The Force is strong with Los Angeles, following the City Council’s recent approval of construction of legendary filmmaker George Lucas’ visionary $1.5 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
The five-story, spaceship-shaped building is planned for Downtown’s Exposition Park, nearby the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and Lucas’ alma mater, the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Extensively showcasing narrative art, from cave paintings to Star Wars, the museum, fully funded by Lucas, is reportedly the largest private gift to a city ever.
As Lucas stated at the accompanying press conference, “The goal of the museum is to inspire people to think outside the box.” For a meetings industry seeking to do the same, the venue, with the art of storytelling as its driving force, will offer a jump into hyperspace for group education, events and more.
Jedi Master patience is required for the wait—the project is targeting a 2021 debut, after anticipated groundbreaking in late 2017—but there’s no time like the present to land at the city’s many other star venues, such as the following coordinates in Downtown, Mid-City and West Hollywood.
Dynamic Downtown
Occupying the 69th and 70th floors of the famed U.S. Bank Tower, OUE Skyspace Los Angeles is California’s tallest open-air observation deck, overlooking the city from nearly 1,000 feet above street level. Accommodating up to 800 people for standing receptions, the two-level, 13,000-square-foot event space comes with dynamic interactive technology and is available for buyouts. Meanwhile, the all-glass Skyslide provides an outdoor thrill ride between floors.
The sky is also the limit at the California Science Center. Located in Exposition Park, the 400,000-plus-square-foot venue’s mission is “to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning in everyone by creating fun, memorable experiences.” With free admission to the permanent exhibits, five flexible venues for daytime or evening meetings and events include Samuel Oschin Pavilion, where groups can dine under the original space shuttle Endeavour.
Illinois-born Walt Disney’s legend began with his move to Hollywood in 1923, while Canadian-born master architect Gehry established his practice in L.A. in 1962. These creative legends unite at the striking 2,265-seat Walt Disney Concert Hall. Designed by Gehry “from the inside out,” the curvilinear home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale offers flexible indoor and outdoor space such as the Founders’ Room, seating 150 and with standing room for 200, and the 650-capacity Blue Ribbon Garden.
The Hall forms part of the landmark Music Center, founded in 1964 with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and also offering the Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum, both 50 this year.
Completed in 1876, Saint Vibiana, in Downtown’s Historic Core, was the city’s first Archdiocese Catholic cathedral. Irreparably damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the decommissioned cathedral was restored and relaunched in the late '90s as Vibiana, a full-service event facility. Hosting seated affairs for 550 and receptions for nearly 800 in the Great Hall and Garden Courtyard, the award-winning venue includes creative food and cocktail menus from its chef-restaurateur owners.
The nation’s third-oldest ballpark behind Boston’s Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago’s Wrigley Field (1914), 56,000-seat Dodger Stadium (1962) is a home run for convention, corporate and other groups. Overlooking the city, this Chavez Ravine landmark offers multiple year-round event facilities, the field included.
Part of Downtown’s L.A. LIVE entertainment district, the GRAMMY Museum features four floors of cutting-edge musical exhibits and interactive experiences. Versatile event spaces include the 200-seat Clive Davis Theater and fifth-floor outdoor Target Terrace, with Downtown and the Hollywood sign as the backdrop for seated gatherings of 150 and receptions for 300 people.
Mid-City Musts
In L.A.’s geographical center, Mid-City, or Mid-Wilshire, buzzes with culture, art and dining, enriched by heirlooms such as the Original Farmers Market.
Steps from CBS Television City, this open-air market originated in 1880 as a 256-acre dairy farm. Derricks replaced the cattle in 1900 when one of the owners, drilling for water, hit oil instead. In 1934, two entrepreneurs transformed the vacant site into a “Village” where farmers and other merchants could sell fresh produce from their trucks—and the market was born.
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Attracting stars through the decades from Frank Sinatra and the Beatles to Gordon Ramsay and Jimmy Kimmel, the world-renowned venue today features restaurants serving global cuisines, along with gourmet grocers, bakers, produce-sellers and more.
