Central Plaza West Gate, Los Angeles
Marking one of the four entrances to New Chinatown, the West Gate on Gin Ling Way at North Hill Street was the first gate built around the Central Plaza. In 1938, L.A.鈥檚 Chinese community gathered at this site to celebrate the opening of New Chinatown after the original Chinatown, about a mile away, was uprooted to make room for Union Station. Gin Ling Way, one of Chinatown鈥檚 main pedestrian strips, is named after the 鈥淪treet of Golden Treasures鈥� in Beijing.
The four Chinese characters displayed across the top of the gate, composed by T.K. Chang, translate as 鈥淐ooperate to Achieve.鈥� The red, blue, and yellow neon lights adorning the gate鈥檚 perimeter were added later. Color-coordinated with all the red lanterns at night, they create a most spectacular sight.
Initially, the gate was partially made of 150-year-old camphor wood imported from China. This durable lumber has been described as the 鈥渟melly cousin of cinnamon鈥濃�攊ts odor repels insects. The original pillars later had to be replaced with concrete, though, because of weathering and dry rot. The red color of the gate symbolizes happiness and good fortune in Chinese tradition.
Among the memorial plaques displayed at the gate there is one dedicated to 19th-century Chinese builders, presented by then-California governor Frank Finley Merriam, and two others commending architects Adrian Wilson and Erle Webster. The city of Los Angeles declared the West Gate a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2005.
The four Chinese characters displayed across the top of the gate, composed by T.K. Chang, translate as 鈥淐ooperate to Achieve.鈥� The red, blue, and yellow neon lights adorning the gate鈥檚 perimeter were added later. Color-coordinated with all the red lanterns at night, they create a most spectacular sight.
Initially, the gate was partially made of 150-year-old camphor wood imported from China. This durable lumber has been described as the 鈥渟melly cousin of cinnamon鈥濃�攊ts odor repels insects. The original pillars later had to be replaced with concrete, though, because of weathering and dry rot. The red color of the gate symbolizes happiness and good fortune in Chinese tradition.
Among the memorial plaques displayed at the gate there is one dedicated to 19th-century Chinese builders, presented by then-California governor Frank Finley Merriam, and two others commending architects Adrian Wilson and Erle Webster. The city of Los Angeles declared the West Gate a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2005.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Los Angeles. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
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Central Plaza West Gate on Map
Sight Name: Central Plaza West Gate
Sight Location: Los Angeles, USA (See walking tours in Los Angeles)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Los Angeles, USA (See walking tours in Los Angeles)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Los Angeles, California
Create Your Own Walk in Los Angeles
Creating your own self-guided walk in Los Angeles is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Downtown Architecture Walking Tour
For different people, Los Angeles means different things. One such is undoubtedly architecture. Being one of the centers of the Art Deco movement, LA features a great number of amazing historic houses and buildings attributed to this and other, older and more modern styles.
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
One prominent landmark is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, a contemporary construction masterpiece with its... view more
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Chinatown Walking Tour
Unlike other cities where Chinese immigrant neighborhoods were formed organically, the Los Angeles Chinatown is the only planned Chinatown in the US. A blend of Chinese and American architecture, it was developed in downtown LA, as a tourist attraction, in the 1930s.
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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.7 Km or 1.1 Miles
Designed by Hollywood artists as a "Chinese" movie prop to create an exotic atmosphere, LA's Chinatown gives out... view more
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Movie Studios Tour
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Raleigh Studios is one of the oldest continuously... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.9 Km or 2.4 Miles
Raleigh Studios is one of the oldest continuously... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.9 Km or 2.4 Miles
El Pueblo and Little Tokyo Walk
El Pueblo and Little Tokyo are two culturally rich and historically significant neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
The former is the oldest district in the city. Also known as the birthplace of Los Angeles, El Pueblo is centered around the Los Angeles Plaza. Throughout most of the 19th century, it was the city's administrative and commercial center: first under the Spanish (from 1781 to 1821),... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
The former is the oldest district in the city. Also known as the birthplace of Los Angeles, El Pueblo is centered around the Los Angeles Plaza. Throughout most of the 19th century, it was the city's administrative and commercial center: first under the Spanish (from 1781 to 1821),... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
Los Angeles Downtown Walking Tour
The history of Los Angeles 鈥� "a bright and guilty place," as Orson Welles described it 鈥� began on September 4, 1781, when a group of 44 Spanish settlers established a hamlet on the territory of present-day Downtown LA which they called 鈥淭he Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels鈥� (El Pueblo de Nuestra Se帽ora la Reina de los 脕ngeles).
The land became part of Mexico in 1821,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.5 Km or 2.2 Miles
The land became part of Mexico in 1821,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.5 Km or 2.2 Miles
Beverly Hills Walking Tour
Undeniably one of the most famous places in the world, Beverly Hills is widely known as the most fashionable destination in Los Angeles county to shop and have fun at. Originally a Mexican ranch where lima beans were once grown, this place has long been a home to many Hollywood stars and other celebrities, luxurious hotels, and high-end boutiques.
Beverly Hills started to gain prominence in the... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles
Beverly Hills started to gain prominence in the... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles
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