Art Deco Signs in Downtown Los Angeles

Since moving to downtown Los Angeles, I can't help but be in awe of some of the nostalgic Art Deco signs that can be spotted throughout the city and are now fading amidst more modern architecture and blatant neglect. These gems from the first decades of the 20th century are reminiscent of downtown L.A.'s more swanky and booming times of cable cars, fancy hotels and film premiers. They just don't make elaborate signs like these anymore.

My favorite is the Eastern Columbia Building, a thirteen-story building located at 849 S. Broadway and is considered to be the most beautiful of Los Angeles' historic buildings, as well as its finest surviving example of Art Deco. It is easily spotted due to its bright turquoise color and it's rumored that Leonardo DiCaprio has a penthouse here. However, I recognized the building from the pilot episode of Moonlighting when Cybill and Bruce are hanging from the clock's face as they searched for hidden diamonds at gunpoint.

Oh, and this one is just funny. Rooms for $1!

Photo Essay: The Doors of Lower Manhattan