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as seen from Los Angeles City Hall ]] Downtown Los Angeles is the Central Business District of Los Angeles, California , located close to the geographic center of the Metropolitan area. The sprawling neighborhood (encompassing the University Of Southern California (USC) and Exposition Park , just south of the 10 Freeway) as a part of the downtown map. HISTORY Most major upscale Department Store s once operated out of stand-alone buildings in downtown Los Angeles. Many of them were shuttered in the 1970s and 1980s , and some moved into newer more modern office, hotel and shopping complexes in the Financial District. Macy's Plaza and Robinsons-May (now closed and operating as a second Macy's store) are just two examples. With the movement of the city's commercial center westward, downtown Los Angeles was devoid of much nightlife from the 1950s until recent years as the residential population increased. (What little nightlife existed was concentrated in Little Tokyo .) In 1999, the Los Angeles City Council passed an Adaptive Reuse Ordinance , making it easier for developers to convert vacant office and commercial buildings (many of which were the lavish headquarters buildings of banks and other financial institutions in the early part of the Twentieth Century) into Renovated Lofts and well-secured luxury apartment complexes. Among those moving into these buildings were workers fed up with the city's notorious traffic Commuting to and from the Suburb s. Another sign of the fledgling downtown renaissance is that the Ralphs supermarket chain has opened a new store in Downtown in late July 2007. Ralphs had its first store in Downtown in the late 1800s and closed its doors in Downtown in the 1950s as the suburbs grew. Downtown's increasing gentrification has been particularly noticeable in Skid Row , where development interests and police crackdowns have precipitated the displacement of its large homeless population. Between 2006 and 2007 the police reported a nearly 50% decrease in the number of people found living on the streets. Skid Row's indigents have largely migrated to the surrounding areas of Hollywood , South Los Angeles , Echo Park , and Santa Monica , straining those communities' already over-burdened shelters and homeless services. The residential population of Downtown LA has boomed since 2005, with a 20% jump in two years (2005-07) to 28,878 residents.Cara Mia DiMassa, Downtown L.A. has gained people but lost jobs, report says , ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 21, 2007. This number surpassed previous estimates and, with units under construction, pushes the estimated downtown population to more than 40,000 by the end of 2008 instead of 2015, the previous target milestone. At the same time, the number of jobs in the Downtown area has dropped to 418,000 in 2005, down from a high of 605,000 in 1995. Cara Mia DiMassa, Downtown L.A. has gained people but lost jobs, report says , ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 21, 2007. On August 7, 2007, the , the changes allow larger and more dense developments downtown; developers who reserve 15% of their units for low-income residents are now exempt from some open-space requirements and can make their buildings 35% larger than current zoning codes allow.Sharon Bernstein and David Pierson, L.A. moves toward more N.Y-style downtown , ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 8, 2007. SUBDISTRICTS .]] in Downtown Los Angeles is the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River. (310 m)]] , Bunker Hill]]
ATTRACTIONS Some of the buildings of the Downtown core date from the early 1900s , with the topmost floors of most of the office buildings at mostly 13 stories. Between 1917 and 1957, a city ordinance capped building heights at 150 feet, leading to an unusually homogenous skyline. This has been mistakenly said to be due to earthquakes, but it was done to keep a uniform height in the area and to prevent Manhattan style congestion; thus, the Los Angeles City Hall was the tallest building for decades at 454 ft., until the development of the 18 Story California Bank Building at 600 S. Spring. That building is now being converted into condos. The unique Bradbury Building , built in 1893, has a coutyard with spectacular wrought iron staircases and railings, with a glass and iron ceilng over the spacious couryard. The Grand Central Market captures an early 1900s feel, with customs in distinct contrast to the current supermarkets of the U.S.
SKYLINE ''Main Article'': Skyscrapers In Los Angeles , Bunker Hill]] Despite its relative decentralization, Los Angeles has one of the largest skylines in the United States , and its development has continued in recent times. The skyline has seen rapid growth due to improvements in building standards, which has made some buildings highly earthquake-resistant. Many of the new skyscrapers are housing, especially in Downtown--what the office tower rush in the 1970s and 1980s added to the skyline is now occurring again in the form of residential construction. Some current and upcoming examples of skyscraper construction include:
This is a brief list, and there are many more. The recent "rise" of South Park , the low-rise district of downtown south of Bunker Hill (roughly south of 8th Street and north of the Santa Monica Freeway ), is bringing skyscrapers that will be high enough in quantity and height to create an extended downtown skyline within a few years from 2005 . Due to numerous films, television, and music videos that are shot in Los Angeles and uses downtown Los Angeles as the backdrop, the Los Angeles skyline is probably one of the most recognizable skylines in the world. The skyline of Los Angeles consists of several different clusters of high-rise buildings; most of these clusters are not directly connected to each other. Century City and the parts of Wilshire Boulevard through Westwood together form a rather busy skyline that is often confused with the downtown skyline. EMERGENCY SERVICES Fire services The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 9 (Central City) and Station 3 (Civic Center/Bunker Hill), serving Downtown Los Angeles. Police services The Los Angeles Police Department Central Community Police Station serves the neighborhood {Link without Title} . EDUCATION Downtown is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District . Belmont High School and Miguel Contreras Learning Complex jointly serve a portion of Downtown. Santee Education Complex serves another portion of Downtown. POP CULTURE
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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