Central Avenue (Los Angeles) - Landmarks and Major Attractions

Landmarks and Major Attractions

Near its northern end, Central Avenue passes through Little Tokyo, Los Angeles' oldest Japanese neighborhood and now a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On Central Avenue just north of First Street is the former Hompa Hongwangi Buddhist Temple. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No.313 in 1986. Across Central Avenue from the Temple is the Japanese American National Museum, and north of that is the original (and largest) branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, now known as the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.

In the 1200 block of Central Avenue is the 1930s era Streamline Modern Los Angeles bottling plant of the Coca-Cola company, designed to resemble an ocean liner, complete with porthole windows and metal-railed catwalks. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-cultural Monument #138 in 1975.

At 2300 Central is the Lincoln Theatre (now closed), opened in 1926 and long the leading venue in the city for African-American entertainment. It was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument # 744 in 2003. At 4233 Central Avenue is the Dunbar Hotel, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #131 since 1974. During the era of segregation, when they were barred from the city's major hotels, the Dunbar was the hotel at which visiting black celebrities were most likely to stay. The Hotel is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At 4261 Central Avenue is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #580, the 1925 Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, original headquarters of one of the leading African-American owned businesses in California.

The Central Avenue Jazz Festival is a yearly free music festival held the last weekend of July along a stretch of Central Avenue which includes the Dunbar Hotel. The festival features jazz, blues, and Latin jazz performed by well-known and upcoming artists from the area.