Broadway is a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California. The portion of Broadway from 3rd to 9th streets was Los Angeles's main commercial area from the 1910s until World War II and in 1979, it was listed as the Broadway Theater and Commercial District in the National Register of Historic Places, the first and largest theater district to be listed. The district was expanded to 2nd and Olympic in 2002.
Route South Broadway's southern terminus is Main Street just north of Intserstate 405 in Carson. From there, the street travels north through Athens and South Los Angeles, across Interstate 105 and Interstate 10, to downtown Los Angeles. In downtown, it forms the border between South Park and the Fashion District, then travels through the historic core and the Broadway Theater and Commercial District, then continues through the Civic Center and across US-101. North of US-101, Broadway becomes North Broadway as it enters Chinatown. North of Chinatown, North Broadway curves northeast, passing through railyards and crossing Interstate 5, after which it heads east to its terminus at Mission Road in Lincoln Heights.
History Founding and extension Broadway was originally named Fort Street and is one of the oldest streets in Los Angeles. It was laid out by Edward Ord as part of his 1849 plan for the city. The street began at the south side of Fort Moore Hill, one block north of Temple Street. It was named after Fort Moore.
In 1890, Fort Street was renamed Broadway from 1st to 10th Street, while the rest was renamed North Broadway. Proposals to connect Broadway to Buena Vista Street (now North Broadway) and also extend Broadway south into what was part of Main Street were made as early as 1891. The Broadway Tunnel opened in 1901, traveling through Fort Moore Hill and extending North Broadway to Buena Vista Street at Bellevue Avenue.
A bridge across the Los Angeles River opened in 1911, connecting Buena Vista Street to Downey Avenue, both of which were renamed North Broadway despite significant objections from residents and landowners. The bridge was referred to as Buena Vista Street Bridge even after the streets were renamed.
A section of Broadway in South Los Angeles was named Moneta Avenue until 1923.
Commercial and entertainment center
Prior to the 20th century, Los Angeles's Central Business District was located along Spring and Main Street between Los Angeles Plaza and 2nd Street. In 1895, J.W. Robinson's opened a four-story department store at 239 S. Broadway, starting the shopping district's shift to Broadway. Numerous historic buildings, including commercial, residential, and office, as well as live theaters and movie palaces, were built along Broadway between 1893 and 1934.
From through the 1950s, Broadway was considered the center for shopping in all of greater Los Angeles. The district contained more than in department store space.WP:CALC based on information in Broadway Theater District (Los Angeles)#Department stores
Decline and revitalization Los Angeles's premier theater district shifted to Hollywood in the 1920s, while its commercial center left Broadway in the 1950s. Broadway declined significantly soon after.
The Broadway Theater and Commercial District, the first and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was designated in 1979 and expanded in 2002. The district contains twelve theaters and more than fifty additional buildings, several of which were in disuse or disrepair at the time of their designation, many of which have since been repurposed or restored.
Broadway's department stores closed in the 1970s and 1980s, at which point the area transitioned to a working class Latino shopping destination. Additionally, in the 2010s, a sneaker and streetwear retail cluster named Sneaker Row emerged on Broadway between 4th and 9th streets. Retail at 9th & Broadway has also proliferated, with the opening of Acne Studios, Oak NYC, Aesop, Tanner Goods, BNKR, Austere, A.P.C., and Urban Outfitters.
Bringing Back Broadway
In 2008, the City of Los Angeles launched a $40-million campaign to revitalize Broadway, known as Bringing Back Broadway, this despite some merchants' concerns that the campaign would spread the gentrification occurring in other parts of downtown. The campaign's commission, led by City Councilman Jose Huizar, recommended widening sidewalks, eliminating traffic lanes, constructing new parking structures, and adding streetcar service reminiscent of the street's past.
In 2014, a pedestrian-friendly project widened Broadway's sidewalks and replaced its parking lane with planters, chairs, and cafe tables. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the effort, part of the larger Great Streets Initiative that focused on walkability and transit throughout Los Angeles, represented "a shift from the way that our neighborhoods have been planned."
