L.A. Arts District Tour

Murals and graffiti in L.A.'s Arts District

The L.A. Arts District is located directly east of downtown and west of the Los Angeles River, along 3rd and 4th Streets. Agricultural land when the city was first developed in the mid-19th century, before becoming industrial throughout most of the 20th century, this area is now home to budding artists and architects. It's a part of town we know nothing about, so we were thrilled to take today's L.A. Conservancy Arts District tour and learn more. Here's what we saw:

Interior of the former Santa Fe railroad

freight house (1906) renovated

into the Southern California Institute

of Architecture (SCI-Arc) campus (2001)

Amazing modular conference table in the

SCI-Arc library

Conference table detail

The Pickle Works: one of the last surviving L.A. 

Victorian-era warehouses (1888) that eventually 

became home to several artists in the 1970s

Sign used to designate an artist's barely legal residence: 

red = fire hazard; blue = unsafe conditions; 

yellow = unstable masonry; A = artist-in-residence

Looking down on the Pickle Works 

from the 1st St. bridge

Graffiti and stairs up to the 1st St. bridge

Old street lamp

Old and new: looking west towards 

downtown L.A.

The American Hotel (1905), originally built 

as housing for African Americans, many of

whom worked as Pullman car porters on

nearby trains

American Hotel detail: ground-floor used to be the site

of Al's Bar, home to one of L.A.'s most famous punk

rock and grunge scenes

Batchelder tile detail of John A. Roebling's Sons 

warehouse  (1913),where wire cables were made for the 

Brooklyn Bridge

Roebling warehouse is now the site of Angel City

Brewery

We also saw lots and lots of phenomenal murals: