Broadway Sign

Broadway is a major road in the city of Los Angeles and it is also a major road through downtown Los Angeles. It starts off at Mission Road in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood and it heads due west (although signs along the street read "North Broadway"). After crossing the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5), it curves to the southwest, passing through the old railyards north of downtown before descending into Chinatown, passing through Central Plaza and the Dragon Gate. After crossing Cesar Chavez Avenue and the Hollywood Freeway, Broadway enters the Los Angeles Civic Center. It then passes the Los Angeles Times building at First Street and enters the historic downtown commercial district.

One of the oldest streets in the city, this section of Broadway (originally called Fort Street) was laid out as part of the 1849 plan of Los Angeles made by Lieutenant Edward Ord. Broadway from First Street to Olympic Boulevard was for more than fifty years the main commercial street of Los Angeles and one of its premier theater districts as well, containing a vast number of historic buildings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Before World War II, Broadway was considered by many to be the center of the city, where residents came to catch movies at ornate movie palaces and shop at department stores. Many of the movie theaters have fallen into disuse and disrepair, and some were razed in favor of parking lots. The department stores closed, but Broadway has for decades been the premier shopping destination for working-class Latinos.