Downtown Arts & Icons Walk

Welcome to downtown Los Angeles! We're starting in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall, the curving, shining building designed by Frank Gehry. It opened on October 23, 2003, and it's home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, with seats for about 2,265 people. The story began in 1987, when Lillian Disney made a 50 million dollar gift to build a performance hall for the people of Los Angeles, as a tribute to her husband Walt's love of the arts and of the city.

Gehry originally designed the outside in stone. When costs climbed, that was swapped for the stainless steel skin you see today, which turned out to be the building's signature. A few panels were first made highly polished and mirror-like, and they reflected so much sunlight into neighboring condos that they had to be modified. Inside, the acoustics, designed by Minoru Nagata and Yasuhisa Toyota, are widely praised.

This is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It was begun in 1998 and dedicated on September 2, 2002. It replaced the old Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, from 1876, which was badly damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The architect was Rafael Moneo of Spain, and his design deliberately avoids right angles.

As you walk around, notice how the walls meet at sharp and wide angles instead of neat corners. The modern design stirred up plenty of debate, since some people wanted a traditional Gothic-style church, and there were arguments over the cost too. Look for the large bronze doors and the statue of the Virgin Mary at the entrance. The cathedral is named for the Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of the Angels, which echoes the name of the city itself.

It's an active church, so please be respectful if you go in.