Los Angeles Audio Tour: Art, Elegance & Echoes of Broadway

To spot Blackstone's Department Store Building, look for a grand six-story structure on the corner with striking Beaux Arts features-lots of elegant terra cotta decoration, tall rows of windows, and a chunky cornice topped with little decorative details-right where Broadway crosses 9th Street. Alright, step right up! Imagine it’s 1917, and the brand-new Blackstone’s Department Store just opened its doors here on this bustling corner. The crisp clatter of trolley cars along Broadway splashes against the grand facade, and sunlight bounces off all that delicate terra cotta-this building wants you to notice it. Nathaniel Blackstone, the man behind it all, was on a mission to outshine his brother-in-law, the legendary J. W. Robinson. He spared no expense-over half a million dollars (that’s more than fourteen million today!) for the biggest, fanciest shopping experience around. Look up and you’ll see the details that made shoppers gasp a century ago: broad windows with multi-paned glass, crisscrossed with beams of sunlight, fluted panels connecting the third through sixth floors, and a cornice wrapped with rows of intricate antefixes. Down at street level, the building shouts “modern” with a facelift it got in 1939-Streamline Moderne style, all smooth curves and shiny surfaces, thanks to Stiles O. Clements. By then, Blackstone’s was gone, but the new owners added everything a good Angeleno might need: more shopping, a lunch counter, and a beauty shop, so you could get a sandwich and a haircut before you ran out to catch the bus. But wait-this building isn’t just for shoppers and beauty queens. In 1923, you could’ve caught a glimpse of it as daring Harold Lloyd dangled from a clock in “Safety Last!” Pretty glamorous to be a movie star’s backdrop, right? Over the years, the crowds shifted, the fashions changed, and eventually, in 2010, the six stories of retail were reborn as 82 sparkly new apartments-complete with chic shops below and even parking for everyone’s cars. Now, as you stand at its feet, you’re in the middle of a living time machine-once the nerve center of Los Angeles shopping, now a stylish home in the heart of the city.

Directly in front of you is an eye-popping façade covered in detailed, geometric patterns and fierce-looking sculpted faces-just look up to spot its wild Mayan-influenced design among the trees and the neighboring plain buildings. Welcome to the Mayan Theater, where the outside looks like something Indiana Jones might stumble across, and the inside has stories juicier than a bucket of movie popcorn. When it opened back in August 1927, this place was all glitz and glamour, dazzling crowds with musical comedies and lavish premieres. Imagine the hustle and bustle on the sidewalk as famous faces like Ruth Taylor swept past under sparkling lights, excited for night after night of laughter and applause. But this wasn’t just a spot for show tunes; in 1930, it made history hosting the “Sweet N’ Hot” musical, where Dorothy Dandridge wowed audiences and the show packed the house for eleven whole weeks. People could barely get tickets! Fast forward to the wild 1970s and 80s-oh, how the mighty have… gotten a bit risqué! The Mayan became famous (or maybe infamous) for showing movies you definitely wouldn’t bring your grandma to see. Still, it kept its charm, popping up in classic films like The Bodyguard and A Night at the Roxbury, plus the Pointer Sisters filmed their Neutron Dance music video right here. If you could feel a building blush from all the attention, this would be the one. The real showstopper, though, is its design. Stiles O. Clements went all out, covering the theater in pre-Columbian patterns and fierce faces by Francisco Cornejo, including the “Hall of Feathered Serpents” lobby and an auditorium that glitters with a chandelier modeled on the Aztec calendar stone. Each visit feels like stumbling into a colorful temple from another world. Since 1990, it’s been a legendary nightclub pulsing with music and energy, even streaming a Daft Punk concert straight from its dance floor. But all parties must end-by late 2025, this clubbing era will close after 35 unforgettable years. So, snap a photo, take in the details, and imagine the spectacular-and sometimes scandalous-spectacles these walls have witnessed.

Alright, take a look at this striking building in front of you-the Belasco Theater! Just imagine it’s 1926: the street’s abuzz, people are dressed to the nines, and there’s excitement in the air. An oil tycoon, Edward L. Doheny, decided Los Angeles needed more drama-onstage, of course-so he commissioned not one, but two theaters, with this one meant for “legitimate theater.” And no, that doesn’t mean the other theaters were criminal, but hey, you never know with Hollywood! Morgan, Walls & Clements, a hotshot local firm, whipped up the plans in the over-the-top Churrigueresque style. Some say the building’s details are so elaborate, you could stare at them until the next oil boom and still notice something new-kind of like looking at your phone bill. When it first opened in November 1926, over a thousand people lined up on this very sidewalk to see "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." (That’s the play, not a compliment to passersby... although if the shoe fits!) But the Belasco wasn’t just about glitz. In the 1930s, during the tough days of the Great Depression, the Federal Theatre Project stepped in, turning these seats into a lifeline for struggling actors and audiences alike-a spot where everyone could escape reality for a few hours. Change is a loyal visitor here. When the golden era dimmed, the theater went from stage plays to burlesque and movies in the 1940s. The popcorn may have changed, but the drama? Never. After a final double feature in 1950, an energetic gospel church moved in. Imagine: one week, the stage was filled with tap dancing; the next, it echoed with hymns. In the 1970s, the Belasco became a sanctuary for the Metro Community Church, one of the nation’s early homosexual congregations. They faced challenge after challenge, showing the theater wasn’t just a place for showbiz-it had real heart. Yet, for years the building sat waiting for its next act-until 2011, when its chandeliers flickered on again as The Belasco, a music venue where echoes of Broadway mingled with rock and pop. And, oh, the camera loves this place! Look sharp and you might recognize it from "Being John Malkovich," "Swordfish," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "The Prestige," and even “Jersey Boys.” Honestly, with all its cameos, the Belasco’s agent must be working overtime. So wherever the Belasco’s history was headed-be it glamorous premieres, soulful sermons, or blockbuster films-it’s always been center stage in LA’s ever-changing show.

