Page 659 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

L OS ANGELES  657

u Grand Central selection of post-1940 art,
Market including Pop Art and Abstract
Expressionist works by artists
Map E4. 317 S Broadway. Tel (213) as diverse as Mark Rothko,
624-2378. Open 9am–6pm daily. Robert Rauschenberg, and
Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, Dec 25.
7 ∑ grandcentralsquare.com Claes Oldenburg.
Angelenos have been coming
to this vibrant indoor bazaar p El Pueblo
since 1917. Today, over 40 Map F4. Downtown LA between N
stallholders operate inside the Main St & Olvera St & N Alamenda St.
marketplace, selling fruit,
vegetables, meat, and herbs. The oldest part of the city,
The market’s Latin American El Pueblo de la Reina de
clientele come here to buy exotic Los Angeles was founded in
products from their home 1781 by Felipe de Neve, the
countries, such as fresh Nogales Japanese American Art Museum, Spanish governor of California.
cacti and beans from El Salvador. Little Tokyo Today, El Pueblo is a State
Billed as the “shortest railway in Historic Monument, housing
the world,” the adjacent Angels warehouse is a permanent fixture some of the city’s oldest
Flight funicular transported of the LA arts scene, hosting buildings, such as the Old
riders between Hill Street and exhibition highlights from MOCA. Plaza Church and the Avila
Bunker Hill for almost 70 years. By Adobe, the city’s oldest existing
1969, Bunker Hill had degene- E Japanese American house, furnished as it would
rated, and the city dismantled National Museum have been in the 1840s. Olvera
the funicular, promising to 369 E 1st St. Tel (213) 625-0414. Street, preserved as a Mexican
reinstall it once the area had Open 11am–5pm Tue, Wed & Fri–Sun; marketplace in the 1920s,
been redeveloped. It fulfilled that noon–8pm Thu. Closed Jan 1, abounds in shops selling
vow in 1996, some 27 years later. Thanksgiving, Dec 25. & 7 8 colorful Mexican dresses,
∑ janm.org
leather sandals, piñatas (clay
P Angels Flight or papier-mâché animals), and
Between Grand, Hill, 3rd & 4th Sts. snacks like churros, a Spanish-
Tel (213) 626-1901. Closed check o Museum of Mexican fried bread. During
website for details. Contemporary Art festivals, such as the Blessing
∑ angelsflight.org of the Animals, Cinco de Mayo
Map E4. 250 S Grand Ave. Tel (213) (see p38), and the Mexican
621-1745. Open 11am–6pm Mon, Indepen dence Day fiesta
i Little Tokyo Wed, Fri, 11am–8pm Thu, 11am–5pm (September 13–15), El Pueblo is
Sat & Sun. Closed some public ablaze with color and sound.
Map F4. n 244 S San Pedro St, (213) hols. & (free 5–8pm Thu). 7
628-2725. ∑ jaccc.org ∑ moca.org Nearby, the 1939 grand
passenger terminal, Union
Situated southeast of the City Rated as one of the ten best Station, is a blend of Spanish
Hall, Little Tokyo attracts more works of architecture in the Mission, Moorish, and Stream-
than 200,000 visitors to its United States, the Museum line Moderne architectural
Japanese markets and temples. of Contemporary Art (MOCA), styles. Stars of 1940s films
The first Japanese settled here designed by Japanese were photo-graphed here.
in 1884. Today, the heart of the architect Arata Isozaki, presents It has also been the location
area is the Japanese American an intriguing combination for several movies, such as
Cultural and Community Center, of pyramids, cylinders, and Sydney Pollack’s The Way We
from which cultural activities are cubes. It holds a respectable Were (1973).
organized. Nearby, the Japanese
Village Plaza is a lively place to
shop. Housed in a former
Buddhist Temple, the Japanese
American National Museum
traces the history of Japanese-
American life in the US.
To its east on North Central
Avenue the Geffen Contemporary
at MOCA, once an old police
garage, is used as an exhibition
space for the Museum of
Contemporary Art (MOCA).
Redesigned by Frank Gehry, the The distinctive façade of Union Station, El Pueblo

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