Overview  •  Projects  •  Historic Theatre Photo Gallery  •  Last Remaining Seats  •  Bringing Back Broadway
 

Broadway looking south from Seventh Street, 1936. Photo from Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.

The Broadway Initiative is a decade-long proactive effort by the Los Angeles Conservancy to help lead the revitalization of Broadway and the surrounding historic downtown.

The historic core of Los Angeles is a unique and remarkable place, and downtown’s historic resources are one of its greatest assets. We want to leverage these historic resources to help the area become a vital 24-hour urban place – a center for arts and entertainment, a community for residents, a lively marketplace, and a gathering spot for all Angelenos.

We work with community members, property owners, current and potential business owners, neighborhood groups, and elected officials to encourage historically sensitive investment in and reuse of the district’s underused structures; market the district to potential users, investors, and the general public; and advocate for public-sector support of and commitment to the area’s renaissance.

While the Conservancy has worked to revitalize the historic downtown throughout its 30-year history, in 1999 we launched a targeted Broadway Initiative to enhance the area’s existing vitality and make it a thriving, 24-hour urban place that includes:

• A bustling residential neighborhood using converted historic buildings as living and live/work spaces
  
• A lively nighttime entertainment district with restaurants, nightclubs, performing arts, and movies, particularly in the spectacular historic theatres of Broadway
  
• A diverse mix of ground-floor retail activity
  
• A strong and ongoing connection to the Latino community that has made Broadway a vibrant shopping district for decades
  
• An attractive and comfortable streetscape, including brightly lit and rehabilitated historic buildings, signage, and storefronts
  
• Secure, affordable, and easy-to-find parking