welcome to airworthy tours your guide in the sky my name is captain phillip and today
i'm going to serve as your tour guide and pilot as we take a tour of downtown l.a
the highlights of today's tour include an up-close look at the la skyline the historic city hall
the la sports landmarks of staples center and dodger stadium and much more but before we get
started make sure you are subscribed to the channel to be a part of future aerial tours
we are clear for takeoff so sit back relax and enjoy the tour
the city of los angeles was founded in 1781 by 44 settlers of the spanish empire as pueblo
de los angeles which translates to the town of our lady the queen of the angels
today la is a major city with a metro population of 12 million and here's a fun fact
la county has the most phone area codes in the u.s with eight total
and if la were to become a state it would have the fifth largest population in the country
next is the la skyline there are currently 18 skyscrapers of 600 feet or taller in downtown l.a
in fact there are some 32 million square feet worth of office space
in downtown the most notable skyscraper is the u.s bank tower due to its crown roof while it
feels like the u.s bank tower has been around forever it is relatively young being constructed
in 1989 and in true la fashion the skyscraper was blown up in the blockbuster hit independence day
ahead is the wilshire grand center which is the tallest building in la at 1 100 feet or 335 meters
the skyline will continue to grow as more buildings are on the way with over 300
active construction sites in the city la has a massive economy which according to the los
angeles economic development corporation has an annual economic impact of 807 billion dollars
for perspective if it were a standalone nation its gdp would rank 19th which would be ahead of
switzerland and saudi arabia however la does have a large homeless population which according to
npr is estimated to be at 66 000. the reasons for this are out of the scope of today's tour
ahead is los angeles city hall
completed in 1928 it is the center of the government
in los angeles and houses the mayor and city council offices
city hall is one of la's many iconic architectural structures
in 1998 the building was refurbished for a total of 135 million dollars
which also included upgrades that could allow it to withstand a magnitude 8.2 earthquake
city hall has been featured in numerous movies including la confidential atlas shrugged part
1 and tower of terror to the left of city hall is the clara shortridge fultz criminal justice center
which is where the o.j simpson murder trial took place below is a quick look at the headquarters of
the la times the city's largest news publication and the country's fifth largest new circulation
next is the walt disney concert hall designed by architect frank gehry
the concert hall is an internationally recognized architectural landmark
and one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world it seats 2265 people
and serves among other purposes as the home of the los angeles philharmonic orchestra
which is commonly and casually known as la field construction occurred between 1999 to 2003 with
a price tag of 130 million dollars however for the first couple of years the building actually
produced a very problematic glare that blinded drivers and reflected heat to the nearby condos in
2005 parts of the structure were dull by lightly sanding the panels to eliminate unwanted glare
below is the fashion institute of design and merchandising or fiddle for short which is a
private for-profit college offering degrees in fashion interior design
beauty and graphic design notable alumni include beauty youtuber nikita dragoon
rapper and fashion designer lil debbie and 90s child actor icon amanda bynes la is considered
the creative capital of the world due to its influence in film television fashion
music and art one out of every six people in the region works in the creative industry
right behind fithum is the fashion district formerly known as the garment district
the area caters to wholesale selling and has more than 4 000 independently owned and operated retail
and wholesale businesses selling apparel footwear accessories and fabrics you can
find fashion forward clothes and accessories for up to as much as 70 percent off from retail prices
the fashion district spans 100 blocks so make sure to wear comfortable clothing when you shop here
our next stop is dodger stadium home of the 2020 world series champions the la dodgers
the dodgers moved to los angeles from brooklyn in 1958 however the move was very controversial
at the time the land for dodger stadium was seized from local owners and residents in the early 1950s
by the city of los angeles using imminent domain with funds from the federal housing act of 1949
the dodgers would win the world series the following year and have won six world series
since moving to la the franchise has a total of seven world series championships
just one less than their arch rivals the san francisco giants
today the dodgers are the most unifying sports entity in la with the dodgers baseball cap and
dodger dogs being synonymous with los angeles our last stop is staples center opened on october 17
1999. staples center is the most used sports complex in the world hosting four professional
teams including the los angeles lakers kings sparks and clippers and it is the annual host
of the grammys since its opening its tenants have won a total of 11 championships six body lakers
three by the sparks and two by the kings and some of la is still waiting on the clippers to get one
also if you're looking for a bite to eat after a game right across the street you have la live
which has plenty of great dining and entertainment options as of this recording the lakers have 17
championships which is tied for the most in the nba while new york and madison square garden
are the mecca of basketball la and staples center are now the capital of basketball
on the premises are statues of many of la's greatest sports stars including magic johnson
wayne gretzky kareem abdul-jabbar and shaquille o'neal with the statue of the late great kobe
bryant to grace the premises soon kobe bryant played 17 of his 20 seasons in staples center
winning five championships and both of his jersey numbers of 8 and 24
are already retired in the rafters at night staples center in downtown la light up
like no other place on earth we'll have a full night tour of los angeles so stay tuned for that
if you're looking for a beautiful picture for your home office or home office
make sure to check out our store at
www.airworthyprints.com free shipping and a digital print is provided on each purchase
if you enjoyed today's tour you can tip your tour guide
by hitting the like button also what were some of your favorite attractions and landmarks
in downtown l.a let us know in the comments section below
thank you for flying with airworthy tours and we look forward to seeing you on our next flight