What’s New in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board website, www.discoverLosAngeles.com is where visitors can discover LA attractions and arrange hotels, airlines and dining throughout the LA area.
The site provides an LA events calendar that lists sporting events, concerts and museum exhibits. An interactive Google mapping tool is available for users to navigate LA’s attractions, hotels and venues. A video player component gives users a preview of LA restaurants and attractions.
Information from the website can be sent to friends or family via email and can be posted on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Users can discover LA’s many shopping areas, from Abbott Kinney Boulevard in Venice to Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. Environmentally conscious visitors and meeting planners can find information about green-friendly hotels, restaurants and retail outlets.
Attractions
Cirque du Soleil at Kodak Theatre (Hollywood) — Cirque du Soleil® debuted a new production, IRIS, a Journey Through the World of Cinema, on July 22, 2011, exclusively at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards®. This large-scale production — created exclusively for its permanent home at the Kodak Theatre — offers a new take on the art of cinema as only Cirque du Soleil could imagine it. IRIS is an inventive spectacle that combines acrobatics, dance, projections and live music. The show takes the audience on a fantastic voyage directed by acclaimed choreographer Philippe Decouflé with music by Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman. The word “iris” refers to the adjustable opening that controls the amount of light that passes through a camera lens. A cast of 72 performing artists from all over the world presents the show in the 3,400-seat theater. www.cirquedusoleil.com ; www.kodaktheatre.com
Natural History Museum (Downtown) — The all-new, 14,000-square-foot Dinosaur Hall opened July 16, 2011, with two light-filled galleries, featuring more than 300 fossils, 20 full-body specimens, manual and digital interactives, and large-format video. It is designed to allow visitors to get up close to real fossils. the centerpiece of the hall is a trio of T. rex fossils, the world’s only Tyrannosaurus rex growth series. Two-thirds of the full-body specimens have never been displayed before. The opening of the Dinosaur Hall marks the halfway point in the seven-year, $135-million renovation at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, located in Exposition Park. The first phase involved cleaning and refurbishing the fragile, stained-glass skylight that crowns the museum’s 57-foot-high rotunda. www.nhm.org
Museum of Flying (Coastal) — A new Museum of Flying recently celebrated its official opening on Feb. 25, 2012. The structure is on Airport Avenue on the south side of Santa Monica Airport, adjacent to the historic DC-3 Monument. The museum expanded an existing building at 3100 Airport Ave. in Santa Monica. The new museum focuses on the Douglas Aircraft Company and the history of the Santa Monica Airport. It also houses the California Aviation Hall of Fame, which recognizes and pays tribute to the aviation visionaries of California who have made significant contributions to the advancement and development of the aviation and aerospace fields. The museum houses about two dozen aircraft, as well as aviation art and artifacts, in about 22,000 square feet, plus an interactive and education center for children. The museum’s centerpiece is the Douglas World Cruiser. www.museumofflying.com
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (Downtown) — Brightly colored poison dart frogs, scary snakes and scaly lizards are what’s new at the Los Angeles Zoo. “LAIR, The Living Amphibians, Invertebrates and Reptiles” exhibit, opened March 8, 2012, with magnificent new homes for the Zoo’s outstanding reptile collection, one of the rarest among North American zoos. Species featured in the new conservation facility include Chinese giant salamanders, crocodiles, venomous snakes, scorpions, rare tortoises, blue frogs and much more. www.lazoo.org
5 Towers Stage at Universal CityWalk Hollywood (Hollywood) — An outdoor concert arena, which opened in June 2011 at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, offers free evening concerts. The venue features a staging system with thousands of LED fixtures, motion-capture sensors, a video monitor and state-of-the-art audio. Five 42-foot-high light tower sculptures define the area. Custom-built acoustical panels are designed to contain the sound in the arena. www.citywalkhollywood.com