Buildings and sites
North of Hollywood Freeway Lincoln High School (1913, 1937 reconstruction by Albert C. Martin Sr.), 3501 N. Broadway Chinatown East Gate (1938, Webster & Wilson), 947 N. Broadway former site of Little Joe's (1927–1998), 904 N. Broadway Chinatown Gateway Monument (2001), 600 N. Broadway former site of Broadway Tunnel (1901–1949) below Fort Moore Hill
Hollywood Freeway to First
West side former site of Woman's Christian Temperance Union Temple (1888–1950s), 301 N. Broadway, Temple and Broadway Los Angeles County Hall of Records (1962, Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander), 320 W. Temple Street, Temple and Broadway Grand Park Los Angeles County Law Library, 1st and Broadway former site of Los Angeles Times Building (1887–1910) and (1912–1934), 1st and Broadway, housed the Los Angeles Times former site of Tajo Building (1896–1940), 1st and Broadway, housed the Los Angeles Stock Exchange (1900–1901), US District Court and US Marshals offices (1901–1910), USC Law School (1911–1925), and the Mexican Consulate (1922–1923)
East side Hall of Justice (1925, Allied Architects Association), 211 W. Temple Street, Temple and Broadway Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center (1972, Adrian Wilson Associates), 210 W. Temple Street, Temple and Broadway former site of Los Angeles High School (1873–1887), Temple and Broadway former site of Red Sandstone Courthouse (1891–1936), Temple and Broadway Grand Park former site of Los Angeles County Hall of Records (1911–1973, Hudson and Munsell), 220 N. Broadway
First to Second
West side United States Courthouse (2016, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP), 100-block S. Broadway former site of Mason Opera House (1903–1956, Benjamin Howard Marshall), 127 S. Broadway
East side Times Mirror Square Pereira Addition (1973, William Pereira), 1st and Broadway former site of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Building (1904–pre. 2016, William H. Allen), 128 S. Broadway
Second to Third
West side former site of Potomac Block (1890–1953, Block, Curlett and Eisen), 213–223 S. Broadway, housed Ville de Paris (pre-1904) and Coulter's (post-1904) former site of Boston Dry Goods Building (1895–unknown, Theodore Eisen and Sumner Hunt), 239 S. Broadway former site of I. Magnin Department Store (1899–unknown), 251 S. Broadway Irvine-Byrne Building (1894, Sumner Hunt), 249–259 S. Broadway
East side Historic Broadway metro station (2023), 202 S. Broadway former site of Los Angeles City Hall (1888–1928, Solomon Irmscher Haas), 228–238 S. Broadway, Victor Clothing Company Building (1914, Train & Williams), 242 S. Broadway, originally a City Hall annex, housed Victor Clothing (1964–2001)
Third to Fourth West side
Million Dollar Theater (1917, Albert C. Martin Sr.), 307 S. Broadway, 2345-seat movie palace Homer Laughlin Building (1896, John Parkinson), 317 S. Broadway, housed Coulter's (1898–1905) and Ville de Paris (1905–1917), houses Grand Central Market (since 1917) Jacoby Building (, John B. Parkinson), 331–335 S. Broadway, housed Jacoby Bros. (1900–1935) and Boston Store (late 1930s) former site of Haggarty's (1905–1917), 337–339 S. Broadway Karl's Building (1903, Abram M. Edelman), 341–345 S. Broadway, housed J. M. Hale (1909–unknown) Zobel Building (), 351–353 S. Broadway, housed The Wonder (1921–unknown), the largest retail silk store in the United States Grant Building (1898, Frank Van Trees, 1901–2, enlarged by John Parkinson), 355–363 S. Broadway, housed W. E. Cummings shoe store, Montgomery Bros., and Weatherby-Kayser
