The History of the Arts District

From vineyards to warehouses to a culturally significant community.

GQ Magazine - 2014:

“America’s next great City is inside L.A."

ARTS DISTRICT:

In 1831 an aging adventurer and vintner named Jean-Louis Vignes landed in Los Angles and planted 104 acres of Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc vines in what is now the Los Angeles Arts District. The vines thrived and by 1849 the El Aliso Vineyard was the largest producer of wine in California.

By the late 19th century the vines had been replaced by orange and grapefruit groves. The growing Santa Fe freight depots and warehouses created to serve the citrus industry’s shipping needs would determine the economic character and initial architectural makeup of the neighborhood.

By World War II, the citrus groves had been replaced by factories established to service the emerging trucking industry. However, by the late 1960’s and early 1970’s these businesses consolidated or closed, and created significant vacancies in what was now a decaying urban neighborhood not unlike other urban American cities of this time.

A handful of local artists saw this as an opportunity and began to colonize the neighborhood, renting space as cheaply as three cents per square foot. Galleries, cafes and performance venues followed and in 1981 the City of Los Angeles acknowledged the emergence of this neighborhood and passed the Artists in Residence ordinance, and seeding the beginnings of the modern day Los Angeles Arts District.

The Community

Amid the glittering towers and crumbly Art Deco facades, a new generation of adventurous chefs, bartenders, loft dwellers, artists, and developers are creating a neighborhood as electrifying and gritty as New York in the ‘70s.

Los ANgeles Downtown & arts districT

Residential

1. Savoy Community Association
2. Artisan on 2nd
3. Gallery Lofts
4. Megatoys Lofts - Lowes Enterprises +
5. 940 East 2nd Street Lofts
6. Newberry Lofts
7. One Santa Fe +
8. Toy Warehouse Lofts
9. Binford Lofts
10. 811 Traction Avenue Lofts
11. 808-820 East 3rd Street
12. Legendary Development +
13. Beacon Lofts
14. Barker Block Lofts
15. Barker Block Warehouse N°1
16. Molino Street Lofts
17. 500 South Santa Fe Avenue +
18. Factory Place Arts Complex
19. SunCal/MSD Capital Development
20. Industrial +
21. Brick Lofts
22. Toy Factory Lofts
23. Biscuit Company Lofts
24. The Walnut
25. AMP Lofts
26. 2101 East 7th Street
27. Loft 726
28. Seventh & Bridge

Office

29. Hudson Pacific Properties
30. Lucky Brand Headquarters
31. The Unique Space
32. The Row 1.3M SF Office
33. Creative Campus
34. Shorenstein / Ford Factory +

Retail

35. Malin + Goetz
36. The Voyager Shop
37. Westbound +
38. Bulletproof Mind & Body +
39. Hue
40. Hennessey & Ingalls +
41. Benjamin Salon +
42. Wittmore
43. Hammer And Spear
44. Sci-Arc Art Supply Store
45. Guerilla Atelier
46. The Artform Studio
47. Apolis: Common Gallery
48. Shinola +
49. Poketo
50. Alchemy Works
51. 12345
52. Apliiq
53. As of Now
54. Arts District Co-Op
55. Rotelli Cyclery
56. Kit and Ace pop up
57. Wheelhouse
58. Black Halo
59. Silver lake Wine
60. Black Milk
61. Kinfolk +
62. Cerre
63. HD Buttercup
64. Uptown Pup