Sturt Haaga Gallery of Art at Descanso Gardens (San Gabriel Valley) — Descanso Gardens opened the state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly art gallery and adjoining Erskine Garden on Sept. 17, 2011. The Sturt Haaga Gallery of Art has been designed to allow local, national and internationally recognized artists to exhibit their work in its unique natural setting. The $2.9-million facility is located adjacent to the historic Boddy House and consists of a major rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of an existing garage structure and the creation of an additional exhibit space. Funded by a $2.1-million gift from Heather Sturt Haaga and Paul Haaga Jr. of La Canada Flintridge, the new gallery is in the southeast corner of the 150-acre botanical garden. www.descansogardens.org
Belasco Theater (Downtown) — Los Angeles’ historic Belasco Theater was in the spotlight in July 2011 when Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended a black-tie dinner and reception there hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. A relic of the early 1900s, the Belasco Theater enjoyed a $12-million, three-year restoration and reopened in March 2011 as a large-scale, multi-purpose event space and entertainment complex on Hill Street in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. In addition to the renovated theater, the venue includes two restaurants, five bars (including a wine bar) and a ballroom. The facility — with architectural elements in Churrigueresque, Spanish Renaissance, Moorish and Gothic styles — houses state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. Many movies have been filmed on location at the Belasco Theater, including Swordfish with John Travolta, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Illusionist with Hugh Jackman. www.thebelasco.com
Martial Arts History Museum (San Fernando Valley) — The Martial Arts History Museum, formerly of Santa Clarita, reopened in June 2011 in a new home in Burbank. Among the more than 300 artifacts is a 12th century Samurai armor replica donated from Japan. A highlight is movie props and a time line of martial arts films back to the 1920s. Calling itself the world’s first martial arts museum, the site provides an opportunity to learn about Asian cultures, history and hundreds of fighting styles, as well as new perspectives on how Asian history became a unique part of American history. www.mamuseum.com
Palace Theatre (Downtown) — The one-time vaudeville theater and former movie palace of the 1920s and ’30s reopened in June 2011 after a $1-million restoration. The Palace Theatre on Broadway has come back to life with its polished marble, giant murals and gold-leaf accents shining again. The venerable theater is a venue for live shows and movies, including the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats series of classic movie screenings. The site can also be leased for performances, screenings and special events. The theater has 1,100 red velvet seats and a 40-foot stage. The exterior is styled after a Florentine palazzo, while the interior design is primarily French. www.lahtf.org
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (Downtown) — LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (LA Plaza) opened April 15, 2011. The nearly 2.22-acre facility is the nation’s premier center of Mexican-American culture and arts, with a specific focus on the unique Mexican-American experience in Los Angeles and Southern California. Adjacent to Olvera Street marketplace and El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument (where Los Angeles was founded in 1781), the cultural center is housed within the historic and newly renovated Vickrey-Brunswig Building and Plaza House. Through interactive exhibits, visitors explore the ongoing story of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles and beyond. The cornerstone of LA Plaza’s educational efforts is a living history installation titled Calle Principal, a recreation of 1920s-era Main Street. Also featured are Centro Yo Soy, a media arts center and video history studio, and Voces Vivas, an original short film series featuring a broad spectrum of Mexican-Americans sharing their personal histories. Outdoors, LA Plaza’s El Jardín offers 30,000 square feet in a newly created public garden and an outdoor stage. www.lapca.org
Valley Performing Arts Center (San Fernando Valley) — As part of a unique, new initiative to explore arts partnerships between California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and the Music Center, the. $125-million, 1,700-seat Valley Performing Arts Center opened in January 2011 on the university campus. The state-of-the-art complex offers a full series of world-class artists and serves as a cultural landmark for the San Fernando Valley. The main performance hall is acoustically tunable to accommodate a variety of presentations, whether they are music, dance, theater, films or speakers, and is large enough to present full-scale Broadway productions. The 2012-2013 season includes legendary orchestras, distinguished speakers, ballet and modern dance companies, and spectacular performances of classical, country and Broadway music. www.valleyperformingartscenter.org
