Broadway (Los Angeles) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Broadway Theater and Commercial District (NRHP) Broadway Theater and Entertainment District (City of Los Angeles)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Broadway looking north towards the historic Theater and Commercial District from Hoxton Hotel Roof (11th St.), September 2020
Location in Los Angeles
Location	300—849 S. Broadway Los Angeles, California
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Early Commercial, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	79000484
Added to NRHP	May 9, 1979

Broadway

Los Angeles Theatre
Maintained by	Bureau of Street Services, City of L.A. DPW County of L.A. DPW
Length	17.75 mi (28.57 km)
Location	Los Angeles
South end	Main Street in Carson
Major junctions	SR 91 in Carson I-105 in South Los Angeles I-10 in Downtown US 101 in Downtown I-5 in Lincoln Heights
Northeast end	Mission Road in Los Angeles
Construction
Inauguration	1890

Broadway is a famous street in Los Angeles, California. It was called Fort Street until 1890. A special part of Broadway, from 3rd to 9th streets in Downtown Los Angeles, was once the city's main shopping area. This area is now known as the Broadway Theater and Commercial District.

This district is very important because it has the largest collection of old movie palaces in the United States. There are twelve of these grand theaters along just six blocks of Broadway! It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Exploring Broadway's Path

Broadway starts in Carson, California, near the San Diego Freeway. It travels about 10 miles (16 km) north through areas like Athens and South Los Angeles. When it reaches Downtown Los Angeles, it enters the Historic Core. Here, the buildings along Broadway form the famous Broadway Theater and Commercial District.

After crossing 3rd Street, Broadway goes through the Civic Center, which includes Grand Park. Once it crosses the US-101 Freeway, it becomes "North Broadway" and enters Chinatown. It then curves northeast, passing old train yards, and crosses the Golden State Freeway. Finally, it heads east to end at Mission Road in Lincoln Heights.

Broadway's Past: A Look Back

How Broadway Began

Broadway is one of Los Angeles's oldest streets. It was first planned in 1849 by Lieutenant Edward Ord and was called Fort Street. It started near Fort Moore Hill.

In 1890, the name of Fort Street, from 1st to 10th Street, was changed to Broadway. The part north of 1st Street became North Broadway. People wanted to make Broadway a long, continuous street from the south end of the city to the east side.

In 1901, the Broadway Tunnel was opened. This tunnel helped extend North Broadway. Later, in 1909, a bridge was built over the Los Angeles River to connect Buena Vista Street (which became North Broadway) to Mission Road. This bridge opened in 1911.

Los Angeles's Main Street for Shopping and Fun

For over 50 years, Broadway was the most important street in Los Angeles. It was the place to go for shopping and entertainment. Many historic buildings are still there, and the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Before the 1900s, the main shopping area was further north. But in 1895, J.W. Robinson's opened a huge department store on Broadway. This showed that Broadway was becoming the new center for shopping.

A Shopping Hotspot

Broadway and Seventh, looking north (1914)

From about 1905 to the 1950s, Broadway was the heart of Los Angeles. People visited fancy movie palaces and live theaters. They also shopped at big department stores and other shops.

The four largest department stores on Broadway were huge! Their total size was over three million square feet. That's as big as some of the largest malls today!

Famous buildings from this time include the Bradbury Building, Ace Hotel Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Examiner building.

Many of the old movie theaters were not used for a while. Some were even replaced by parking lots. But many have been fixed up or given new purposes. The big department stores closed in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, Broadway is still a very popular shopping area, especially for Latino families.

Broadway's Theater District

This area is called the Broadway Theater and Commercial District by the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Los Angeles calls it the Broadway Theater and Entertainment District.

The World's Most Movie Palaces

This district stretches for six blocks, from Third to Ninth Streets. It has 12 movie theaters built between 1910 and 1931. By 1931, it had more cinemas than anywhere else in the world! These theaters could seat over 15,000 people. Broadway was the center of entertainment in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper wrote in 2006: "There was a time, long ago, when the streets of downtown Los Angeles were awash in neon—thanks to a confluence of movie theaters the world had never seen before."

Columnist Jack Smith called it "the only large concentration of vintage movie theaters left in America." He remembered growing up nearby and spending Saturdays in these theaters. He said, "I remember walking into those opulent interiors... and spending two or three hours in the dream world of the movies."

Because Broadway has been used for filming for many years, you can see these theater signs in classic Hollywood movies. Examples include Safety Last! (1923), Blade Runner (1982), and The Artist (2011).

