Great Escape: Get Your Walk On Downtown

You consider yourself an Angeleno, but how well do you really know your city beyond your community or daily commute? One way to get out of your comfort zone is to take a great escape to downtown L.A. where history meets the present.

Of course there are wonderful restaurants and a nightlife forming in downtown due to more people living and working in the area,  but there is also another downtown to discover — filled with history and remarkable architecture.

The Los Angeles Conservancy offers thematic walking tours all year long, including Art Deco, Angelino Heights, Historic Broadway, Downtown Skyline,  Historic Downtown, Union Station, Downtown Renaissance, and more.

A special feature this summer are sunset walking tours on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. through August 24. Upcoming tours are City Hall (August 10 and  August 24) and Union Station  (August 17). The cost is $5 for Los Angeles Conservancy members and children 12 and under; $10 for the general public. Reservations are required as space is limited.

The Los Angeles Conservancy was founded in 1978 initially as a community based effort to prevent the demolition of the Los Angeles Central Library, which was built in 1926. Now the nonprofit organization has 6000 members who work through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County.

The Conservancy’s advocacy efforts have helped to save and revitalize such beloved landmarks as the former Cathedral of St. Vibiana, the Wilshire May Company Building, the Wiltern Theatre, the Cinerama Dome, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House, and the world’s oldest remaining McDonald’s restaurant.

So, put on your walking shoes and explore your city in a whole new light.

Los Angeles Conservancy, 523 W. Sixth St., Suite 826, Los Angeles, 213-623-2489.