A Family-Friendly Vacation in the Social District

My kids are on Spring Break this week. For lots of families this is a time that schedules align, bags are packed, and intentions are to hit the beach, visit grandparents, amusement parks, or maybe hop a flight to some place for a cultured experience abroad. All of that seems nice.  But the boys’ Nana, my sister-in-law, her plus one, and my nephew, have decided that Los Angeles is their destination of choice for their own holiday break. Obviously, the Social District is an amusement and a cultural destination of its own for some!

Though I’m not traveling, I am taking a bit of a break. Updates on the Gardens of 11th Street, brand new garbage cans – that are so beautiful I considered whether to seal them and disallow trash, and even the Convention Center expansion moving forward with genuine and vociferous support from Councilmember Jurado, will all have to wait until after the holiday to get their proper attention in this space. Read on, only if you’d like to know how I’ll be spending this week – staycationing in the Social District.

Whether I’m attempting to feed family and friends from the grill, alternating between laps and games in the pool, or discussing the merits of graffiti with my sister-in-law and her friends, I’ll be spending a lot of time staring at the 49-stories of the Oceanwide Plaza from the deck of my building. It’s honestly the best view, of the worst thing, that continues to beguile our district’s aspirations ahead of the Olympics. I’m conscious that for some this holiday is a time to reflect on resurrection and renewal, but my spirit needs a break from the disappointment that comes with hoping this development will have a savior. My rose-colored glasses get to be replaced by a mask and a snorkel, and ironically I get to try and keep my head below water this week! 

No little league and no early mornings to drop off or pick up kids, means hopefully no time spent sitting in traffic. That’s probably what I’m looking forward to most. When it’s time to see the defending world champions at Dodger Stadium this week, hopefully the Pico Station will serve as our gateway. Forty minutes of public transit and redirecting the costs of two parking spaces into Dodger Dogs, feels like a green new deal that everyone in our party will support.

If I do lose a little trust and credibility as the planner of the week by asking folks to rely on public transit, then spending a day at LA Live should be redeeming. I doubt anyone will get anywhere close to 10,000 steps in, but crossing Fig can get your heart rate up. Do we really need that many lanes for cars? Replacing a couple of lanes with a linear green space running the length of LA Live and the Convention Center would be transformative. Throw in a few scramble crosswalks containing local art, and both sides of the street would feel connected in a way that improves the experience for visitors and residents alike.

Crossing Figueroa in its current condition will still be worth it for the free kids’ admission at the GRAMMY Museum and enjoying coffee and views from the Ray Charles Terrace. The museum’s new Sonic Playground is an interactive experience that makes for great social media posts if you need to convince friends your staycation is just as cool as their vacation. If we linger long enough in the museum, the brand-new Emmy Squared at LA Live is just the sort of pizza place we’ve needed in our neighborhood. Assuming no one needs a nap, we can get in some pregame bowling at Lucky Strike, before hitting up the final Kings home game before the playoffs. A very full day without getting in cars and leaving the neighborhood!

The week will probably go by too fast and we won’t be able to (or want to) do everything. We could hop on Metro and explore the museums at Exposition Park and easily spend an entire day. A day at the Broad and Grand Central Market, and maybe exploring the Fashion District, would feel like an adventure outside of the district to me, but I’m guessing Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, Universal Studios, or a visit to Mickey and friends, might also need to be added to the itinerary.  Even though we have our own Social District mascot, I won’t begrudge our guests wanting to see more of what Los Angeles has to offer. But from my perspective, we could easily never leave downtown and our spring break would be complete.