Trump’s first LA visit as president includes a night at the Wilshire Grand

President Donald Trump just wrapped up his first visit to the state of California since taking office, and the trip included a stop in Los Angeles Tuesday evening that took Downtown LA residents and employees by surprise.

The Los Angeles Police Department, which typically released detailed street closure reports well in advance of President Obama’s visits to the area, waited until Tuesday morning to announce the closure of several major Downtown LA thoroughfares.

According to the department, the following street segments will be shut down until Wednesday at 1 p.m.:

• Figueroa Street, between Eighth Street and Sixth Street
• Wilshire Boulevard, between Flower Street and Beaudry Avenue
• Seventh Street, between Flower Street and Bixel Street

The closure of these particular streets was necessary to accommodate the president at the Intercontinental Hotel, located within the city’s new tallest tower: the Wilshire Grand.

Trump departed the hotel this morning and headed by car to Dodger Stadium. The president then proceeded from Dodger Stadium to LAX via helicopter, and from there took off for Missouri.

The Downtown street closures, and brief freeway shutdowns Tuesday and Wednesday, created traffic problems for those trying to navigate through the city. Throughout Tuesday, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation was recording average vehicle speeds under 10 miles per hour in much of the Downtown LA core.

Early Tuesday afternoon, LAPD and LADOT asked drivers to avoid a sizable chunk of Downtown, bordered by Union Avenue on the west, Fifth Street on the north, Grand Avenue on the east, and Olympic Boulevard on the south.

LADOT warned riders over social media that the DASH A, B, E, and F lines would be skipping stops in areas near the street closures until further notice. The agency’s Commuter Express lines 409, 423, 438, and 448 will also be bypassing stops near the Wilshire Grand.

Metro says trains are running as usual, but the Figueroa Street entrance to the 7th Street/Metro Center subway station will be closed off for the rest of the day (riders can still access the station using the entrances on Flower and Hope streets).

In a statement Monday, LAPD said that “many details about this visit” would be withheld “for security reasons.” The department suggested residents should expect bad traffic and that police were prepared for protests that might break out during the visit.

After a stop in San Diego to inspect prototypes of a border wall he’s long advocated for, Trump arrived in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon.

Before heading Downtown, Trump attended a fundraising event at a private residence in Beverly Hills.

While campaigning for president, Trump held a fundraiser at his own residence near the Beverly Hills Hotel, but TMZ reports this event was hosted by Tampa Buccaneers co-owner Ed Glazer at the latter’s mansion in gated Beverly Park.