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Further fueling Downtown LA’s Historic Core as a major destination to visit, several of the neighborhood’s acclaimed restaurants received high accolades in End of Year lists and press for 2014.

After being home to Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurant in America in 2013 (Alma at Broadway/9th), the Historic Core was lauded again by the food magazine, ranking Grand Central Market (Broadway/3rd) amongst America’s 10 best. The food hall, which has existed in Downtown since 1917, came into its contemporary self in 2014 with several notable additions. LAist ranked Wexler’s Deli, the New York-style Jewish deli in Grand Central Market, in their list of Best New Restaurants in LA for the year.

In LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold’s list of the 10 Best Dishes in 2014, he awarded a classic lox, bagel and cream cheese at Wexler’s as one of the best in LA. Along with Wexler’s, Gold featured the polpettine di gamberi at Maccheroni Republic (Broadway/4th) and the crudite plate at chef Josef Centeno’s Ledlow (Main/4th) amongst the best dishes.

Ledlow, the revised restaurant that was formerly Pete’s Cafe, also received significant praise from Gold in his December 2014 review of the restaurant. Gold praises Centeno’s vision and cooking, writing, “In his way, Centeno, master of genre cooking, is trying to make a bold statement about serious American cuisine, with forthrightness and (a) sense of purpose.” Along with Ledlow, Centeno’s Bar Ama (4th/Main), his gourmet tex-mex neighborhood favorite, has been included in Eater LA’s Essential 38 Restaurants in LA. The quarterly list also features culinary hot spot Alma (Broadway/9th).

The french toast at Ledlow on Main/4th

Many acclaimed spots opened last year, including Guisados Tacos and Gelateria Uli at the Spring Arcade (Spring/5th), L.A. Chapter at the Ace Hotel (Broadway/9th), and Hero Shop (6th/Los Angeles) from the team behind Black Hogg in Silver Lake.

More local food-focused excitement is slated for 2015, as Eater LA mentions BierBeisl Imbiss (Spring Arcade at Spring/5th), Madcapra Falafel (Grand Central Market), and Big Gay Ice Cream (9th/Broadway) as amongst the 20 Most Anticipated Openings for 2015.

The annual Turkey Trot Race makes it way back to the Historic Core this Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27. The 5k and 10k races start and end at City Hall, with the final stretch looping through Spring Street from 1st to 9th.
For our local residents and businesses, please take note of the schedule and road closures during the race:

Event Day Timeline – Thursday, November 27

7:00 am: Street Closures Begin
7:30 am: Opening Ceremonies
8:00 am: 5k Starts
8:30 am: 10k Starts
9:30 am: Select Roads Open
10:30 am: Last Finisher
10:30 am: Remaining Streets Open
12:00 pm: 100 Block of Spring Opens

Street Closures
S. Spring St. between 9th and Temple
E. 1st St. between Main and Hope
S. Hope St. between 3rd and Temple
S. Grand Ave. between 4th and Temple
S. Olive St. between 3rd and Temple
Lower Grand between 4th and 2nd
S. Hill St. between 1st and Temple
S. Broadway between 1st and Temple

Additionally, many parking lots in downtown may be closed during Thanksgiving Day.

Call 310-821-7898 or email [email protected] with any questions. For more information about the Turkey Trot, visit http://turkeytrot.la/general-info/

Just a few blocks up from the heart of the Historic Core, Grand Park adds another Downtown community need with the opening of a state-of-the-art playground. The new playground makes its groundbreaking debut this Saturday, November 22 at 2:00pm. The innovative playground features a 20-foot-high tree house, slides, ropes, sycamore trees, and a colorful, undulating “forest floor” designed to look like mounds of fallen leaves.

This welcome addition to Grand Park brings much-needed green space downtown for kids and their families to enjoy. It was designed to be a safe and vibrant place downtown for urban-dwelling kids to gather, play outdoors, and create special memories.

Grand Park draws thousands of visitors from all over Los Angeles County each weekend and is conveniently situated in the Historic Core’s backyard. Swing by Grand Park on Saturday from 2 to 5 pm for the playground’s grand opening, “Meet Me at the Playground.” Munch on free Popgram popcorn and fruit while experiencing the new playground with your family. Don’t forget to share pictures on social media with the hashtags #grandopening and #kidznplay!

ShopWalk DTLA, returning Sunday November 16th, is the perfect chance to explore LA’s most historically rich, urban neighborhood. Dozens of participating retailers and restaurants will welcome visitors with discounts and special events. Just shy of the holiday rush, ShopWalk is a great opportunity to score unique gifts from local shops, boutiques, and galleries. As a premier location for unique boutiques, the Historic Core is home to such finds as Haus of Love, which was named L.A.’s best boutique of 2014 by LA Weekly. Buttons & Bows, a haute couture consignment jewel, will offer terrific pre-holiday sales. Skingraft Designs will celebrate its new L.A. flagship store at 8th/Spring with special ShopWalk clearances.

Supporting those in need around the holidays, local culinary emporium Grand Central Market will offer $2 off to any patrons who bring canned food items to donate. On the other end of Broadway, acclaimed restaurant Alma will serve a special 3-course dinner during ShopWalk while Ace Hotel will offer deals at L.A. Chapter and at the Upstairs Bar.

As a new addition to the festivities this November, ShopWalk is introducing ShopWalk PopUp!, a showcase of area merchants that occupy upper-level office space. By coming down to street-level at the IndieDesk (Broadway between 8th & 9th Streets), these businesses have the opportunity to share their unique goods with ShopWalk visitors.

