{{Short description|Neighborhood in California, US}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox settlement |name=Financial District |official_name= |other_name= |native_name= |nickname= |settlement_type = Neighborhood of Los Angeles |total_type= |motto= |image_skyline=L.A Financial district.JPG |imagesize= 250px |image_caption=The Financial District as viewed from Bunker Hill |image_flag= |flag_size= |image_sea= |seal_size= |image_shield= |shield_size= |image_blank_emblem= |blank_emblem_type= |blank_emblem_size= |image_map= |mapsize= |map_caption= |pushpin_map=United States Los Angeles Downtown |pushpin_label_position=right |pushpin_map_caption=Location within Downtown Los Angeles |pushpin_mapsize=250 |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{USA}} |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = {{flag|California}} |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = County of Los Angeles |subdivision_type3 = City |subdivision_name3 = {{flag|Los Angeles}} |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |seat_type= |seat= |parts_type= |parts_style= |parts= |p1= |p2= |government_footnotes= |government_type= |leader_title= |leader_name= |leader_title1= |leader_name1= |leader_title2= |leader_name2= |leader_title3= |leader_name3= |established_title= |established_date= |area_magnitude= |unit_pref= |area_footnotes= |area_total_sq_mi= |area_land_sq_mi= |area_water_sq_mi= |area_water_percent= |elevation_footnotes= |elevation_m= |elevation_ft= |elevation_max_m= |elevation_max_ft= |elevation_min_m= |elevation_min_ft= |population_as_of= |population_footnotes= |population_note= |population_total= |population_density_sq_mi= |timezone= |utc_offset= |timezone_DST= |utc_offset_DST= |coordinates = {{coord|34|03|03|N|118|15|18|W|display=inline,title}} |postal_code_type=ZIP Code |postal_code= |area_code=213 |website= |footnotes= }}

The '''Financial District''', also known as the Financial Core, is a neighborhood and central business district located in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is bounded by the Harbor Freeway on the west, First Street to the north, Main Street and Hill Street to the east, and Olympic Boulevard and 9th Street to the south. The Financial District lies south of Bunker Hill, west of the Historic Core, north of South Park and east of the Harbor Freeway and Central City West.<ref>[https://downtownla.com/maps/getting-around/find-a-business Map, Downtown Center Business Improvement District]</ref>

Development of the Financial District accelerated in the late 20th century as part of Downtown Los Angeles's shift toward high-rise office and mixed‑use development. While much of neighboring Bunker Hill was redeveloped beginning in the 1960s, the Financial District retains historic early‑20th‑century buildings and modern skyscrapers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Etuk |first=Avery |date=2015 |title=Architecture in the Financial District and Bunker Hill |url=https://offthefreeway.com/2015/history/aetuk/ |website=offthefreeway.com (USC Annenberg)}}</ref> Older structures are especially concentrated along Seventh Street, once known as the city’s premier shopping corridor.

The district is home to numerous corporate headquarters, law firms, banks, hotels, and real estate companies, as well as major mixed‑use complexes such as the 7th and Flower area, a hub of the regional Los Angeles Metro Rail system. Prominent destinations include the FIGat7th shopping center, The Bloc, and a range of upscale restaurants and bars which cater to the downtown workforce and residents.

The Financial District forms part of Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council area and falls within Los Angeles City Council Districts 14 and 10. Public safety services are provided by the Los Angeles Police Department through its Central Community Police Station.

Landmark towers that define the Financial District’s skyline include the U.S. Bank Tower, Gas Company Tower, and Ernst & Young Plaza. Along Seventh Street, restored early-20th-century structures such as the Financial Center Building (1924), Corporation Building (1915), Hellman Commercial Trust and Savings Bank, and Continental Building (1904) feature Beaux-Arts style architecture and classical details. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=Roger |date=8 October 2017 |title=Staff Writer |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-historic-office-20171008-htmlstory.html |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2010 |title="Strolling on Seventh Street" |url=https://www.laconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Strolling_on_Seventh_Street.pdf |journal=Los Angeles Conservancy |pages=8 |via=LA Conservancy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Continental Building |url=https://downtownla.com/building/continental-building |website=downtownla.com}}</ref>

==History== What is now the Financial District was originally agricultural land, then a residential area of single family homes, then around 1900 started attracting businesses as Victorian-era Downtown L.A. expanded south along Broadway past 3rd Street and "around the corner", west along Seventh Street. Around 1915, 7th Street between Broadway (on which corner stood Bullock's) and Figueroa Street, became downtown's upscale shopping district. This began with J. W. Robinson's deciding to build their flagship store in 1915 on Seventh far to the west of the existing Broadway shopping district, between Hope and Grand streets. The Ville de Paris and Coulter's as well as numerous specialty shops came and rounded out the district. The area lost its exclusivity when the upscale downtown stores opened branches in Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, Westwood and Pasadena in the late 1920s through the 1940s, notably the establishment of Bullock's upscale landmark branch Bullocks Wilshire in Mid-Wilshire in 1929.<ref name=lac>{{cite book |title=Strolling along Seventh Street |date=2010|url=https://www.laconservancy.org/sites/default/files/files/documents/Strolling_on_Seventh_Street.pdf |publisher=Los Angeles Conservancy}}</ref>