Look up and ahead for the tall, sleek skyscraper with a distinctive grid of square windows and a crown featuring a glassy upper section-South Park Center’s main tower stands boldly above the lower buildings nearby. Right here in front of you rises the South Park Center, once known by so many names it could fill a phone book-Occidental Life, Transamerica, AT&T Center, SBC Tower, and now, proudly, the USC Tower. Back in 1965, this 32-story marvel shot up into the Los Angeles skyline, making jaws drop as the city’s second-tallest building. Designed by William Pereira & Associates, its crisp International Style gave it a futuristic look for the time-a monument to white-collar ambition. Just imagine: inside those gleaming rows of windows, the Occidental Life Insurance Company’s computers hummed away, crunching numbers with all the cutting-edge power of the ‘60s. But this tower wasn’t the lone star in the neighborhood. The original Occidental Center covered a whopping 12 acres, tying together multiple buildings with secret underground tunnels. Legend has it that if you worked late, you might escape through these corridors to avoid a surprise rainstorm or a nosy boss! Up top, The Tower restaurant once served French cuisine with views to match-just picture a perfectly crisp soufflé hundreds of feet above LA’s endless sprawl. Ownership shuffled like a Vegas dealer, and before long, the California State Bar Association and even the LAPD moved into the neighboring buildings. The crown was spruced up in the 2000s with a $35 million renovation, making the old tower sparkle like a disco ball at sunset. And for pop culture fans, glance upward-you may recognize this very exterior from Avicii’s “Levels” music video, when it advertised not insurance, but “Levels/Le7vels.inc.” Now, as South Park Center, this building stands as a not-so-quiet witness to L.A.’s style, ambition, and maybe a few secret after-hours escapades. Even on a sunny afternoon, the story of this skyscraper soars as high as its glass crown.

Here it is, the legendary spot where Los Angeles once cheered, gasped, and even munched peanuts with abandon-welcome to the historic home plate of Washington Park! Imagine yourself in the early 1910s, when this wasn’t just another city corner but the very heart of baseball mania in LA. The roar of the crowd, the crack of the bat, the hopeful clatter of vendors selling snacks-it all happened here, where now there might be nothing more than the buzz of traffic and a McDonald’s serving up fries instead of fly balls. Washington Park first opened its doors in March 1911, after the old amusement park, Chutes Park, made way for baseball dreams. The Los Angeles Angels-no, not the ones from Anaheim, but the original Pacific Coast League team-called this their home. These early games weren’t played in some cramped backyard, either. After expanding the stands and outfield for the 1913 season, they finally had space to accommodate the ever-growing sea of baseball fans. There were even special parking areas just for the game days. Who says LA traffic is only a modern-day problem? But the park wasn’t just for baseball-no, Washington Park was a real community stage. It played host to football games like the epic 1915 USC vs. California matchup, when 8,000 fans packed the stands. That was a record crowd for SoCal back then-no wonder the hot dog sellers probably went home with arms twice their usual size. And movie buffs, take note: silent film legend Buster Keaton filmed a scene for “Neighbors” here in 1920. That must have been quite the production, with slapstick gags trading places with home runs. The Angels had their ups and downs here, and the team even shared the field for a while with the Venice Tigers. But when William Wrigley Jr. wanted to take baseball into the underground-literally, with plans for a parking garage-that dream hit the dirt. So he bought new land and built Wrigley Field (the LA one, long before Chicago’s famous ivy). The Angels played their last at Washington Park in 1925, with some dramas-like Seattle forfeiting a game during the closing series for good measure. If you look around today, the only sliding you’ll see is into a booth at McDonald’s, and the stands are packed not for the big game, but maybe for coffee and Wi-Fi. Yet right here, baseball once ruled, and Angel fans filled this spot with cheers, jeers, and the timeless hope that this, finally, would be a home run day. Quite the pitch-perfect ending to our tour, if you ask me!