East side Bradbury Building (1893, George Wyman), 304 S. Broadway former site of Central Theatre, 314 S. Broadway Blackstone Building (1907), 318–322 S. Broadway, housed Blackstone's Department Store (1907–1917), Los Angeles County Library, and Cozy/Astro Theater (–) Trustee Building (1905, Parkinson and Bergstrom), 340 S. Broadway O. T. Johnson Block (1895, Robert Brown Young), 350 S. Broadway O. T. Johnson Building (1902, John Parkinson), 356–364 S. Broadway, 4th and Broadway
Fourth to Fifth West side Junípero Serra State Office Building, (1915, Parkinson and Bergstrom), 4th and Broadway, housed The Broadway (1915–1973) Wilson Building (1909), 431 S. Broadway, housed Woolworth's former site of Zody's, 437 S. Broadway Metropolitan Building, (1913, Parkinson and Bergstrom), 5th and Broadway, housed a library (1913–1926), Owl Drug, and J. J. Newberry (unknown–late 1980s)
East side
Perla on Broadway (2022), 400 S. Broadway, 4th and Broadway former site of the first Thrifty Drug Store, 412 S. Broadway Judson-Rives Building (1906, Charles Ronald Aldrich), 424 S. Broadway, ground floor housed Broadway Theatre (1924–1988) Bumiller Building (1906, Morgan & Walls), 430 S. Broadway Broadway Mall (1980s), 440 S. Broadway former site of a Parmalee-Dohrmann building, 440 S. Broadway Gebhard Building (, Robert Brown Young), 450 S. Broadway Chester Williams Building (1926, Curlett & Beelman), 5th and Broadway
Fifth to Sixth
West side
Fifth Street Store Building (1927, Alexander Curlett), 501 S. Broadway, housed Steele, Faris, & Walker Co. (1905–1909), Fifth Street Store (1909–1925),"Muse President Fifth Street Store", Los Angeles 'Herald', 1909-02-07"Big Department Store To Open", Los Angeles 'Herald', 1905-09-17 Walker's (1926–1946), Milliron's (1946–1953), and Ohrbach's (1953–1959) Remick Building (1902, Abram M. Edelman), 517–519 S. Broadway Reeves Building (1903, John Parkinson), 525 S. Broadway Schulte United Building (1928), 529 S. Broadway Lerners Building (1931, Philip Barker), 533 S. Broadway F. and W. Grand Silver Store Building (1931, Walker & Eisen), 537–541 S. Broadway, housed F. & W. Grand Silver (1931–1934), National Dollar (1934), Richman Brothers (1950s), and Hartfield-Zodys (1960s) former site of Clune’s Exclusive/Shell Theater (1909–unknown), 547 S. Broadway Swelldom Building (1920, Davis & Davis and Henry F. Withey), 555–561 S. Broadway, housed Swelldom
East side
Jewelry Trades Building (1913, Morgan, Walls and Morgan), 500 S. Broadway Pettebone Building (1905, Robert Brown Young), 510–512 S. Broadway Roxie Theatre (1931, John M. Cooper), 518 S. Broadway, 1600-seat movie palace Cameo Theater (1910, Alfred Rosenheim), 528 S. Broadway, 900-seat Nickelodeon, converted to retail Arcade Theater (1910, Morgan and Walls), 534 S. Broadway, 1450-seat English-music-hall theater, converted to retail Broadway-Spring Arcade (1924, MacDonald and Couchot), 540 S. Broadway Hubert-Thom McAn Building (1900, John B. Parkinson), 546 S. Broadway former site of Tally's New Broadway, the "first real motion picture theater in Los Angeles" (1903–1910), 554 S. Broadway Silverwood's Building (1920, Walker and Eisen), 556–8 S. Broadway, housed Silverwoods
Sixth to Seventh West side
H. Jevne Company Building (1906–7, Parkinson and Bergstrom), 601–605 S. Broadway Los Angeles Theatre (1931, S. Charles Lee and S. Tilden Norton), 615 S. Broadway, 2000-seat movie palace Mailing's Building (1930, S. Charles Lee), 617–619 S. Broadway, housed Myer Siegel (–1927)