DTLA: St. Vincent’s Court

The second cicLAvia happened a couple of weeks ago, giving me the perfect opportunity to walk around DTLA to explore. We started on the cicLAvia route in Little Tokyo and headed up 7th Street from Spring. From there, we stopped at interesting buildings noted in LA Conservancy’s Strolling on Seventh guide.

I was most fascinated by St. Vincent’s Court, an alley off 7th between Hill and Broadway. Although I have driven or walked this street many times, I never noticed this alley before. Upon walking in, you’ll see a small Statue of Liberty and a plaque explaining the court. Apparently this used to be an old Bullock’s department store and then was taken over by St. Vincent’s College (an all-boys school that merged with an all-girls school, now known as Loyola Marymont University in Westchester). This alley was the main entrance. In the 1950s, the city refurbished the alley and these days, there are numerous cafes. They weren’t open that Sunday when I visited but the closed shops added to the mystery.

The alley is supposed to resemble a Parisian street but most of the cafes seemed to favor Middle Eastern fare.

I’d like to visit again to check out some of the cafes in this charming St. Vincent’s Court.

A few reviews:

Tulip Cafe by Blog Downtown

For Love of Exploration

St. Vincent’s Court

off 7th Street, between Hill and Broadway streets

For all my pictures from that day, check out my flickr set.