Downtown Los Angeles – Courtesy of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
There’s no question that West Hollywood still reigns as the gay mecca of Los Angeles. However, downtown L.A. is in the midst of a revival and the LGBT community – as it does so often – is playing a role.
For many years, downtown Los Angeles, or DTLA, was essentially abandoned. That started to change in 1999 with the opening of the STAPLES Center sports arena, with progress ramping up as the economy continued to improve. In 2014, GQ went as far as to call DTLA “America’s next great city.”
The rebirth is partly due to an influx of new residents. According to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, DTLA now has nearly 60,000 residents — a number that’s doubled since 2000. And LGBT people comprise a large percentage of those new residents.
The influence of LGBT people on DTLA was recognized this year with the creation of the DTLA Proud Festival, which “celebrates the profound revitalization of DTLA and the growing LGBT community.” It was compounded by the decision to move AIDS Walk Los Angeles out of West Hollywood to DTLA.
For LGBT tourists, West Hollywood is still the area’s best destination, but what awaits those who opt for DTLA? As it transpires, quite a lot.
Stay
Located across the street from STAPLES Center and the L.A. Live entertainment center, the Luxe City Center Hotel has a prime location. The modern property’s 178 guest rooms and suites are among the most spacious of any DTLA hotel.
The Beaux-Arts-inspired Millennium Biltmore Hotel was built in 1923 and is the grande dame of L.A. hotels. A historic and cultural landmark, it offers classic styling with modern amenities — it’s L.A.’s answer to the grandeur of the Waldorf Astoria in NYC.
The Hilton Checkers, with its Spanish-style façade, is another historic property that serves the needs of today’s travelers. Its rooftop deck offers outstanding views of Los Angeles.
Play
The police-themed Precinct is a spacious bar and nightclub that helped pave the way for DTLA’s burgeoning LGBT nightlife. A relaxed atmosphere and large dance floor ensure it’s popular with locals and tourists alike.
Redline bills itself as “DTLA’s premier gay bar” and certainly has plenty of fans. If you’re a Drag Race fan, season 2 star Pandora Boxx hosts “Dragalicious” on Wednesdays.
Bar Mattachine – Credit: Troy Petenbrink
The newest kid on the block, Bar Mattachine is a trendy, bi-level cocktail bar. Its name is an homage to the Mattachine Society, one of the first gay rights organizations in the United States.
The New Jalisco Bar was a mainstay of the “old” DTLA and the only full-time gay bar in DTLA for many years. It has a very loyal Latin clientele, and is enjoying continued popularity as DTLA undergoes an LGBT transformation.
Eat
Chef Ray Garcia’s B.S. Taqueria offers outstanding Mexican food and drink in a colorful, casual space. The quality of the food is exactly what you would expect from Garcia, Esquire’s chef of the year for 2015.
Spring Los Angeles is a beautiful, classy French restaurant. In addition to its outstanding menu, diners can enjoy its open kitchen, fountain, and all-glass atrium ceiling as they dine.
Bottega Louie is a combination bakery, gourmet market and Italian restaurant. It has won awards for everything from “best brunch in L.A.” to “best place to break bread with friends.”
See
A massive entertainment complex, L.A. Live sits between the STAPLES Center sports arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center. It is home to multiple performance spaces, restaurants, bars, retail outlets, and the Grammy Museum.
The Broad is one of the newest editions to Los Angeles’ world class arts scene (which includes LACMA, The Getty Center, and Hammer Museum), housing an extensive collection of contemporary art.
Two decades before Stonewall, a group of gay men at a downtown Los Angeles donut shop fought back against LAPD harassment. That slice of LGBT history is one of many interesting tidbits shared during Gay DTLA: City of Angels Walking Tour. The tour lasts 2.5 hours and visits many of DTLA’s must-see sites, including Grand Central Market, El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, and Pershing Square.
Several corporate sponsors of San Francisco Pride, including beer giant Anheuser-Busch, have pulled their funding for the celebration's annual festivities.
Over the past four weeks, the companies have informed organizers of San Francisco Pride that they would not be able to support 2025 Pride, claiming a lack of funds as the reason.
None of the companies cited the political climate, but Suzanne Ford, the executive director of San Francisco Pride, said that it was "very abnormal" for several multi-year sponsors to drop their support.
"I just interpreted that companies are making decisions that at this time it’s not good to be sponsoring Pride," Ford told SFGATE magazine, alluding to decisions by several major corporations to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Federal agencies under the Trump administration have flagged hundreds of words to avoid in official government memos, public-facing websites, and informational materials.
Government agencies are seeking to comply with a President Trump executive order seeking to rid the government of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and any programs or initiatives that conservatives decry as "woke," including those that focus on racial and cultural identity, LGBTQ identity, and the idea of "equity" rather than equality.
The list appeared in government memos and agency guidance, ordering the removal of the words from government websites, internal communications, and from written or printed materials.
Rabbits, as well as other animals -- peacocks, hamsters, and cats -- dominate her work, which is typified by a vast range of emotions, from aggressive to melancholic to serene.
"I'm always going for some kind of loud sort of expression," she says. "My illustrations tend to be very suggestive or very erotic or very cute. It's always about some kind of sensual pleasure or dramatic pain."
A librarian by trade -- she currently works at the National Institute of Medicine -- Soltian nonetheless treats her art as a full-time vocation. Her online store, which describes her as a "crafter of indulgences," sells various items based on her works, including pendants, keychains, and even life-sized pillowcases featuring popular comic book characters, such as Nightwing, with whom she admits to being somewhat obsessed.
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