Saved by Spanish-Language Movies

After World War II, the district started to decline. People began going to newer movie theaters in other parts of Los Angeles. Many of the Broadway movie palaces then started showing Spanish-language films and live shows. In 1988, the Los Angeles Times said that without the Hispanic community, "Broadway would be dead." Jack Smith wrote that Broadway was "rescued and revitalized" by "the Latino renaissance."

Efforts to Save and Restore

People have been working to save and restore the district since the 1980s. In 1987, the Los Angeles Conservancy started "Last Remaining Seats." This program opens the old movie palaces each summer to show classic Hollywood movies.

Even with these efforts, many theaters have been changed into other things, like flea markets or churches. The Broadway movie palaces faced challenges like changing tastes and high costs to keep them running. By 1998, only the Orpheum and the Palace theaters were still showing movies.

In 2006, the Los Angeles Times called the Broadway theater district "one of L.A.'s many hidden gems."

Broadway Today (Since 2008)

In 2008, the City of Los Angeles started a big project called "Bringing Back Broadway". This project aims to make the Broadway district lively again. Some local shop owners worried that this project might change the area too much. They feared it would push out the types of businesses that serve the Latino community.

Many old office buildings on Broadway are being turned into apartments. For example, the United Artists Theater office tower became the Ace Hotel Los Angeles. Its movie palace was also restored.

The "Bringing Back Broadway" group is working to improve the street. They have suggested making sidewalks wider and adding new parking. They also want to bring back streetcar service, like in the old days. A project finished in 2014 made the sidewalks wider and added plants and outdoor seating. Mayor Eric Garcetti said this effort focuses on making neighborhoods more friendly for walking and public transport.

Broadway's shops are also changing. Many stores that sell sneakers and streetwear have opened between 4th and 9th streets. This area is now known as "Sneaker Row."

More shops have opened around the Eastern Columbia Building at 9th Street and Broadway. These include popular clothing and beauty stores.

Famous Buildings and Places

Here are some notable buildings and sites along Broadway, from north to south:

North of Hollywood Freeway

• 

  Broadway Tunnel at Fort Moore Hill, built 1901.

• 

  East Gate of New Chinatown.

• Little Joe's (no longer standing), 904 N. Broadway, Chinatown.
• Site of Broadway Tunnel (1901–1941), between Temple St. and César Chávez Bl.

Hollywood Freeway to Temple Street

• 

  Front view, Hall of Justice (1925).

• 

  Façade, Hall of Justice.

• 

  Corner view, Hall of Justice.

This area is now the Civic Center.

• L. A. County Hall of Justice (1925).

Third to Fourth Streets

West side

• 

  Ville de Paris department store in the Homer Laughlin Building, around 1905.
• 

  Homer Laughlin Building in 2014.
• 

  Grand Central Market inside the Homer Laughlin Building.
• 

  West side of the 300 block during a circus parade in 1905.
• 

  J. M. Hale Co.'s new store at 341–5 Broadway, 1909.

• 

  Cummings shoe store, Grant Block, around 1902.

• #317: Homer Laughlin Building (1896). This building has been home to Grand Central Market since 1917. It used to have department stores like Coulter's and Ville de Paris.
• #331–5: Former Jacoby Bros. department store (1900–1935). This store was once known for having the largest selection of clothing and shoes in the Western United States.
• #355–363: Grant Building (1898). This building was once seven stories tall but now only has two floors. It used to house the W. E. Cummings shoe store and a Montgomery Bros. jewelry store.

East side

• Blackstone Building (1907), 318–322 S. Broadway. This building housed Blackstone's Department Store and the Cozy Theater.
• Trustee Building (1905), 340 S. Broadway.
• O. T. Johnson Block (1895).
• O. T. Johnson Building (1902), 356–364 S. Broadway.

Fourth to Fifth Streets

West side

• Former The Broadway department store, now the Junípero Serra state office building, 320 W. 4th St.
• Former Woolworth's five and dime store, 431 S. Broadway.

Terrazzo floor of former Newberry's five and dime

• Metropolitan Building, 315 W. 5th St. It was home to the L.A. Public Library and J. J. Newberry five and dime store.

East side

• 

  Judson C. Rives Building (1907) at #424.
• 

  Bumiller Building at #430, home to the Bon Marché department store in 1906.
• 

  NE corner 5th/Broadway, early 1920s.
• 

  Chester Williams Bldg., NE corner 5th/Broadway.
• 

  Detail, Chester Williams Bldg.
• 

  Chester Williams Bldg., Broadway side.
• 

  Ironwork, Chester Williams Bldg.

