The Broadway District

The Los Angeles Broadway Theatre District holds a very special place in the hearts of generations of Angelenos and evokes the time at and before the Golden Age of Hollywood better than any area of the city.

Entertainment Overlay Zone & Design Guide

The Broadway Theater and Entertainment District Design Guide (CDO) provides guidelines and standards for development projects along Broadway between 2nd Street and Olympic Boulevard in Downtown Los Angeles. The intent of the Broadway Design Guide is to provide guidance and direction in the rehabilitation of existing structures and the design of new buildings to improve the appearance, enhance the identity, and promote the pedestrian environment of the Broadway corridor and to encourage the development of a regional entertainment district centered around its twelve historic theaters. 

Streetscape Master Plan                    

The Broadway Streetscape Master Plan is one of L.A.'s first large-scale examples of a "Complete Streets" project. The plan will implement numerous pedestrian-oriented, traffic-calming tools for the historic Broadway corridor to provide greater pedestrian comfort and security along one of the city's busiest pedestrian streets, and make Broadway a more enjoyable place to walk, shop, and spend time.

Historic Commercial Reuse Space

More than one million sq. feet of upper floor commercial space is vacant along Broadway and not all buildings are suitable for adaptive reuse to housing. Current ground floor retail vacancy is at 15-20%. Mom & Pop shops are sometimes discouraged from opening businesses on Broadway because of difficult a change of use process which is often faced in historic and older high-rises. It is unacceptable that, in the center of L.A.’s urban downtown, such beautiful buildings are so significantly underutilized, producing no jobs, no revenue and no support for revitalization in the area. With the Historic Commercial Reuse effort, that can change.

DTLA Streetcar

For the past 15 years, downtown LA has led the way in helping Angelenos to reimagine their built environment. Together, we’re building a city that is more connected, active, fun, and sustainable than ever before, and the Los Angeles Streetcar is the next step along that path. Downtown LA is the cultural and economic hub of our region, and we think that once you get here it shouldn’t be quite so tough to get from one place to the next.
 

Facade Lighting Grant Program

Bringing Back Broadway’s $750,000 architectural façade lighting grant will complete the façade lighting of a dozen historic buildings on Broadway buildings in 2017.   Façade lighting will help create a safer, more attractive Broadway and will highlight the architectural features of some of the corridor’s most beautiful historic building. It will also encourage a more active pedestrian environment and help drive new business to Broadway.

Historic Sign District

As the sun set on the 8th anniversary of Councilmember Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway initiative, an ambitious 10-year plan for the revitalization of the Historic Broadway corridor in Downtown LA, another major piece of Broadway-oriented public policy was adopted by L.A. City Council on Jan. 20. The Historic Broadway Sign District allows for a variety of sign types on Broadway between 1st and 12th Streets that will contribute to the historic nature of the Broadway district. Among other objectives, it encourages the recreation and restoration of historic signs, allows new large-scale painted signs on secondary facades, open panel roof signs, and vertical “blade signs” iconic to Broadway's hey-day.