11 listings along Broadway and Spring — the oldest commercial heart of Downtown, and the densest run of original theatre architecture in the city.
What is here. Four Broadway theatres: the Orpheum, the Palace, the Los Angeles Theatre and The United Theater on Broadway. Five Food & Drink listings anchored by Grand Central Market, plus Redbird, Guisados, KazuNori and Tacos 1986. The Last Bookstore is the shopping listing, and Bolt Barbers the local service.
How to browse. The most walkable neighbourhood on this list. Grand Central Market handles lunch with no planning at all. Walk Broadway afterwards for the theatre facades — several are only open for events or tours, so the exteriors are the reliable part.
Related: The Historic Core guide · All DTLA arts & culture
A lavish 1931 movie palace on South Broadway, among the last and most opulent built in the Broadway Theater District, with a French Baroque lobby modeled on Versailles. It operates today mainly as a rental venue for film shoots, screenings and private events; its 2,000-seat auditorium is a frequent filming location rather than a daily-open…
Opened in 1911, the Palace is the oldest surviving Orpheum-circuit theatre in the country, built for vaudeville before becoming a movie house. On South Broadway a few doors from the Los Angeles Theatre and under the same management, it now hosts concerts, film productions and private events in its intimate, ornate auditorium.
A restored 1926 Broadway movie palace on South Broadway in the Historic Core’s Broadway Theater District, now an active venue for concerts, comedy and special events. Its ornate interior and marquee make it both a working entertainment venue and an architectural landmark.
An independent barbershop at 5th and Spring in the Historic Core, offering cuts and shaves by walk-in and appointment. It has a single Downtown location.
The Downtown location of the Tijuana-style taqueria on South Spring Street in the Historic Core, serving adobada, carne asada and mushroom tacos on house tortillas. It is one of several locations the group has grown to; this is the Downtown one. Counter service, quick.
The Downtown branch of the taqueria known for braised-guisado tacos on hand-pressed corn tortillas, on South Spring Street in the Historic Core. It runs late on weekend nights, later than most of the block. Order the sampler if you cannot choose. Counter service.
A restaurant in the former rectory of the old St Vibiana’s Cathedral on East Second Street, with a retractable roof over the main dining room and a bar in what was the cathedral’s garden. It serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday and weekend brunch, and shares the site with the Vibiana events venue. A special-occasion room;…
A hand-roll bar on South Main Street from the team behind Sugarfish, serving warm seaweed rolls made to order at a counter. The format is fast and focused: a set of rolls, eaten as they are made. Expect a wait at peak times; it moves quickly.
A restored 1920s movie palace on South Broadway, built for United Artists, now a live venue hosting concerts and shows. It was the theatre attached to the former Ace Hotel; since early 2024 the hotel operates under a different brand while the theatre runs independently under this name. Tickets are sold per event; check the…
A public market on Broadway that has been feeding Downtown since 1917. Roughly three dozen independent food stalls operate under one roof, ranging from decades-old counters to recent arrivals, and the mix changes often enough that regulars still find something new. The market keeps its own opening hours, but each vendor sets its own, so…