11 listings north of the Civic Center, split between long-standing family businesses and the independent gallery scene that moved in around them.
What is here. Four Arts & Culture listings, almost all artist-run or independent: Charlie James Gallery, Human Resources Los Angeles, the Institute for Art and Olfaction and the Chinese American Museum. Four Food & Drink: Philippe The Original, Yang Chow, Phoenix Bakery and Endorffeine. Union Station sits on the edge, Now Serving covers cookbooks, and the Chinatown Service Center Community Health Center serves the residential community.
How to browse. Come for one specific thing and stay for the galleries. Philippe's and Phoenix Bakery are destination trips in their own right. The gallery spaces keep limited and irregular hours — check before travelling for those specifically.
Related: Chinatown: where to eat, explore and see art · All DTLA arts & culture
A nonprofit art and performance space on Cottage Home Street in the Chinatown arts district, presenting experimental exhibitions, performances and events. Admission is generally free and all-ages; hours follow the event calendar rather than a fixed daily schedule.
A community health center on North Hill Street in Chinatown, part of the Chinatown Service Center (a nonprofit founded in 1971). Its Suite 200 clinic provides primary care, optometry and related services with multilingual staff, by appointment; the organization also runs dental and social-service programs in the same building.
A nonprofit gallery, laboratory and reference library dedicated to scent and the art of perfume, on the Chung King Road pedestrian gallery row in Chinatown. It hosts exhibitions, events and classes; hours are seasonal and by appointment, so visitors should check the current schedule.
Los Angeles Union Station, the historic 1939 transit hub on North Alameda Street across from El Pueblo, open to the public daily. Beyond trains and buses it holds shops, dining and event spaces, and its Mission and Art Deco architecture make it a downtown landmark.
A contemporary art gallery on Chung King Road in Chinatown, showing rotating exhibitions across two adjacent spaces. Free to visit; founded in Chinatown in 2008.
A small specialty coffee bar in Far East Plaza in Chinatown, serving hand-crafted espresso drinks and signature preparations at a nine-seat counter. Hours rotate, so the shop posts its current schedule and any tasting-menu dates on its Instagram.
A museum of Chinese American history in the Garnier Building within the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, across from Union Station and near the Civic Center. It documents the community that first settled here before the original Chinatown was displaced. Small, inexpensive, and closed Mondays.
A Chinatown bakery on North Broadway open since 1938, best known for its fresh strawberry whipped-cream cake and almond cookies. A long-running family business and a fixture of the neighborhood’s celebrations.
A bookshop in Far East Plaza specializing in cookbooks and food writing, with author events and a carefully chosen selection. A small, specific specialty retailer in the middle of Chinatown’s food court.
A Chinatown restaurant on North Broadway open since 1977, serving Mandarin and Szechuan food and best known for its slippery shrimp. A long-standing family institution rather than a new arrival, and a fixture of the Chinatown dining strip.