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 Operates on: Daily
Duration:
1 hour 15 mins
This
is the definitive tour of Los Angeles. Our "Inside Historic Dowtown Los Angeles"
tour explores a city virtually unchanged since the glory days of Hollywood.
Contained within Downtown's "Historic District" is the "Broadway Historic
Theatre District" - the largest historic theatre district in the United
States. Your guide will lead you INSIDE some of America's most beautiful old
picture palaces including the Palace Theater, which is the oldest Orpheum
Theatre in the world - a survivor from the days of vaudeville. You will also see
the Million Dollar Theatre - the world's first movie palace built by Sid
Grauman, originator of the world famous Chinese Theatre. You will be transported
back in time as we visit a European style food hall, opulent hotels, grand
public buildings and streetscapes right out of the early 1920's.
Downtown Los Angeles as always been ready for its close up. Because
downtown Los Angeles also has the largest contiguous concentration of historic
architecture in America it is often used as a "back lot" for turn-of-the-century
New York or Chicago. In fact, Los Angeles Center Studios, Downtown's only motion
picture studio, uses the
 streets of Downtown LA as its back lot. Recent
blockbuster films such as Terminator 3 are being shot here. When you visit
Downtown LA you never know who you might see! Downtown's historic facades and
streetlamps have remained intact since the 1910's when downtown was the center
of the entertainment industry and Hollywood was still a dream.
Before
Hollywood Warner Bros. and Fox headquartered their theatre circuits in downtown
Los Angeles. Many companies associated with the movies also headquarted in
Downtown LA such the Whirlitzer Organ Co. creator of the mighty organs that were
a required fixture in every movie house across America before the 'talkies'
arrived.
Although they have disappeared from many cities across the United States those
grand theatres from the early days of vaudeville still line Broadway in Downtown
LA including the Palace Theatre - the oldest surviving Orpheum Theatre in the
world. Stars like Judy Garland, Milton Burle, WC Fields and Mae West began their
careers "trodding the boards" on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles! During its
heyday in the 1920's Broadway in LA rivaled New York's Broadway.
Today, a redevelopment plan called "The Broadway Initiative" aims to breathe new
life into one of America's most important architectural and historical
treasures. See for yourself where it all began on our "Inside Historic
Downtown LA" tour.
About Live Audio:
 Our
unique "live-audio" system allows customers to hear the tour guide even
over the most extreme city noise. Customers wear an audio headset receiver while
the tour guide wears a headset microphone transmitter. The tour guide is audible
from a distance of 300+ feet and over car and bus traffic, construction noise
and other distractions. The system is also helpful for our hard of hearing
guests who can adjust sound levels to their comfort. This is not a
pre-recorded tour.
Tour includes:
- Professional guided service (Level
3: Fully-guided tour).
- Tax included
Tour does not include:
- Meals and beverages
- Gratuities
Departure Details:
- 9:45am In the first floor atrium of the historic Bradbury Building
[
304 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013]
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