• Perla on Broadway, a modern 35-story apartment building completed in 2022, 400 S. Broadway.
• Site of the first Thrifty Drug Store (no longer standing), 412 S. Broadway.
• Judson C. Rives Building (1907), 424 S. Broadway.
• Bumiller Building (1906), 430 S. Broadway, now the Broadway Lofts.
• Chester Williams Building (1926), 215 W. 5th St.

Fifth to Sixth Streets

• 

  Broadway at night, 1950s, looking south from 5th Street.

West side

• 

  West side of Broadway south from 5th St., Walker's department store, 1927.
• 

  View north from 6th St. towards the 500 and 400 blocks of Broadway, around 1906.
• 

  Schulte-United Building (1928).
• 

  F. & W. Grand Silver Store (Hartfield's) Building (1931).

• Fifth Street Store/Walker's department store building (1927), 501 S. Broadway. This store changed names many times, including Walker's and Ohrbach's.
• Schulte United Building (1928), 529 S. Broadway.
• F. & W. Grand Silver Store Building (1931), 537-541 S. Broadway. This Art Deco building housed different stores over the years, including a Hartfield's department store.

East side

• 

  Title Guarantee Block, now Jewelry Trades Building (1913).

• 

  Pettebone Building (1905).

• 

  Roxie Theatre.
• 

  Cameo Theater (1910).
• 

  Arcade Theater (1910).
• 

  Spring Arcade.
• 

  Silverwoods Building at #556-8.

• 

  Detail, Broadway entrance.

• 

  Interior.

• 

  Detail, Silverwoods Building.

• The Title Guarantee Block (1913), 500 S. Broadway, now called the Jewelry Trades Building.
• Pettebone Building (1905), 510-512 S. Broadway.
• Roxie Theatre (1931), 518 S. Broadway. This movie palace was the last one built on Broadway. It has a cool Art Deco style.
• Cameo Theater (1910), 528 S. Broadway. This was the oldest continuously operating movie theater in California until it closed in 1991. It's now a market.
• Arcade Theater (1910), 534 S. Broadway. This theater was a vaudeville house. It is now used as retail space.
• Broadway Arcade (Spring Arcade Building), 540 S. Broadway.
• Silverwoods Building (1920), 556-8 S. Broadway. This building housed a specialty department store for clothes.

Sixth to Seventh Streets

West side

Southwest corner of Sixth and Broadway

• H. Jevne Company Building, 603 S. Broadway (1906-7). This building belonged to a very famous grocery store.

600 block of Broadway, west side

• 

  W. side of Broadway between 6th and 7th, around 1907–9.

• 

  W. side of mid-600 block, Broadway, around 1915.

• 

  Postcard of former Central Department Store and H. Jevne buildings, 1920s.

• 

  Contemporary view of the Los Angeles Theatre (#609–619).

• Central Department Store (1907), 609–619 S. Broadway.
• Los Angeles Theatre (1931), 615 S. Broadway. This movie palace opened for the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights. It was designed in a fancy French Baroque style. It had many new features for its time, like a restaurant and a children's playroom. The ladies' powder room was very luxurious! The band Aerosmith filmed their "Jaded" video here.
• Former S. H. Kress five and dime store, 621-3-5 S. Broadway.
• St. Vincent's Jewelry Mart, formerly Bullock's department store, NW corner of Seventh and Broadway.

East side

• 

  1923, view north from 7th St. to east side of 600 block, S. Broadway.

• 

  600 block, east side, with Palace Theatre.

• 

  Walter P. Story Building (1909), SE corner of 6th.

• 

  Detail, Walter P. Story Building.

• 

  Desmond's building in 2014.

• 

  Clifton's Cafeteria in 2005.

• 

  Interior of Clifton's Cafeteria.

• 

  Clifton's Cafeteria.

• 

  Palace Theater.

• Walter P. Story Building (1909), 600-2-4-6-8-10 S. Broadway. This building used to house the Mullen & Bluett clothing store.
• Desmond's department store building (1924), 616 S. Broadway. Desmond's had its main store here. It has been renovated into office space and a restaurant.
• Schaber's Cafeteria Building (1928), 620 S. Broadway, now a Jordan Brand store.
• Palace Theatre (1911), 630 S. Broadway. This theater was a vaudeville house and is the oldest remaining Orpheum theater in the United States. Its design was inspired by a palace in Florence, Italy.
• Joseph E. Carr Building (1908-9), 644–646 S. Broadway. This was home to the Harris & Frank clothing store.
• Clifton's Cafeteria, 648 S. Broadway.

