The big wind-down of 2015 means that it's time for the third annual New Year's Eve bash at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles. The free, open-to-the-public party is bigger than ever, taking up 90 whole acres (covering the park, the Music Center, plus a handful of city streets) and featuring a light show projected not just on City Hall, but also the Hall of Records and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Event organizers are expecting 50,000 revelers. (40,000 showed up last year.) Navigating all that space and all those people will take some preparation, but we've got all the information one might need to plan a fantastic night out with tens of thousands of your fellow Angelenos.
This booze-free party will have five entrances:
— Temple Street at Grand Avenue
— First Street between Grand Avenue and Hill Street
— Hill Street between First and Second Streets
— Broadway between First and Second Streets
— First Street between Los Angeles and Main Streets
Street closures, shown in the map above, will include:
— Grand Avenue between First and Temple
— Olive Street between Second and First
— Hill, Broadway, Spring, and Main between Temple and Second
— Starting at 8:30 pm on December 31, the Temple Street offramp of the southbound 101 Freeway will be closed, too.
— The start times and durations of the closures are listed on this interactive map, as is parking information and the locations of the nearest public lots.
Those seeking to avoid paying for parking or dealing with traffic could bike to the festivities (there will be free bike valet at Second and Hill streets) or take Metro. The closest stop is the Civic Center/Grand Park station. As in previous years, the station's Temple Street exit will be closed for the NYE fun (people with accessibility issues and families with strollers can still use this entrance, says The Source). The First Street exit will be open, though, and puts party-goers super close to the action. Both station entrances will be open after the party's over to make getting out of there easier. (*The Little Tokyo station is not closed yet, as previously written, it's open until January 8.)
Once again, Metro is offering free rides to all from 9 pm on New Year's Eve to 2 am on New Year's Day. Trains and buses that normally offer late-night owl service will be running all night long. A full rundown of Metro service for New Year's Eve/New Year's Day is here and here. Those thinking of taking Uber or Lyft are asked to use the drop-off/pickup area near the First and Main event entrance.
The night will also include live music and art installations, plus a dizzying array of food available for sale thanks to 30 trucks and food vendors. This is an alcohol-free event, though, and there's a "no tolerance policy for alcohol brought to the event," but food and certain drinks are allowed. For all the details about picnicking, Grand Park's official event page has the parameters of what is and is not permitted.
An interactive map of parking lots, street closures, and nearby Metro stations:
· New Year's Eve 2015 [Grand Park]
· 3 reasons to ride Metro for New Year's [The Source]
· Inside LA's 40,000-Person New New Year's Eve Tradition [Curbed LA]