You've selected...
Arts
Arts
Splashes of Color in the City: Mixing It Up With Murals
LA has so many murals, you could spend a week searching out the collection of more than 1,500 throughout the city. Luckily, three clusters of murals exist along the Red Line Subway corridor in three separate neighborhoods: NoHo Arts District, Hollywood and Downtown.
The NoHo Arts District (NoHo, as in North Hollywood) is an up-and-coming area known for its eclectic mix of food, art and more than 20 small theaters. Throughout the main district, you can find small community murals like the collage of alley paintings next to Pit Fire Pizza Company (1) and Independent Coffee & Tea (2). Continuing west on Magnolia Avenue, hang a right on Bakman Avenue where a few murals can be seen at Lankershim Elementary School (3) and across the street at the church playground.
A five-minute walk down Chandler Boulevard from the NoHo Red Line station will take you to the Chandler Outdoor Gallery (4), a collection of murals along a Class I bike path. This half-mile stretch between Vineland Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard is home to 19 artists’ murals. Along the path, look for an opening to a side street where both sides are surrounded by the 100,000-square-foot furniture store, Arte de Mexico. With an endless supply of high-end international furniture, décor, statues and rugs, you could get lost in this maze-like store.
Ride the Red Line from the NoHo Station to the Hollywood/Vine station. Here in the Hollywood Entertainment District, celebrity-themed murals reign. During the day, you will find a few movie star portraits on metal doors of closed shops. At night, more of these are visible as the clubs and bars open up and the day shops close.
One block north of Hollywood Boulevard at 1750 N. Vine St. is the Capitol Records (5) building, home to the mural, “Hollywood Jazz 1945–1972”. Continuing west on Hollywood Boulevard, stop for lunch at one of the many popular restaurants while viewing You Are the Star and Delores del Rio. Traditional meals and classic Hollywood environs can be found at Musso & Frank Grill (6), Micelli's (7) or Pig 'n Whistle (8), while newer and hipper places include Lucky Devils (9) and Kung Pao Kitty (10). Various cheap and quick pizza joints line the Boulevard along with the popular Skooby's (11), a small hot dog stand.
Save dessert for the other end of Hollywood Boulevard, home to three raved-about ice cream establishments: Gelato Paradiso (12), Mashti Malones (13) and the Disney Soda Fountain (14). Next to Disney, stop by the El Capitan Theatre for the Art Deco interior and trompe l’oeil mural over the concession stand.
Get back on the subway at the Hollywood/Highland stop and take the train to Union Station (15). From the platform, exit at Vignes Street, which will put you in the East Lobby where you will see City of Dreams, River of History (16) over the gateway of the platform corridor. Walk down the corridor and exit the building at Alameda Streeet. Across the street is El Pueblo Historical Monument (17), home to the controversial Americana Tropical (18) by David Alfaro Siqueiros. The hard-to-see mural is under conservation, but is best viewed by walking across Main Street.
One street over at Spring Street, head toward the Downtown area. From the 101 Freeway bridge, two murals can be seen: Galileo, Jupiter, Apollo (19). Walk north on Spring Street past City Hall (20) and the LA Times Building (21) (note the relief mural on their parking garage) into Gallery Row (22) where California Dreamscape (23) is found in the lobby of theRonald Reagan State Office Building (24).
Take a right on 3rd Street, heading toward Broadway. At 242 S. Broadway is the Victor Clothing Company (25), home to 10 exterior and interior murals. At 317 S. Broadway, walk through Grand Central Market (26) and take a left on Hill Street. At the corner of Hill and 4th streets, look up to see a clever trompe l’oeil of workers on scaffolds.
Continuing down Hill to 5th Street, take a right and go to the LA Central Public Library's (27) Children’s Literature Department where eight 1929 murals show some of California’s history. In the rotunda, additional murals depict more historical scenes.
Go down Grand Avenue past MOCA (28) and the Walt Disney Concert Hall (29) and take a right on 1st Street to the Civic Center Red Line Subway station. There, ending your day, you will see Under the Living Rock a 160-foot mosaic mural made of Venetian glass.
