Before Hollywood

The Early Years

Even before “Hollywood'' was established, Downtown LA’s penchant for entertainment began to boom. Silent movies and live performances flooded the streets. Grand theaters brought people from all walks of life together to enjoy vaudeville, musicals, and more.

Among them was Anna May Wong (1905–1961)—the first Chinese-American movie star and the first Asian-American to become an international star. Her long and varied career spanned both silent and sound film, television, stage, and radio. She was born and raised in Downtown LA, in the neighborhood of the Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown. The hotel’s design is inspired by how the spaces would be seen through her eyes, experiences, and aspirations.

Fiesta de Las Flores

A Colorful Celebration

Her love for the vibrant colors of the flowers and admiration for the glamour of the starlets was awakened at a young age by La Fiesta de las Flores, a festival she attended with her family. Thousands of costumed residents decorated carriages, buggies and bicycles with freshly picked hydrangeas, orange blossoms, red roses, lilies, and more.

The Roaring 20s Begin

Underground Gatherings

The glamour of the entertainment business brought galas and grand balls. Along with the neighborhood elite, she would put on her tailored attire and jewels as LA roared through the night. During the Roaring Twenties, the area’s starlets and socialites took the party below ground, where a secret network of tunnels flowed with moonshine from one speakeasy to the next.

Fast Forward To Today

On The Edge of Innovation

Technology, trends and times have since changed and evolved, yet that same innovative essence still imbues our world today, empowering a new generation to see our streets, avenues and boulevards as the beginning of something groundbreaking—just the way Anna did.