Six Flags Magic Mountain (San Fernando Valley) — Celebrating 40 years of thrill ride innovation, Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia launched three new roller coaster experiences in spring 2011. With these additions, Six Flags Magic Mountain regains the “Coaster Capital of the World” crown with a total of 18 roller coasters — more than any other theme park. The park’s popular, 100-mph-in-seven-seconds SUPERMAN: The Escape ride reopened as SUPERMAN: Escape From Krypton, rising to the next level of extreme by sending riders backward. The Green Lantern: First Flight coaster, designed for the bravest of thrill seekers, is a first-in-the-U.S. vertical-track, spinning coaster. It debuted July 1, 2011, coinciding with the opening of the Green Lantern movie. In addition, Road Runner Express, a new thrill-seeker-in-training coaster with a zig-zag pattern, designed for families, opened in Bugs Bunny World. The steel coaster is 679 feet long with a 28-foot lift hill, reaching speeds up to 21 miles per hour. www.sixflags.com/magicmountain
Aquarium of the Pacific (Coastal) — New to the Aquarium of the Pacific as of summer 2011 is a permanent gallery and an interactive polar exhibition. The new Ocean Science Center gallery takes young scientists on a virtual exploration around the globe to explore the atmosphere, ocean and continents with an immersive exhibit via new technology to learn how climate change and maritime trade and ports impact our lives, no matter where we live on the planet. New to the Aquarium’s changing exhibit gallery is Arctic & Antarctic: Our Polar Regions in Peril, which tells how these amazing environments are in peril because of climate change. The new exhibition features an Arctic fox and sea jellies you can touch. www.aquariumofpacific.org
World Cruise Center (Coastal) — The Port of Los Angeles has invested more than $42 million in long-term improvements to its World Cruise Center. The 2011 improvements, just south of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, includes a new, state-of-the-art gangway system, a new rooftop solar panel project, and a dockside conduit for shore-to-ship Alternative Maritime Power (“AMP,” or cold-ironing), which provides clean power for berthed ships from up to three different cruise lines simultaneously. The World Cruise Center is currently home port or a port of call for nine major cruise lines, hosting millions of tourists who will make their way through the facility in the coming years. www.portoflosangeles.org
Wilmington Waterfront Park (Coastal) — On June 4, 2011, the Port of Los Angeles opened a 30-acre open space, known as the Wilmington Waterfront Park, located at Harry Bridges Boulevard between Figueroa Street and Avalon Boulevard. The approximately nine-block area nearly doubles the amount of public open space in Wilmington and includes walking and biking trails, water features, a playground, plazas, terraced spaces with views of the port, and a distinctive pedestrian bridge. www.portoflosangeles.org
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum (San Fernando Valley) — Following a weekend celebration of the late president’s 100th birthday on Feb. 6, 2011, the library honoring President Ronald Reagan opened its renovated galleries, plus four new galleries as part of the centenary celebration of the 40th president. Additions include 26,400 square feet of new exhibits with thousands of artifacts, some never before seen, and dozens of interactive displays. Visitors can try acting in a movie with Ronald Reagan or setting the table for a state dinner. Docent-led tours are available to groups of 15 or more. www.reaganlibrary.com
Universal Studios HollywoodSM (Hollywood) — King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, re-emerged on the Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour in July 2010 as a 3-D, multi-sensory, signature attraction based on the Oscar®-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film. Guests don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams to be transported — via Surround Digital 3-D projection — deep into the dark heart of the world of Skull Island, where they feel their trams jolt, roll and shudder. www.universalstudioshollywood.com
Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) (Westside) — A new, Renzo Piano-designed pavilion has opened as a key feature of Phase II of LACMA’s ongoing Transformation, a campaign to unify the museum’s campus and expand its gallery spaces. The new pavilion is immediately north of the $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum, which opened in February 2008. The Resnick Pavilion, named after LA-based philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick and designed by Renzo Piano, is a single-story, glass- and stone-enclosed structure intended to house special exhibitions, freeing up existing gallery space for LACMA’s robust permanent collection. www.lacma.org
