26 Apr 2012
It's Time to Take the City's Public Transportation System for a Spin While Enjoying Downtown LA's Many Exciting Attractions
LOS ANGELES —LA has your ticket to ride aboard LA Metro. One of the most extensive public transportation systems in the nation, LA Metro features a six-line rapid transit rail system that fans out across the City and County, transporting millions of people annually to and from their destinations. Complementing LA Metro is the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), which operates DASH shuttle routes in and around LA's various neighborhoods, including Downtown LA.
On this tour, guests leave traffic, hefty gasoline prices and navigation systems behind, as they use public transportation to visit several of Downtown LA's top attractions. Hal Bastian, senior vice president and director of economic development for the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID), will accompany the group. Dave Sotero, senior public communications officer from Metro, will also be on-hand to answer any questions you may have about one of the country's largest public transit systems.
The newest line, the Metro Expo light-rail line, which opens April 28, will mark the first time passenger rail has traveled from Downtown LA to the Westside since 1953. Participants along this tour will have the opportuntity to preview the line as they take a short trip from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to the Downtown area. When completed to Culver City, the new line will contribute 8.6 more miles to LA County's 79 miles of modern rail—all of it added since 1990. In 2015, the Expo Line will be extended to Santa Monica, adding another 6.6 rail miles to the line, which will culminate at the Pacific Ocean.
Among the many stops along this tour, will be historic Olvera Street, the birthplace of Los Angeles. This lively, open-air Mexican marketplace features historic buildings and adobes, authentic eateries with zesty Mexican fare and salt-rimmed margaritas, an array of novelties and souvenirs, and musicians, including strolling mariachis. Tour guide Frank Osmon will escort the group through the marketplace, providing insight into its cultural significance.
The group will then cross the street to visit Los Angeles Union Station. The 1939 structure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is LA's main railway station, servicing Amtrak, Metrolink, and three of the City's light rail and subway lines—Red Line, Purple Line and Gold Line—as well as bus service. Designed in part by the same architects who designed Los Angeles City Hall, Union Station features a blend of Dutch Colonial Revival, Mission Revival and Streamline Moderne architecture, with details like Art Deco lights in the passenger terminal and travertine, terra cotta and inlaid marble finishes. Besides the terminal itself, Union Station features enclosed garden patios, an upscale restaurant, a bar, and food-and-beverage kiosks.
From Union Station, participants will take the Metro Gold Line to Chinatown, one station away. Its bustling avenues are brimming with herb shops, and the landmark Central Plaza, which serves as the hub for this Chinese-American community. Chinatown also hosts an annual Chinese New Year Parade, where thousands of visitors arrive to celebrate the festive occasion in mid-January. While there, the group will meet George Yu, executive director of the Chinatown Business Improvement District, enjoy a traditional dim sum lunch and see a performance by Shaolin Monks. The Shaolin Masters are from The Shaolin Temple in China and have spent their lives studying Kung Fu. Master Xiaojun Wang specializes in Hard Qi Gong, in which he can break sticks on his body, among other feats. He has been featured on Spike TV's "The Deadliest Warrior," National Geographic's "Fight Science," and Nike and Sony commercials.
After lunch, head to The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which spans 5.5 acres and includes a landscaped grand plaza, meditation garden, campanile, conference center and rectory. The modern sanctuary, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jose Rafael Moneo of Spain, is void of right angles and features a pair of 25,000-pound bronze leaf doors, which is the only entryway to grace the church. When open, these striking works of art reveal the interior of the 65,000-square-foot sanctuary. Twenty chapels line the main floor, while a 150-foot tower contains a trio of historic bells. Free, docent-led tours are conducted daily.
From there, the group will walk to the gleaming, Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Disney Hall features a steel-clad exterior designed to resemble a blossoming rose. Inside, its main auditorium is warm and intimate feeling, and it's acoustically perfect. Three additional performance venues, as well as garden, a
gift shop and Patina, one of LA's top fine dining restaurants, also are enveloped within the undulating structure.
Next door, The Broad, Los Angeles, a museum named for philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, is under construction. When it opens next year, it will exhibit contemporary art, including works from the Broads' own collection. Included will be pieces by renowned artists such as Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. From there, Mr. Bastian will take you on a brief walking tour giving you an opportunity to learn even more about the dynamic Downtown Los Angeles.
For those who want to explore beyond the Downtown district, LA Metro links passengers to various destinations citywide and countywide. The Metro Blue Line travels between the 7th Street Metro Center in Downtown LA and the seaside City of Long Beach; the Metro Gold Line from Pasadena to East LA; the Red Line from Downtown LA to North Hollywood; the Green Line from Norwalk to Redondo Beach; and the Purple Line from Downtown LA to Mid-Wilshire. The Orange Line connects with the Red Line in North Hollywood and heads west through the San Fernando Valley; and this summer, it will extend four miles north from the Orange Line Canoga Station to the Metrolink/Amtrak Chatsworth Station.
