With the help of our video above and our 4-step trusty guide below, you’ll be able to experience the very best of what Downtwon Art Walk has to offer!

Step 1: Nail Down the Logistics

• Lowdown – Art Walk is a free, self-guided, public art phenomenon that brings together art lovers and community friends to Downtown Los Angeles.
• When – The 2nd Thursday of every month, year around! Refer to your calendar for specific dates. Hours vary by gallery, but can typically range from Noon – 10PM. We recommend arriving between 6-7pm. After the galleries close, the atmosphere remains festive as people stick around to enjoy the food trucks and many bars in the area.
• Where – The heart of Art Walk is on Spring and Main streets between 4th and 8th streets. If you want to plug an address into your navigation app, you can use the following: 634 S Spring St LA, CA 90014.
• Straight from the Source – Joe Moller, the executive director of the Art Walk, was kind enough to hook us up with the inside scoop for this Thursday’s May 10 Art Walk:  ”Start your Art Walk evening at the Official Art Walk Lounge located at 634 S Spring St. This month’s exhibition features photography by Jaimee Itagaki and robotic sculptures by Scrap Sculptures. DJ Joelskee will be keeping the lounge groovy all night. The Art Walk  staff can make recommendations on galleries, places to eat & bars to suit you taste.”   Thanks Joe!
• Parking – There are a number of paid parking lots available on Spring and Main streets. We ended up parking at the lot on the corner of Hill and 5th for $6, which is just a couple of blocks west of Spring.
• Want more information? – Check out the Art Walk’s informative new website at http://downtownartwalk.org

Step 3 – Get There & Have a Blast – So you’ve parked and you’re walking around enjoying the galleries and food trucks. Impress your date with a few interesting nuggets about Downtown LA history, and if you dare, give one of the corny art jokes below a shot

Downtown LA History - Spring Street can claim credit as the birthplace of the motion picture business in Los Angeles. In 1898, Thomas Edison filmed a 60-second film titled “South Spring Street Los Angeles California”, mounting a giant camera on a wagon to film the bustling action along South Spring Street. You can view the film on Youtube here.  Many of the buildings that line the Art Walk have been designated Historic Cultural Landmarks. Here are some interesting tidbits to share with your date:

• Hotel Stowell (now the El Dorado lofts)- 416 S. Spring Street – Shortly after the hotel opened in 1913, Charlie Chaplin lived here. Chaplin later told a story about a $25,000 appearance offer he received on the telephone at the Hotel. Chaplin recalled: “My bedroom window opened out on the well of the hotel, so that the voice of anyone talking resounded through the rooms. The telephone connection was bad, ‘I don’t intend to pass up twenty-five thousand dollars for two weeks’ work!’ I had to shout several times. A window opened above and a voice shouted back: ‘Cut out that bull and go to sleep, you big dope!’”
• Stock Exchange Building – 618 S. Spring Street – Ground was broken in October 1929, just as the Great Depression hit.  Be sure to point out the 3 panels carved by Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta into the granite above the building’s entrance. The large central panel, “Finance”, displays capitalists. The “Production” panel shows an aircraft engine, a steel worker pouring molten metal and a worker stirring it. The “Research and Discovery” panel shows oil derricks, factories, a chemist conducting an experiment and a man kneeling in a library reading a book.
• I.N. Van Nuys Building – 210 W. 7th Street – When built in 1911 by Isaac Newton Van Nuys (a noted banker and owner of much of the San Fernando Valley), the LA Times reported that it was “the city’s most expensive office building” at $1,250,000. Property values have gone up just a tad bit since then!

 Art Jokes –  Again, these are CORNY.  Use at your own risk

• Vincent van Gough walks into a bar, and the bartender offers him a drink. Vincent’s response: “No thanks. I’ve got one ‘ere.”
• Mona Lisa was brought up in court on charges of murder, but the authorities eventually determined she had been framed!
• At the last art walk, some lowlife decided to steal a painting from one of the art galleries. He snatched a painting from the wall, ran out the front door, jumped into his van, and sped away. He wasn’t the smartest fellow and had an empty tank, so ran out of gas a few blocks away. When the police caught him and asked how he could do something so stupid, he replied “I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh.”

Step 4: Keep Your Date Going – Once the galleries shut down, stick around and enjoy the festive atmosphere. Downtown will be swarming with people until the bars shut down at 2:00am. A few suggestions:

• The Edison –  108 W 2nd St - Undoubtedly one of the most impressive venues in Los Angeles, and always a classy crowd that is dressed to impress. The Edison is an old power plant complete with generators and turbines that has been masterfully transformed into a 1920s art deco speakeasy. Note: If you show up too late, you may have to wait to get in.
• La Cita –  336 S. Hill St. – La Cita is what happens when you mix a Mexican bar and hipster joint. Great atmosphere, hip crowd, funky music, and a large patio to boot.

Thanks for reading. And I’m sure you and your date will have a blast at the Art Walk.

Have fun. Together!

Alex