Financial District, Los Angeles
The Financial District, also called the Financial Core, is the central business area of Los Angeles. It sits in Downtown LA, bordered by the Harbor Freeway to the west, First Street to the north, Main and Hill Streets to the east, and Olympic Boulevard and 9th Street to the south. It lies south of Bunker Hill, west of the Historic Core, north of South Park, and east of the Harbor Freeway and Central City West.
Today the district is filled with corporate offices, hotels, banks, law firms, and real estate companies. It also has some older buildings from the early 20th century, especially along Seventh Street, and the 7th Street/Flower area around the major Metro rail hub. There are also plenty of restaurants, bars, and two urban malls.
A brief history: the area was farm land, then a residential neighborhood, and around 1900 it started attracting businesses as Downtown LA grew. By about 1915 Seventh Street became the city’s upscale shopping district, with flagship stores and many shops opening there. In the 1920s large office buildings began to rise, and by 1929 the Seventh Street area was fully developed. The district remained a retail and office center through the 1950s, but began to decline in the 1980s as people moved to the suburbs. The Financial District was created as a new business area to complement downtown. In 1986 the Seventh Market Place mall opened (now FIGat7th), and the nearby 7th Street/Metro Center station opened in 1991.
In the 2010s downtown LA saw a surge in apartment building, and by 2015 thousands of new units were planned or under construction around the area near 8th Street. Transit options include Metro Rail, buses, and other city services, with the 7th Street/Metro Center station offering access to several Metro lines.
Landmarks and notable streets run through the district, especially along 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Streets, and around the 7th Street/Metro Center area.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:42 (CET).