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (Westside) — The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, founded in 1961, celebrated the opening of its new permanent home in October 2010, next to the Holocaust Memorial in Pan Pacific Park. It is the West Coast’s largest archive of documents, relics and other primary source materials from the Holocaust period (1933-1945). In addition to the new, interactive exhibits, docent-led tours of the museum are available to groups, as well as the general public. www.lamoth.org
Ray Charles Library and Archive (Downtown) — Legendary musician Ray Charles now has a memorial library in his name on the site of his historic Los Angeles studios. The centerpiece of the Ray Charles Memorial Library is a self-guided, interactive exhibit, which includes his piano, gold records and sunglasses among hundreds of artifacts on display. The library is open only for pre-scheduled tours reserved through the website. www.theraycharlesfoundation.org
LAX Theme Building (LAX) — Offering 360-degree views of the airport, the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding city, the rooftop Observation Deck at LAX’s nearly 50-year-old Theme Building reopened in July 2010. The iconic Theme Building, whose architectural style is reminiscent of a space ship, and its glass-encased Encounter Restaurant, received a $12.3 million reconstruction with structural improvements to enhance the building’s seismic resistance, as well as upgrades to comply with Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The Observation Deck is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. New security measures have been established, including inspection of personal belongings before visitors enter the nonstop elevator that whisks them from the Theme Building Lobby to the Observation Deck. In its first month, officials reported that the number of visitors to the Theme Building Observation Deck totaled 1,485. www.lawa.org
Angels Flight (Downtown) — The LA landmark dubbed “the shortest railway in the world” reopened in July 2011, after a one-month closure for a $40,000 replacement of wheels. Located on the corner of 4th and Hill streets, Angels Flight received a $3.5-million restoration and reopened in mid-March 2010. The work included restoration of the original orange and black incline railway cars, Olivet and Sinai. Originally built in 1901 and designated a Los Angeles historic-cultural monument, the 298-foot-long funicular rail system transports Angelenos and visitors daily between the historic Downtown core along Hill Street and Bunker Hill, with the Walt Disney Concert Hall and other cultural attractions. www.angelsflight.com
Sunset Strip (West Hollywood) — Sunset Boulevard, also known as “The Sunset Strip,” completed a major facelift, its first major enhancement in more than 75 years. The completion of the $5 million “Sunset Strip Beautification Project,” was celebrated Aug. 12, 2010, as the City of West Hollywood officially unveiledGuitarTown on The Sunset Strip, a public art project that featured 25 10-foot-tall guitar sculptures, each celebrating a musician, personality or influential moment unique to the Sunset Strip’s history. The guitars were auctioned off for charity in 2011, but Phase II of the art project, with nine more guitar sculptures, was recently unveiled. Coming later this spring, 11 more 10-foot-high guitars will complete the exhibit. The guitars will be on display until fall 2012. www.thesunsetstrip.com
L.A. LIVE Sports and Entertainment District (Downtown) — Downtown LA now has two new luxury hotels located at the L.A. LIVE complex: The 878-room JW Marriott opened Feb. 15, 2010, and the 123-room boutique Ritz-Carlton opened April 2, 2010. The Ritz-Carlton also has 224 Ritz-Carlton Residences available for purchase. L.A. LIVE is also home to CLUB NOKIA, ESPN Zone, the legendary Conga Room, Katsuya, Rosa Mexicano and Lucky Strike Lanes. The legendary Conga Room has relocated to L.A. LIVE, and Lucky Strike Lanes is open with 18 lanes, plus billiards, darts and private function rooms. L.A. LIVE is Downtown’s 27-acre entertainment, sports and residential district, anchored by the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE, STAPLES Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. www.lalive.com
California Science Center (Downtown) — Ecosystems is a new, permanent exhibition wing at the admission-free California Science Center, where visitors discover that Earth’s air, water, land and life are interconnected and shaped by the same rules of ecology. Guests experience new and innovative exhibits, including a 188,000-gallon kelp tank populated with live kelp, fish and other marine life; a desert flash flood; and a special gallery dedicated to the urban ecology of Los Angeles. Ecosystems occupies 45,000 square feet and features more than 250 species of plants and animals. Ecosystems opened to the public in March 2010. www.californiasciencecenter.org