Seventh to Eighth Streets

• 

  Broadway north from 7th St., 1917. Bullock's is on the left side.
• 

  Broadway south from 7th St. towards Hamburger's, 1917.

West side

State Theater

• State Theatre (1921), 703 S. Broadway. This theater showed both films and vaudeville shows. Judy Garland performed here in 1929. It's known for a Buddha figure above the stage, which was a good luck charm.
• F.W. Woolworth Building (1920), 719 S. Broadway, now houses Ross Dress for Less.

Reich and Lièvre store at 737-745 S. Broadway depicted in 1917 ad for store opening

• Isaac Bros. Building, home of Reich and Lièvre women's clothing store, 739-745 Broadway.
• Merritt Building (1915), 761 S. Broadway.

East side

• 

  Hotel Lankershim (demolished).

• 

  Globe Theater.

• 

  Panoramic view from the Hotel Lankershim, around 1905-1907.

• Site of Hotel Lankershim (1905, no longer standing), 700 S. Broadway.
• Globe Theatre (1913), 744 S. Broadway. This theater opened as the Morosco Theatre and was used for live plays. It later became a movie theater and then a market. It has been restored and is now used for music, theater, and films.

Eighth to Ninth Streets

West side

• 

  May Co. Building, 1912.

• 

  Eastern Columbia Building: the "Jewel of Downtown."

• May Co. Building (former department store), 829 S. Broadway.
• Eastern Columbia Building, 849 S. Broadway.

East side

• 

  Tower Theatre at #802.

• 

  Rialto Theater at #812.

• 

  Platt Building at #830.

• 

  Orpheum Theatre at #842.

• 

  Ninth and Broadway Building, #850.

• 

  Ninth and Broadway Building, detail.

• Tower Theatre (1927), 802 S. Broadway. This was the first movie theater in Downtown Los Angeles to show talking pictures. In 2021, after a big renovation, it reopened as an Apple Store.
• Allied Arts Building (1922), 808 S. Broadway.
• Rialto Theatre (1917), 812 S. Broadway. This theater is now an Urban Outfitters store.
• Wurlitzer Building (1923), 818 S. Broadway.
• Platt Building (1927), 830 S. Broadway. This building was originally the headquarters for a music company.
• Orpheum Theatre (1926), 842 S. Broadway. This theater hosted many famous performers like Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers. It has also been used for filming movies like Dreamgirls and TV shows like American Idol.
• Ninth and Broadway Building (1930), 850 S. Broadway.

Ninth to Tenth Streets

West side

Blackstone's Department Store building

• Blackstone's Department Store building, 901 S. Broadway.

Ace Hotel and United Artists Theatre

• United Artists Theater (now The Theatre at Ace Hotel) (1927), 933 S. Broadway. This theater was built by movie stars like Charlie Chaplin to show their films. It has a Gothic style, like a church in Spain. It is now used as a concert venue and theater.

South of Olympic Boulevard

West side

• 

  Los Angeles Examiner Bldg., old postcard.
• 

  Herald Examiner Building, September 2020.

• Los Angeles Examiner building, SW corner 11th.
• Athens Park, 124th to El Segundo Blvd.
• Site of the Globe Department Store, 51st and Broadway.

East side

• The Hoxton hotel, 1060 S. Broadway, in the Los Angeles Railway Building (1925).
• Proper Hotel, 1100 S. Broadway (1926). This building used to be a club, then a hotel, and later a YMCA.

Other Theaters Near Broadway

• Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre (1920), 401 W. 7th St. This theater was first called the Pantages Theatre. It now houses a jewelry store.
• Olympic Theatre (1927), 313 W. 8th St. This theater was once a restaurant and later a chandelier store.
• Mayan Theater (1927), 1014 South Hill Street. This theater is now a nightclub and is a Historic Cultural Monument.
• Belasco Theatre (1926), 1050 South Hill Street. This theater was a church for many years. It has been renovated and now hosts church services and other events.

Getting Around Broadway

Public Transportation

The Los Angeles Metro Rail has a station called Historic Broadway station near 2nd and Broadway. You can take the E Line here to places like Santa Monica or East Los Angeles. The A Line also stops here, going to Union Station and Long Beach.

The Metro J Line (a special bus service) has stations near Broadway in South Los Angeles. These buses run on a dedicated busway, which is a special lane just for buses. You can take the J Line as far south as San Pedro or as far northeast as El Monte.

Local bus line 45 serves most of Broadway, from Lincoln Heights through Downtown. Other local bus routes also serve parts of Broadway downtown.

Images for kids

• 

  Los Angeles Theatre