In addition to light rail, LA Metro operates 180 bus routes throughout Los Angeles County. Transfers between the lines and routes are available at various crossroads.
Contacts:
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)
1 Gateway Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012
001-323-466-3876
www.metro.net
Media contact:
Dave Sotero
Senior Public Communications Officer
LA Metro
001-213-922-3007
soterod@metro.net
Los Angeles Department of Transportation
100 South Main Street, 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
001-213-972-8470
www.ladot.lacity.org
Media contact:
Public Information Office
001-213-972-8406
Or fill out the Media Request form at: http://ladot.lacity.org/pdf/Media%20Query%20Form.pdf
Downtown Los Angeles Center Business Improvement District (DCBID)
626 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90017
001-213-624-2146
www.downtownla.com
Media contact:
Christie Ly
Grayling
001-213-802-1153
christie.ly@grayling.com
Hal Bastian
Hal Bastian is senior vice president and director of economic development of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID), a coalition of property owners of more than 2,200 parcels who are committed to enhancing the quality of life in Downtown Los Angeles. The organization is helping the 65-block central business district achieve its full potential as a great place to live, work, play and connect. T: 001-213-624-2146, extension 213 or hbastian@downtownla.com
Olvera Street/El Pueblo Historical Monument
001-213-485-6855
www.olvera-street.com
info@olvera-street.com
Media contact:
John Kopczynski
Special Events & Marketing Division
001-213-485-8225
john.kopczynski@lacity.org
Chinatown Business Improvement District
727 North Broadway, Suite 208
001-213-680-0243
www.chinatownla.com
Media contact:
Linh Ho, Ideation
001-323-206-6491
linh@ideationagency.com
George Yu
George Yu is executive director of the Chinatown Business Improvement District, which plans, manages and facilitates the rebirth of historic Chinatown. The Chinatown BID, in cooperation with community stakeholders in LA Chinatown, aims to develop and foster a culturally defined, economically vibrant and socially engaging community. Yu has served in this role for over 12 years and has been active as an outspoken community member of Chinatown and the City of South Pasadena for more than 30 years. T: 001-213-680-0243 or geoyu28@aol.com
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
555 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
001-213-680-5200
www.olacathedral.com
Media contact:
001-213-637-7215
media@olacathedral.org
mediarelations@la-archdiocese.org
Walt Disney Concert Hall/Los Angeles Philharmonic
151 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
001-323-850-2000
www.laphil.org
Media contact:
Sophie Jefferies, director of public relations
001-213-972-3034
press@laphil.org
About The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is a private, nonprofit business association whose primary mission is to market and promote Los Angeles as the premier site for meetings, conventions and leisure travel. Though not part of City government, Los Angeles Tourism is recognized as the City's official tourism marketing organization. For more information, visit the official visitor information website of Los Angeles at www.discoverLosAngeles.com. Please visit our FaceBook page at facebook.com/LosAngelesFan or follow us on Twitter @discover_LA.
Los Angeles International Pow Wow is supported by the following Premiere Partners; Brand USA, Los Angeles World Airports, and Visit California. The Premiere Event sponsors are Cirque du Soleil, Hollywood & Highland and Universal Studios Hollywood. The Platinum sponsors are The GRAMMY Museum, LA Waterfront, Metro, and Wolfgang Puck Catering.
The Gold sponsors are Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, CityPASS, Coach America, DFS, Downtown Business Improvement District, The Grove, Hollywood Entertainment District, Merlin Entertainments Group, Miles Marketing Destinations, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Original Farmers Market, Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities CVA, Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau, Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission, Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau, Starline Tours & Tour Coach Charters, Temecula Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau. The Silver sponsors are Beverly Center, The Capital Grille, Citadel Outlets, City of Santa Clarita, Joie de Vivre Hospitality, Malibu Family Wines, Premium Outlets, and Visit Mendocino County. The Bronze sponsors are da Vinci Villa, El Monte RV, Integrated Transportation Services, and Japanese Assistance Network.
Media contacts:
Carol Martinez Beth Brett
Vice President, Communications Director, Communications
phn: 213/236-2357, fax 213/425-1457 phn:213/236-2397, fax 213/452-1497
cmartinez@LATourism.org bbrett@LATourism.org
For more information on Los Angeles visit www.discoverLosAngeles.com
Visit us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/LosAngelesFan
Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/tourism_LA
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(04/12)
