The 24 blocks of Historic Downtown stretches from Third Street to the north, Ninth Street to the south, Main Street to the east and Broadway to the west.  This area is home to examples of Beaux Art, Art Deco and revival-style buildings, which is part of the reason it is on the National Register of Historical Places.  It is in this neighborhood, one can find the largest unbroken string of pre-1931 buildings in North America. 

The oldest “open air” market in Los Angeles, Grand Central Market, is still a hustle and bustle of shopping with food from around the world to flowers to traditional Chinese massage.  The Grand Central Market has stood has a beacon in Downtown since 1917, while it has expanded, the core of Grand Central Market remains the same.  In addition, Spring Street, located in the middle of the Historical Center, is home to the largest collection of Beaux Arts buildings in the United States and was the main location for Los Angeles’ banks and brokerage firms during the early 1900s. 

The movie palaces, built between 1911 and 1931, followed the times and became the gindhouses.  After World War II, the major financial institutions moved a few streets over leaving Broadway and the surrounding areas in need of a new image.  This need coincided with the white flight out of the downtown area; therefore, the Broadway district was open for the Latino push.  In the 1950s, this area became the epicenter of the Latino entertainment industry.  The Million Dollar Theater screened the biggest names of the Spanish speaking community.  
In addition, Los Angeles’ Historic Downtown Center is home to the Bradbury Building, a remarkable architectural feat located on 3rd and Broadway.  The building was designed by George Wynn and built by Louis S. Bradbury, built in 1983; the Bradbury Building was designed with the very first glass ceiling.  

Intermingled with these architectural relics and entertainment venues of the yesteryear are newly refurbished loft and apartment spaces.  In an unprecedented push, long forgotten office buildings are being rapidly renovated into gorgeous lofts, work spaces and apartments for those looking to the future but want to be part of the grand past.  In Los Angeles, old is in. Like much of the nation, the city has returned to its downtown roots with fervor, converting once abandoned and neglected historic structures into lofts, hip hotels and galleries. The Historic Core is no exception. This colorful district had its heyday from the late 1890s to the early 1930s, and boasts the largest unbroken string of pre-1931 buildings in North America. From the futuristic Bradbury Building to the pulsing Grand Central Market to the spectacular Broadway Historic Theater District, it doesn't take much to imagine the old Red Car trolley rumbling by or a sea of fedora hats bobbing up and down Broadway.

As is often the tale of progress and evolution, this once thriving center of ornate office buildings, imposing banks and Victorian residences was slowly abandoned in the face of economic depression, suburban sprawl and a newly developing high-rise office market elsewhere. With the efforts of preservation groups, Downtown boosters and city leaders over the last 25 years, Angelenos are rediscovering their past and dispelling the myth that their city has no history. Today, nearly every corner of the district boasts a conversion of a once neglected building into lofts and apartments.