Opened in 1936, the El Rey Theatre is an Art Deco gem in the heart of the Miracle Mile, L.A.’s Museum Row. After a 50-plus-year run as a movie house, this Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument became a live-music venue in 1994. Featuring a grand ballroom with full stage and VIP balcony lounge, the 800-capacity theater hosts live entertainment and private events.
Since debuting in 1965, the preeminent Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has become the largest art museum in the western U.S., with some 130,000 genre-spanning works in its collection.
Nine distinct spaces within the Miracle Mile landmark include the 600-capacity Bing Theater, 900-capacity North Piazza and 100-capacity David Bohnett Foundation Atrium, where guests can experience the iconic two-story sculpture Smoke. LACMA events include exclusive access to art from across time and around the globe.
Adjacent to LACMA, work is underway on the much-delayed Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Now targeting completion by 2019, the project, featuring a massive glass sphere, will reportedly have event spaces that include a 1,000-seat theater.
Another acclaimed Miracle Mile institution, the Petersen Automotive Museum, unveiled a dramatic $125 million transformation in December 2015. With the exterior newly wrapped in red-hot skin and stainless-steel ribbons, the remade interior introduced 25 new galleries and 50,000-plus square feet of event space on four floors. Rental options include the rooftop terrace for 300 guests, and the interior galleries combined for 2,000-person receptions.
Guided tours of historic Sony Pictures Studios showcase everything from the soundstages where classics like The Wizard of Oz were filmed to the mobile home from TV’s Breaking Bad. For small meetings to blockbuster events, rental venues range from the historic Rita Hayworth Dining Room to small-town street sets.
In culturally rich Koreatown, just east of Mid-City and halfway between Downtown and Hollywood, the 384-room LINE Hotel is a cool urban boutique option for groups. Framed with a wall of colorful windows overlooking the Hollywood Hills, this revival of a 1964 concrete building on Wilshire Boulevard offers 12,000 square feet of hip indoor and outdoor meeting, event and private dining space for up to 800 people. These include the divisible 425-capacity grand ballroom; '80s-inspired nightlife venue Break Room 86; and an outdoor pool deck for up to 250 people, with the adjacent Commissary restaurant from acclaimed local chef Roy Choi, uniquely situated in a greenhouse.
Wild for WeHo!
While founded in 1984 as L.A. County’s 84th city, West Hollywood’s fame stretches back decades. Home of the iconic Sunset Strip and legendary clubs such as The Troubadour (60 this year), Whisky a Go Go and Roxy, “WeHo” is synonymous with rock 'n' roll style—and decadence.
Since 2009, it’s been the 239-room Andaz West Hollywood, but in the 1970s the former Continental Hyatt House lived up to its “Riot House” nickname as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who and other rockers rode Harleys in the hallways, dropped TVs off the balconies, and engaged in other mayhem not fit to print here.
Today, the party spirit continues at venues such as the 190-capacity rooftop Panorama Ballroom. Featuring floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic city and ocean views, the 2,730-square-foot space connects to the 150-capacity Sundeck, which appeared in the 1984 “rockumentary” This Is Spinal Tap.
Formerly the Route 66-era Tropicana Motor Lodge, the Ramada Plaza West Hollywood Hotel and Suites was another legendary rocker refuge, from Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin to Blondie and Bruce Springsteen. The affordable hotel, favored by international visitors and the local music and entertainment industry, offers a meeting room for 40 people.
Rooftop venues are all the rage in WeHo, such as the Sunset Cocktail Lounge at Palihouse West Hollywood. Other stylish event spaces at the 37-room boutique include the Lobby Lounge and Mardi Restaurant, with a private dining room.
Taking reservations for November 2017 and beyond, Kimpton’s new 105-room La Peer Hotel will feature rooftop event space.
Opened in 1975, the award-winning 1.6 million-square-foot Pacific Design Center offers rental venues that include two Wolfgang Puck restaurants, the 380-seat SilverScreen Theater and the 200-seat Conference Center.