Organized by the Historic Downtown Building & Merchants Association (HDBMA), ShopWalk was started in 2012 by several boutique owners in the area. It is a community-driven day of fun, shopping, eating, and entertainment that benefits the local economy and supports small businesses. From the established classics to the new arrivals, there is no end to discovering what DTLA has to offer.

Visit ShopWalkDTLA.com for additional information about participating businesses and discount details.

RSVP for ShopWalk DTLA at https://www.facebook.com/events/1478942215679450/

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It’s easy to take Metro to the Historic Core for ShopWalk DTLA. Take the Metro Red or Purple Line to Pershing Square Station or take the Metro Blue or Expo Line to 7th St/Metro Center Station. Plan your best route using the Metro Trip Planner.

Once Downtown, use Lyft to hop from one end of ShopWalk to another. Download the Lyft smartphone app for a friendly, affordable ride. Request a ride with the tap of a button, and get picked up by a reliable community driver in minutes. Enter code SHPWLKDTLA before you request your first ride, and you’ll get $10 off.

This event is made possible by the Historic Core BID and DTLA Rendezvous.

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PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES:

RESTAURANTS:
1810 Restaurant
Alma Restaurant
Artisan House
Bar Amá
Cole’s
Crepes Sans Frontieres
Grand Central Market
Guisados
L.A. Chapter
Peking Tavern
Pete’s Los Angeles
Umami Burger

FASHION:
Beautiful Fül
Bliss Clothing
Buttons and bows
Curio Los Angeles
DeSuar
Flamingo Vintage
Harper
Haus of Love
Industry Dtla
Pale Violet
Round 2
Skingraft
sub_urban riot
Tanner Goods
Zalez Studio

DESSERTS:
Gelateria Uli
Peddler’s Creamery

BARS:
Beelman’s Pub
Crane’s Bar Downtown
King Eddy’s Saloon
Spring St Bar
Upstairs Bar at Ace Hotel

RETAILERS:
Austere
Bring Something to the Party
Create Your Health Teas, Healing Herbs and Spices
Pussy & Pooch
Raw Materials Art Supplies

SERVICES:
Indie Desk
KaleCart
Roy & Son
Peace Yoga Gallery

More commercial space is coming to Downtown LA’s Historic Core as the Broadway Arts Tower opens its doors on Broadway between 5th and 6th Streets. The Broadway Arts Tower at 529 S Broadway, sister buildings to the Spring Arts Tower at 5th/Spring, brings the first new offices to Broadway in more than 80 years. It is also the first creative office building to open since Councilmember Jose Huizar’s office passed the Historic Commercial Reuse Ordinance last December, which allows historic buildings to be brought back to commercial use in a simpler, more expedited manner.

The Broadway Arts Tower, formerly the Schulte United building, was originally built in 1928 as a department store and popular cafeteria. The five-story building’s original grand staircase with bronze inlays and brass handrails, brickwork, and hardwood floors have all been saved and incorporated into the final design of the project.

The Historic Core BID along with Councilmember Huizar will celebrate the opening of the Broadway Arts Tower and its first new tenants with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house reception on Thursday, November 6th at 4:00pm. If you’d like to attend and see the historic building up close, please RSVP to [email protected].

Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project returns to its home of choice, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, for three new performances this fall: Friday, Oct. 24th, Saturday, Oct. 25th and Sunday, Oct. 26th. The program features new work by Benjamin Millepied with music by Philip Glass, the U.S Premiere of Emmanuel Gat’s Morgan’s Last Chug and the reprise of the highly acclaimed Quintett by William Forsythe.

L.A. Dance Project began its residency at The Theatre at Ace Hotel as one of the first performances in the revitalized historic space in February 2014. Since then, they have enjoyed a successful world tour and will continue on to Japan and South Korea following this upcoming performance at the Ace.

For tickets and info: http://acehotel.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1

The Historic Core BID is honored to receive the International Downtown Association’s (IDA) Merit Award for our Historic Core Doggie Relief Stations initiative. Accepted by Ari Simon at IDA’s World Summit Conference in Ottawa, Canada in September 2014, the award acknowledges a creative, low-budget approach to a significant neighborhood cleanliness and health issue. To help reduce the rampant dog waste remains on our sidewalks, we installed artificial turf deodorizing patches on Spring at 7th, 7th at Main, and 6th at Main.

Our project was selected in the Public Space category, which recognizes outstanding projects that enhanced the urban design or physical function of a downtown. The award enables funding opportunities for the HCBID to install more stations in the area. Due to the pilot project’s success, we have received inquiries from other cities on how to implement similar solutions in their communities.

The first ever Los Angeles Plein Air Festival is coming to the streets of the Historic Core from Thursday, October 9 to Sunday the 12th. The festival, produced by Raw Materials Art Supplies and The Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, is a celebration of art and Downtown LA’s unique urban landscape. Artists of all levels can participate by painting and drawing in plein air – open air in French – to capture the life and movement of Main, Spring, Broadway, and the Historic Downtown Farmers Market.

In the spirit of outdoor painting, Raw Materials and Blackstone Gallery will host demos throughout all four days of the festival. On Sunday, participating artists can submit their work in the Audience Choice and Grand Prize competitions. The Plein Air Festival will close with an awards presentation for these winners.
Everyone is welcome to participate in this free, public event.

For registration, a detailed schedule, and other information, please visit http://www.lapleinairfestival.com/.
Participants should also take a look at event guidelines.