La Cienega Boulevard

From south of Fairview Boulevard and from north of Obama Boulevard (formerly Rodeo Road) La Cienega Boulevard is a regular surface street and one of Hollywood's major thoroughfares. Offices for A&E Network, The History Channel and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are located on La Cienega as were the studios of Citadel Broadcasting flagships KABC and KLOS, two of Los Angeles' biggest radio stations, which were demolished for an apartment and shopping complex, currently under construction. A portion of La Cienega in and adjacent to Beverly Hills is known as "Restaurant Row" for its large number of upscale restaurants. South of Olympic, La Cienega runs through the Pico-Robertson and Crestview neighborhoods in West Los Angeles into Culver City and is known for its large number of automotive-related business including several used car dealerships and many body shops and auto mechanics.[1]

Looking north on La Cienega Blvd. from Santa Monica Blvd.

It continues south passing Interstate 10, and the Metro Expo Line.

It is unusual among Southern California roadways to be built to freeway standards. South of Interstate 10, La Cienega was built to freeway standards in the late 1940s as part of the proposed Laurel Canyon Freeway, part of State Route 170. The SR 170 freeway was never completed south of U.S. Route 101, and the stretch of La Cienega from just north of Fairview Blvd in Inglewood, through Baldwin Hills and along the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area to Obama Boulevard in Los Angeles is a divided, limited access highway with few traffic signals. As such, emergency call boxes like those found along the area's freeways were installed along that stretch in the early 1970s.

South of Fairview Blvd, La Cienega runs parallel to the 405 freeway and terminates at El Segundo Boulevard in Del Aire along the west side of the freeway. A non-contiguous segment also named La Cienega Blvd runs along the East side of the 405 freeway roughly between El Segundo Blvd and Rosecrans Avenue in Wiseburn, another unincorporated area adjacent to Del Aire.

Restaurant Row

Sign at the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega

Looking south down La Cienega Blvd. from the intersection with Sunset Blvd.

The big Randy's Donut shop is at the corner of La Cienega and Manchester Blvd in Inglewood

La Cienega in Beverly Hills, north of Wilshire Boulevard, is known as Restaurant Row because it features many upscale restaurants. From Wilshire in Beverly Hills traveling north the best known establishments include Benihana, The Stinking Rose, Darioush, the original Lawry's the Prime Rib, Hakobe, Tokyo Table - Tokyo City Cuisine, Matsuhisa, Fogo de Chão, Gyu-Kaku, Woo Lae Oak, The Bazaar by José Andrés, and Morton's.[2]

La Cienega Boulevard is named after Rancho Las Cienegas Mexican land grant roughly in the region now called "West Los Angeles." The Spanish phrase la ciénaga translates into English as "the swamp" and the area named "Las Ciénegas" was a continual marshland due to the course of the Los Angeles River through that area prior to a massive southerly shift in 1825 to roughly its present course. The difference in spelling in Los Angeles between the Castilian Spanish word ciénaga and the name of the thoroughfare, which is common in other Iberian languages like Extremaduran,[3] originated with the name of the rancho.

Metro Local lines 105 and 217 run on La Cienega Boulevard. An elevated light rail station for the Metro E Line is located at Jefferson Boulevard. An underground station for the Metro D Line at Wilshire Boulevard is currently under construction and is due to open in 2023.

The entire route is in Los Angeles County.

Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Hawthorne–Del Aire line			El Segundo Boulevard to I-405 (San Diego Freeway)	South end of La Cienega Boulevard; I-405 north exit 44
Del Aire			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway)	I-405 south exit 44/El Segundo Boulevard
			120th Street
Los Angeles–Lennox line			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway)	I-405 south exit 45B/Imperial Highway east
			Imperial Highway to I-405 north (San Diego Freeway)	I-405 north exit 45B
			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway) – Long Beach	I-405 south exit 45B/Imperial Highway west
			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway)	Next to I-405 south exit 46/Century Boulevard east
Los Angeles–Inglewood line			Century Boulevard to I-405 north (San Diego Freeway) – LAX	I-405 north exit 46
			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway)	I-405 south exit 46/Century Boulevard west
Inglewood			Arbor Vitae Street
			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway) / Olive Street	I-405 south exit 47
			Manchester Boulevard	Former SR 42
			Florence Avenue
			I-405 south (San Diego Freeway) – Long Beach	Interchange; I-405 south exit 47; no access from La Cienega Boulevard northbound
Los Angeles–Inglewood line			Centinela Avenue
			South end of freeway
Ladera Heights			Slauson Avenue – Ladera Heights	Interchange; former SR 90
			Stocker Street
Los Angeles–Culver City line			Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area	Interchange
Los Angeles			Obama Boulevard	North end of freeway
Los Angeles			Jefferson Boulevard
			Fairfax Avenue to I-10 (Santa Monica Freeway)
Culver City			Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles			Venice Boulevard (SR 187)
			I-10 (Santa Monica Freeway) – Santa Monica, Los Angeles	Interchange; I-10 exit 7A
			Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles–Beverly Hills line			Olympic Boulevard
Beverly Hills			Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles			San Vicente Boulevard
			3rd Street
			Beverly Boulevard	Center of the so-called "studio zone"
West Hollywood			Melrose Avenue
			Santa Monica Boulevard (SR 2)
			Sunset Boulevard	North end of La Cienega Boulevard
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

• Southern California Unsigned Freeways – La Cienega Boulevard
• La Cienega Design Quarter