Because it is so far and Angelenos usually talk down on it, it’s taken me a while to get to Downtown, but now I am wondering why. Ok, during the evening it gets kind of shady: big empty streets with office buildings and plazas full of tramps and tents. But in the sun it is all eventful city fare: museums, concert halls, book stores, federal institutions, and street vendors, spread out over several areas like Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Theater District, and Fashion District.

It feels like New York, but instead of the Puerto Rican touch, you have a little more Mexican thrown into the cultural jumble.

The Mexicans established El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles in 1781, and in a country where everything is relatively new, they sure treasure the few age-old artifacts they have. The old city center:

And just a step away the modern steel shows up again.

That evening we stuck with the NY vibe and hit the city’s ultimate socializing hotspot… the art gallery. Corey Helford had a new exhibition opening and the art crowd from all over town converged to see it.