Thirteen large office buildings opened between 1920 and 1928. By 1929, every plot on 7th between Figueroa and Los Angeles Streets had been developed.<ref name=lac/>

The area remained an important, if not the most exclusive, center of retail and office space throughout the 1950s, but started a slow decline throughout the 1980s due to suburbanization. It was also the concentration of Downtown financial activity on Bunker Hill, a few blocks north. The flagship department stores like Bullock's (1983), Barker Brothers (1984) and Robinson's (1993) had closed and only the Broadway/Macy's at The Bloc, previously named Broadway Plaza remained. However, in 1986, the Seventh Market Place mall, now FIGat7th, opened, bringing a smaller retail cluster back to Seventh such as the 7th Street/Metro Center station opening in 1991.

The Financial District was created by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency to provide an alternative to the old Spring Street Financial District, which fell into decline in the second half of the 20th century.

Demand for apartments in downtown Los Angeles surged in 2010 and the years following. In 2015, thousands of apartments were under construction or proposed for the area around 8th Street.<ref>Vincent, Roger (February 19, 2015) [http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-0219-property-report-grand-20150219-story.html "Whole Foods to anchor posh apartment complex in downtown L.A."] ''Los Angeles Times''</ref>

==Historic photos== <gallery mode=packed heights=167px>

File:Panoramic view of Los Angeles, showing Sixth Street, Figueroa Street, Flower Street, east side of Sixth Street, ca.1916 (CHS-5790B-p).jpg|1916 view towards the east on 6th St. from near the Southland Hotel at SW corner of 6th and Flower. Baker-Detweiler Building is on south side of Pershing Square between Olive and Hill. File:BIOLA on Hope.jpg|Looking north on Hope Street past Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University), 1912 File:Panoramic view of Los Angeles, looking south from the Pacific Electric building, with Main Street and 7th Street in view, January 1, 1907 (CHS-5774).jpg|7th Street looking west from Main Street, 1907, not yet a commercial district File:SeventhStreetWestFromSeventhBHDyasVilleDeParis1917.jpg|7th Street looking west from Broadway, 1917. Bullocks far right; B. H. Dyas sporting goods store, right; Ville de Paris, at left. File:J. W. Robinson's new 7th Street store at launch 1915.jpg|J. W. Robinson's flagship store on Seventh Street at launch, 1915. Robinson's locating on 7th marked the beginning of the street as the upmarket downtown shopping district File:Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church, Hope Street between 7th Street and 8th Street, ca.1890-1905 (CHS-1314).jpg|Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church, Hope between 7th/8th, c.1890-1905 (CHS-1314).jpg File:First Congregational Church on Hope Street, ca.1905 (CHS-1777).jpg|First Congregational Church on Hope Street between 8th/9th, c.1905 File:First Christian Church, Eleventh Street and Hope Street, ca.1910 (CHS-2442).jpg|First Christian Church, Hope and 11th, c.1910 </gallery>

==Transportation== The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro Rail & Metro Busway), and LADOT (DASH & Commuter Express) provide heavy rail (subway), light rail, and local bus services throughout the Financial Core and to the Greater Los Angeles Area.

7th St/Metro Center station provides primary access to Metro B Line, D Line, A Line, and E Line.

==Landmarks== <gallery mode="packed" heights="220"> File:Los Angeles Library Tower (small) crop 2.jpg|U.S. Bank Tower on West Fifth Street File:ErnstYoungBuildingLosAngeles.jpg|Ernst & Young Plaza, SW corner 7th/Figueroa File:Fine Arts Building of Los Angeles.png|Fine Arts Building, N side of 7th, W of Flower File:MCICenter02.jpg|MCI Center (orig. Broadway Plaza), SE corner 7th/Flower File:Southern California Gas Company Complex.jpg|Southern California Gas Company Complex, SE corner 8th/Flower </gallery> Landmarks in the Financial District include the U.S. Bank Tower (on West Fifth Street), Ernst & Young Plaza, Fine Arts Building, MCI Center (originally Broadway Plaza), and Southern California Gas Company Complex.

==Map of buildings and historic sites== {{Street grid of landmarks in the Financial District, Los Angeles}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Los Angeles}} * {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Downtown Los Angeles}}

Category:Financial District, Los Angeles