A neighborhood revitalizing at a remarkable speed, Downtown L.A.’s Arts District just became a hotspot for Sunday fun days. The recent debut of Swiss gallery Hauser Wirth & Schimmel’s 116,000-square-foot art complex is attracting thousands of visitors each week. Now, the mega-gallery’s Sunday successes, opening from 11 am to 6 pm, prompted at least nine other galleries to follow suit: CB1 Gallery, Rosamund Felsen, Chimento Contemporary, The Box, Cirrus Gallery, Wilding Cran, Durden & Ray, BLAM (Brooklyn Los Angeles Merge), Jason Vass, and Royale Projects. The afternoon hours, generally between noon and 4 pm, are just right for a mellow post-brunch stroll or an easygoing pre-dinner date.
The galleries are close to diverse cuisines and cafes. Bring your own wine to Wolvesmouth at the Wolvesden for a 6-course seafood meal, or drop in to Wurstüche for quick and exotic German hot dogs. Play it safe with The Factory Kitchen for tried-and-true Italian, or check out Officine Brera, the popular new kid on the block. The neighboring Little Tokyo enclave offers diversity in ethnic cuisine, from the classic Sushi Gen to Japanese-style gastro pub Kinjiro to Japanese-Italian fusion at Orsa & Winston. If you can’t decide, Redbird serves multicultural-influenced modern American.
Recharge by walking over to Blue Bottle near 6th Street or Blacktop Coffee on 2nd for some caffeine and sugar, before continuing to explore the Arts District and all it has to offer.
The Arts District is long known for its vintage industrial buildings infused with the creative energy of its artistic community. Regarded as the “image capital of the world”, it serves as iconic backdrops in countless music videos, television and film scenes. Its narrow alleys and mural-covered warehouses are as characteristic of this neighborhood as its historical architecture and spacious lofts. Once a month, the Art Walk block festival draws crowds from all over Southern California for an evening of gallery exhibits, street art, live music and artisan boutiques, celebrating its industrial roots and the spirit of its once-underground art culture.
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