The
Tongva village of
Yaanga was located in what is now downtown Los Angeles, possibly near or underneath where the
Bella Union Hotel was located (now
Fletcher Bowron Square).
Spanish and Mexican era Father
Juan Crespí, a Spanish
Franciscan missionary charged with exploring sites for
Catholic missions in California, noted in 1769 that the region had "all the requisites for a large settlement". On September 4, 1781, Los Angeles was founded by a group of settlers who trekked north from present-day Mexico. Like most
urban centers in the
Spanish Empire, the town grew, in accordance with the
Laws of the Indies, in a
grid-like street pattern around a
central plaza which faced the
first church. The area passed to American control in 1847, and the small town grew to 11,000 by 1880, The business district was centered along Main Street between the Plaza and First Street.
Victorian-era Downtown , now the eastern half of the Civic Center district. 's Peoples Store at the center. Towers of the
Baker Block are visible in the distance. Land speculation increased in the 1880s, which saw the population of the city explode from 11,000 in 1880 to nearly 100,000 by 1896. Infrastructure enhancements and the laying of a street grid eventually brought development south of the Plaza:
Victorian Downtown Los Angeles in the 1800s and 1890s along Main,
Spring and Broadway south to Third Street – all of which were razed to make way for today's
Civic Center. After 1900, larger buildings were constructed along Broadway and Spring from Third to Ninth streets in what is now called the
Historic Core.
Downtown's golden age By 1920, the city's private and municipal rail lines were the most far-flung and most comprehensive in the world in mileage, even besting that of
New York City. By this time, a steady influx of residents and aggressive land developers had transformed the city into a large metropolitan area, with DTLA at its center. Rail lines connected four counties with over of track. During the early part of the 20th century, banking institutions clustered around South Spring Street, forming the
Spring Street Financial District. Sometimes referred to as the "
Wall Street of the West", the district held corporate headquarters for financial institutions including
Bank of America,
Farmers and Merchants Bank, the
Crocker National Bank, California Bank & Trust, and International Savings & Exchange Bank. The
Los Angeles Stock Exchange was also located on the corridor from 1929 until 1986 before moving into a new building across the
Harbor (110) Freeway. Commercial growth brought with it hotel construction—during this time period several grand hotels, the
Alexandria (1906), the Rosslyn (1911), and the
Biltmore (1923), were erected—and also the need for venues to entertain the growing population of Los Angeles.
Broadway became the nightlife, shopping and entertainment district of the city, with over a dozen theater and movie palaces built before 1932. Department stores, most that had grown from local
dry goods businesses, moved from
Spring and Main streets around Temple and 1st, to much larger stores along Broadway, including
The Broadway, Hamburger's, which became
May Co.,
Robinson's,
Bullock's,
Coulter's,
Desmond's,
Silverwoods,
Harris & Frank, and the
Fifth Street Store/Walker's, serving a variety of socioeconomic groups from across the city and suburbs. All but Coulter's would, in the 1920s–1950s, launch branches dotting shopping centers across a growing Southern California. Numerous specialty stores also flourished including those in the jewelry business which gave rise to the Downtown Jewelry District. Among these early jewelers included the Laykin Diamond Company (later becoming Laykin et Cie) and
Harry Winston & Co., both of which found their beginnings in the
Hotel Alexandria at Fifth and Spring streets.
Decline and redevelopment in November 2008. Following
World War II,
suburbanization, the development of the Los Angeles freeway network, and increased automobile ownership led to decreased investment downtown. Many corporate headquarters slowly dispersed to new suburbs or fell to mergers and acquisitions. As early as the 1920s once-stately Victorian mansions on
Bunker Hill were dilapidated, serving as
rooming houses for 20,000 working-class Angelenos. The
Broadway theaters saw much use as Spanish-language movie houses during this time, beginning with the conversion of the
Million Dollar Theater in the 1950s to a Spanish-language theater.
Recent years in DTLA is the tallest building in the U.S. west of the
Mississippi River at (). It is also the
tallest building in the state of California. . , founded in 2005. In the early 2000s, the neighborhood became popular with Artists and Creatives due to low rent, open loft space, and many vacancies. In mid-2013, downtown was noted as "a neighborhood with an increasingly
hip and
well-heeled residential population". Because of the downtown area's office market's migration west to Bunker Hill and the
Financial District, many historic office buildings have been left intact, which is simply used for storage or remaining empty during recent decades. In 1999, the
Los Angeles City Council passed an
adaptive reuse ordinance, making it easier for developers to convert outmoded, vacant office and commercial buildings into
renovated lofts and luxury apartment and condo complexes. As of early 2009, 14,561 residential units have been created under the adaptive reuse ordinance, leading to an increase in the residential population. With 28,878 residents in 2006, 39,537 in 2008, and over 60,000 in 2017, downtown Los Angeles is seeing new life and investment. •
Crypto.com Arena, which opened in 1999, has contributed immensely to the revitalization plans, adding 250 events and nearly 4 million visitors per year to the neighborhood. Since the opening of the Staples Center, the adjacent
L.A. Live complex was completed, which includes the
Microsoft Theatre and the
Grammy Museum. •
Los Angeles Metro Rail, a rail transit network centered on the downtown area, facilitates access to the city center, especially from the congested West Side. •
Real estate developers and investors planned a $1.8 billion revitalization project along Grand Avenue, which included the development of
Grand Park, a large city park, and the construction of major city landmarks, including the
Frank Gehry-designed
Walt Disney Concert Hall and contemporary art museum
The Broad, which opened in 2015. • On August 7, 2007, the
Los Angeles City Council approved sweeping changes in zoning and development rules for the downtown area. Strongly advocated by Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa, the changes allow larger and denser developments downtown; developers who reserve 15% of their units for low-income residents are now exempt from some open-space requirements and can make their buildings 35% larger than current zoning codes allow. In 2012, the upper 11 floors of the Brockman Building were bought with the intention of being sold as luxury lofts. • Several labels of
Warner Music Group moved into the
Los Angeles Arts District in 2019 where the company had purchased a former
Ford Motor Company assembly plant. • Broadway retail is transitioning from a broad mix of stores catering mostly to Hispanic immigrants and a burgeoning
sneaker and
streetwear retail cluster has emerged from 4th to 9th streets: Sneaker Row. •
Oceanwide Plaza has planned to open in 2020, but was later changed to unknown date due to financial problems and costs. Multiple
Olympic and
Paralympic events will be held in DTLA during the
2028 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics. After six years of construction, the new
Sixth Street Viaduct opened on July 9, 2022, at a cost of $588-million. This new bridge replaced a 1932 viaduct of the same name which was demolished in 2016 due to a fact that it would collapse if there were a major earthquake, and alkali-silica reaction – colloquially known as "concrete cancer". Pedestrian and bicycle access points link to other projects such as 12 acres of new park space below the viaduct. == Shopping malls ==