Disney Hall

Disney Hall

After Dodger Stadium (below), we decided to eat downtown and so naturally gravitated to Lemonade, our new favorite cafe located outside the Museum of Contemporary Art.  Yummy buttermilk-battered fried chicken, sandwiches, salads, and fabulous cookies—made me forget all about the popcorn I was craving at the stadium just a few minutes before.

With time still left on our parking meter, we walked across the street to shoot some snaps of Disney Hall, Frank Gehry’s magnificently-designed concert venue. Jagged and covered in titanium, many called it an abomination when it first opened in 2003.  Yet today it remains a major part of downtown L.A.’s cultural landscape.  I love it.

From the ground, it looks like an elegant, but imposing pile of steel that fell from the sky.  The scale of the building is much more relatable at its top, however, where a garden of full-grown trees and California native plants help soften their surroundings—a quiet retreat from the rest of the city.  

So the next time you’re walking by Disney Hall, take a few minutes and climb that mysterious staircase just north of the Patina restaurant.  You’ll see downtown in a whole new light.

Looking north toward Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

and Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels

City Hall