The Annenberg Space for Photography (Westside) — The Annenberg Space for Photography, which opened in March 2009, is a 10,000-square-foot facility featuring a state-of-the-art digital projection gallery, along with a traditional print exhibit area. The combination of these galleries enables the Annenberg Space for Photography to show an unprecedented number of images to the general public in a dynamic environment. General admission to the Annenberg Space for Photography is free. www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org
Hollyhock House (Hollywood) — Frank Lloyd Wright’s first house in Los Angeles, Hollyhock House, is a National Historic Landmark located in Barnsdall Park. It underwent a $20 million restoration and is open for public tours. Due to continuing construction work, tours are currently limited to Friday through Sunday. Originally built for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, the house sits in the middle of the 11-acre Barnsdall Park in Hollywood. More than $2 million was devoted to repairing earthquake damage to the house; the rest was used to implement Phase I of the master plan for the park, which included replanting 1,000 olive trees along the hillside on Hollywood Boulevard. www.hollyhockhouse.net
Hollywood Walk of Fame CityPASS (Hollywood) — The Hollywood Walk of Fame CityPASS focuses on the two-block area that honors more than 2,300 celebrities with sidewalk stars. The new CityPASS booklet includes tickets to Starline Tours’ “Homes” Tour, Red Line Tours’ “Behind-the-Scenes” Hollywood tour, a choice between Hollywood Wax Museum & Guiness World Records Museum and Madame Tussauds Hollywood, and a choice between a Kodak Theatre Guided Tour and the Hollywood Museum in the Historic Max Factor Building. The booklet also includes a book of Hollywood & Highland Center discount coupons. The Hollywood Walk of Fame CityPASS is priced at $59 for adults and $39 for children ages 3-11 and is valid for nine days from the date of first use. www.citypass.com
Cinematography Museum (Hollywood) — The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has completed a $6-million expansion of its clubhouse and headquarters. The new building houses a museum focusing on the history of cinematography and features equipment such as vintage cameras from 1909 to the present. It is open to visitors on weekdays. www.theasc.com
Starline Tours (Hollywood) — Two new routes on Starline Tours’ CitySightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Double Decker City Tour has expanded this company’s coverage to more than 100 miles. One new route stops at LAX hotels, Fisherman’s Village, Marina del Rey, and Venice Beach, allowing passengers to connect to Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and Hollywood. Tours depart daily and include a “Show & $ave” promotion for discounts at more than 50 museums and other attractions. In addition, a new station in Anaheim will allow passengers to connect to the Hop On Hop Off system throughout the Los Angeles area, beginning May 25, 2012. www.starlinetours.com
Japanese Garden at the Huntington (San Gabriel Valley) — The Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens reopened its beloved Japanese Garden on April 11, 2012, after being closed for a year to undergo $6.8 million in renovations and improvements. Among the upgrades are a complete historical restoration of the 19th-century Japanese house, a two-story, modified Tokyo-style residence from the Meiji period (1868-1912). Other work includes repairs to the central pond system and water infrastructure, improvements in accessibility, and modifications to the landscape overseen by Kyoto-based landscape architect Takuhiro Yamada. One of the highlights of the project is the installation of a ceremonial teahouse, donated to The Huntington by the Pasadena Buddhist Temple. It is placed on a picturesque ridge on the southwest side of the Japanese Garden, surrounded by an authentic tea garden designed by Los Angeles-area landscape architects Takeo Uesugi and Keiji Uesugi. Contact: Lisa Blackburn, 626.405.2140 , lblackburn@huntington.org; www.huntington.org
Outdoors
Cahuenga Peak (Hollywood) — A new, 138-acre mountain parcel of parkland has been added to Griffith Park by The Trust for Public Land. Cahuenga Peak is just west of the Hollywood sign. The dedication ceremony took place March 22, 2012. Visitors can hike to the peak from the Griffith Observatory along a one-mile-long trail. The panoramic views of Los Angeles are worth the steep, rocky climb. Griffith Park is one of the largest, wild urban parks in the U.S. www.laparks.org.
