1st Street (Los Angeles)

1st Street (Los Angeles) 1st Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles and surrounding communities, running from the Pacific Ocean at Venice past downtown Los Angeles City Hall to the Los Angeles River and beyond into East Los Angeles. The street connects or forms borders for neighborhoods such as Westlake, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and Boyle Heights, and intersects key corridors including Wilshire Boulevard, Pico Boulevard, and Sunset Boulevard.

Route description

1st Street begins near the Pacific Coast Highway in Marina del Rey and traverses coastal and central Los Angeles neighborhoods before entering downtown Los Angeles. East of Downtown Los Angeles, it continues across the Los Angeles River into Chinatown and Boyle Heights, ultimately extending toward Alhambra and the San Gabriel Valley. Along its route, 1st Street crosses major arteries such as I-405, Interstate 10, US 101, and the Golden State Freeway; it abuts landmarks including Grand Park, LACMA, and the Bradbury Building. The street's alignment shifts and widens at points near Los Angeles City Hall and the Los Angeles State Historic Park, forming important links between Little Tokyo, Union Station, and the Civic Center complex.

History

The corridor that became 1st Street developed as Los Angeles expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries during periods associated with figures and events like William Mulholland, the Los Angeles Aqueduct construction, and the Great Migration. Early plats and street grids were influenced by rancho land divisions and patents tied to Spanish and Mexican periods. In the 1920s and 1930s, civic improvements under administrations linked to Mayor Fletcher Bowron and the Works Progress Administration reshaped downtown intersections and infrastructure. Postwar urban planning, including initiatives by agencies such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and designers associated with Harold Adamson-era commissions, led to widening projects and the construction of bridges over the Los Angeles River. Community activism from groups connected to Chicano activists and neighborhood organizations in Boyle Heights influenced preservation and zoning decisions affecting 1st Street corridors in the late 20th century.

Landmarks and notable buildings

Notable sites along 1st Street include civic and cultural institutions such as Los Angeles County Hall of Records, Los Angeles City Hall, DWP Building, and the historic Bradbury Building. Cultural anchors include Little Tokyo institutions, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Chinese American Museum in Chinatown. Entertainment and commercial landmarks near 1st Street include the Orpheum Theatre (Los Angeles), Grand Central Market, and the Ace Hotel Los Angeles (located in the United Artists Building). Educational and research sites adjacent to the corridor include campuses of University of Southern California-adjacent facilities, California State University, Los Angeles, and medical centers such as Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. Bridges spanning the Los Angeles River at 1st Street have been associated with architects and engineers who worked on projects alongside firms linked to the National Register of Historic Places nominations for downtown bridges.

Transportation and infrastructure

1st Street serves as a multimodal corridor with bus lines operated by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and regional connections to Metrolink and Amtrak at or near Union Station. The street intersects several freeway ramps for I-10 and US 101, and provides access to bicycle lanes and pedestrian improvements developed in coordination with the LADOT and Southern California Association of Governments. The 1st Street Bridge is part of recurring maintenance programs involving the California Department of Transportation and historic-preservation groups such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Utilities and public works installations along the street involve agencies including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Cultural references and media appearances

1st Street and its environs have appeared in films and television productions associated with studios and creators working in Hollywood, including scenes shot near Grand Central Market, Little Tokyo, and downtown locations used in productions by Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures. Music videos and works by artists tied to the Los Angeles scene—such as performers who worked with labels like Capitol Records and Interscope Records—have featured 1st Street vistas, while novelists and poets associated with Southern California literature have set scenes along the boulevard. The corridor has also been documented in photography collections at institutions such as the Los Angeles Public Library and exhibited in programs at The Getty and Hammer Museum.

Category:Streets in Los Angeles Category:Roads in Los Angeles County, California