A self-guided drive north up the downtown 110 — from the 10 to the 5, exactly as the name promises — that answers two questions at once for anyone stuck in that traffic: what is that tower? and why does this freeway feel so old and strange? On your right rises the Financial District: the sail-crowned Wilshire Grand, the tallest building west of the Mississippi; the cylindrical US Bank Tower that held that title for nearly thirty years; the 1970s dark monoliths and John Portman's mirrored Bonaventure; and up on Bunker Hill, Disney Hall and the Cathedral. Then the road itself becomes the subject — the Four Level, the world's first stack interchange; the 1930s Figueroa tunnels; and the Arroyo Seco Parkway, the first freeway in the American West, opened in 1940. Northbound you drive forward in skyline time and backward in freeway time, until the road reveals itself as the real monument. Paced for downtown traffic; audio-first for the driver, look-first for the passenger.
🚗 This is a driving tour. Narration plays itself as you reach each stop. Keep your eyes on the road — the screen is for your passenger, never the driver.
The route, in order
- Intro — the 110/10 interchange The oldest freeway in the West, about to run up the front row of the tallest skyline in the West — eyes on the road; let this ride shotgun.
- L.A. Live, the Arena & the Graffiti Towers The newest corner of downtown — a sports palace and a billion-dollar ruin, staring at each other across the street.
- Wilshire Grand Center 1,100 feet to the tip of its spire — the tallest building west of the Mississippi, and the one that broke LA's flat-top rule.
- US Bank Tower & the 1970s monoliths The round tower that was the tallest in the West for nearly thirty years — and the dark 1970s monoliths it grew up among.
- Westin Bonaventure Five mirrored cylinders by John Portman — 1970s futurism, and a perennial sci-fi film set, right at the freeway's edge.
- Bunker Hill — Disney Hall & the Cathedral Gehry's steel sails, The Broad beside it, and Moneo's cathedral on its bluff — the cultural crown of Bunker Hill.
- Four Level Interchange — The Stack The world's first four-level stack interchange — 1949, and the moment the modern freeway knot was invented.
- Figueroa Street tunnels Four Art Deco tunnels from the 1930s — a 1920s mountain road swallowed whole by the freeway.
- Arroyo Seco Parkway Opened 1940 — the first freeway in the West, and a civil-engineering landmark you're driving on.
- Outro — Chinatown / State Historic Park gateway The north edge of downtown — where "the ten to the five" comes true, and the parkway heads for Pasadena.
How it works
- Narration plays itself as you reach each stop — hands-free while you drive.
- Follows your GPS. Each stop's narration cues itself as you pass it — no tapping through a list.
- Works offline on the road. Once this page has loaded, the whole tour keeps running without a signal.
- Nothing to install. It's a website, not an app — add it to your home screen if you'd like a shortcut.
Book a nearby experience
Make a day of it — Los Angeles tours and experiences you can book ahead.
Affiliate links — if you book through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.