"Los Angeles - the city of film, the city of noir - is a black-and-white sort of place. Dazzling lights. Deep shadows. Stark contrasts. Los Angeles is gritty even in its beauty, and lovely even in its ugliness. With color washed away, the city's patterns and lines, its darks and lights, the grit and beauty of Los Angeles emerge in their purity ..." Journey through the streets of contemporary downtown Los Angeles, from L.A.'s oldest dwelling to the civic center, from the soaring skyscrapers of Grand Avenue and Figueroa Street to the dilapidated grandeur of Broadway and the revitalized Spring Street corridor. More than 100 photographs in glorious black-and-white.