downtown los angeles

I had no idea what to expect of Los Angeles – our airline tickets were purchased on a whim. My travelling companion was very well acquainted with the city, and I was there to assist him on two days of research before five days of vacation. Incidentally, I had recently purchased an LA-inspired typeface, but it did not figure into my preconceptions of the city.


In the Toy District small shops court your business via painted advertisements on brick walls and beautiful extruded lettering on signs while the sounds of rapid-fire Spanish and hearty laughter spill into the streets.


Many buildings are being gutted in the face of extensive downtown renewal. I am not entirely sure what product or service this strange business once offered. (Edit: mystery solved.)


Across the eerily deserted street.


I shot a number of beautiful addresses.



Cerrado los sabados. Pockets of downtown LA are so quiet on Saturdays, while others are not.



In the early decades of the twentieth century numerous palatial theatres were built along South Broadway, a historic area currently undergoing revitalization to restore the entertainment to the entertainment district – imagine black-and-white movie stars and ticker-tape parades. The letters that remain on this marquee are so ambiguous that I stopped trying to make sense of its last message almost immediately, mesmerized by the perfect letter placement and colour patterns of history. (Compare to effects of time on type in this post.)


Up Spring Street I suppose you could park your car in this garage but it might get impounded – this sign informs you of their zero-liability regulations in a few hundred mostly illegible words. Anyways, this is where you'd park for the shortest walk to the world's largest type.