The Links at Terranea (Coastal) — The Links at Terranea, which opened in July 2009, offers a dramatic, nine-hole, par-three, oceanfront golf course with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Designed by Todd Eckenrode of Origins Golf Design, The Links is a walking course. From the back tees, the nine-hole golf course totals approximately 1,239 yards, with a par of 27. The Links, which is open to the public, is part of the $500-million, 102-acre oceanfront Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. www.terranea.com
Transportation
Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension (Citywide) — The Edward R. Roybal Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, which opened in November 2009, spans six miles from Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles via the Little Tokyo/Arts District and Boyle Heights to Atlantic/Pomona Boulevards in East Los Angeles. The light rail line stops at eight stations: Little Tokyo/Arts District, Pico Aliso, Mariachi Plaza, Soto, Indiana, Maravilla, East Los Angeles Civic Center and Atlantic. A new parking garage opened at the Atlantic station in April 2010, with a total of 266 free parking spaces. Future plans include extending the Gold Line east to Azusa in 2015, and then to Montclair and Ontario. www.metro.net
Port of Los Angeles Cruise Ship Terminal (Coastal) — Vacationers passing through the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles are enjoying the first of a series of upgrades, including new, state-of-the art gangways, which opened in March 2010. The Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro is an embarkation point for several cruise lines, including Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruises, Silversea, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises, Seabourn, Disney Cruises, Crystal Cruises and Cunard. Destinations range from Hawaii to Mexico and from the Panama Canal all the way around the world. www.portoflosangeles.org
Metro Rapid (Citywide) — Metro Rapid delivers passengers to destinations up to 25 percent faster than standard bus service. Unlike an everyday bus, Rapid buses make fewer stops and are equipped with transponders that cause traffic signals to favor the bus. A total of 25 Metro Rapid bus lines are in operation throughout the county, including the new Metro Rapid Line 733, which began in June 2010 and runs between Downtown LA and Santa Monica via Venice Boulevard. www.metro.net
Metro Silver Line (South Bay — Downtown — San Gabriel Valley) — Introduced in December 2009, the Metro Silver Line bus connects the South Bay and San Gabriel Valley to Downtown Los Angeles seven days a week. With service every 5 to 15 minutes during weekday rush hours, the Silver Line provides frequent, direct connections to dozens of destinations, including L.A. LIVE, STAPLES Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, MOCA and much more. www.metro.net/silverline
Metro Orange Line (San Fernando Valley) — The Metro Orange Line connects Warner Center in the West San Fernando Valley with the North Hollywood Metro Red Line subway station. A four-mile extension, now under construction, will take the Orange Line north to the Chatsworth Metrolink Station. It is expected to open June 2012. The first of its kind in California, the Orange Line consists of sleek, 60-foot buses that travel along a dedicated transitway. A path for bicycling, jogging and skating runs alongside much of the transitway. The high-tech buses stop at 13 stations, connecting to destinations such as the NoHo Arts District, LA Valley College, the 80-acre Beilenson Park (formerly Balboa Park), LA Pierce College and the Westfield Topanga mall. The stations feature original art, as well as lighting, seating, security cameras, public telephones, bicycle racks and ticket-vending machines. www.metro.net
