or don’t); the survival processes of all living things; feats of engineering, technology and other inventions; and air and space exhibits (where you’ll find the Endeavour). Outside, you’ll find an outdoor sculpture garden with several interactive details like mosaic tiles that impart scientific knowledge, and high above the Center’s entrance, visitors can ride a bicycle that’s been carefully balanced on a high wire.

Set behind The Grove (L.A.’s most popular mall) and the Original Farmer’s Market, this television studio complex in the Fairfax District is often defined by its long lines of tourists and local visitors waiting to snag seats to a show taping. Open since 1952, Television City is now home to eight separate studios, which host shows like American Idol, The Young & the Restless, The Price is Right and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.

Built on the site of the former Gilmore Stadium (once part of neighboring Pan Pacific Park), this series of black and white planes mixed with glassy cubes was designed by Pereira & Luckman, the architects behind LAX’s distinctively futuristic “Theme Building,” which now houses the Encounter Restaurant & Bar. Television City is now one of two CBS TV studios in the L.A. area, the other being CBS Television Center in Studio City.

Renamed in 2012 when sponsor Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy, this 180,000-square-foot, 3,400-seat theater now showcases Dolby Laboratories' state-of-the-art sound technologies. Situated in the popular Hollywood & Highland mall complex, the elegant Dolby Theatre hosts both the Academy Awards and Cirque du Soleil's Iris, a resident stage show which celebrates the history of film.

Periodically, the Dolby also plays host to charity benefits, movie premieres, special events and other televised award shows. The theater's soaring stage, one of the largest in the United States, has featured the national premiere of Pixar's Brave, the American Idol finals, the Daytime Emmys, the American Ballet Theatre and even President Barack Obama, while out on the campaign trail.

One of the oldest still-standing structures in Los Angeles, this National Historic Landmark was built in 1893 for mining millionaire and real estate developer Lewis L. Bradbury, who never saw the finished building; he died shortly before it was completed.  While relatively nondescript from its red brick Romanesque Revival exterior and into its dim entrance, the beauty of the Bradbury Building is revealed as you climb its stairs toward a five-story Victorian atrium filled with light.

The interior staircase is inlaid with geometric designs cut from Belgian marble, and its wrought-iron grillwork was considered so ornate at the time of its completion that it was featured in the Chicago World’s Fair before being installed here. The walls are pale glazed brick, the staircases are rimmed with carved-wood edging, and the atrium is capped with a glass skylight, allowing light to fill the building throughout the day.

Always used as an office building for various professionals, businesses and government agencies, the building has also made prominent appearances in several books, music videos, TV shows and movies, including Blade Runner, where it served as Harrison Ford’s character’s apartment.