An Afternoon Around Melrose Hill
Melrose is a unique and diverse neighborhood, and its arts scene reflects that. You’ll find everything from traditional fine art to street murals and graffiti. The local galleries showcase work from established as well as up-and-coming artists, making it a great place to discover new talent. And if you’re in the mood for a live performance, the neighborhood’s theaters and music venues offer a wide range of options, from theater and dance to concerts and comedy shows. No matter what interests you, you’re sure to find something that speaks to you in Melrose. So come explore the local arts scene with us—you won’t be disappointed!
David Zwirner
612 N Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA, 90004

David Zwirner is a contemporary art gallery with locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Hong Kong, and currently represents more than seventy artists and estates. The gallery has been home to innovative, singular, and pioneering exhibitions across a variety of media and genres. Active in both the primary and secondary markets, David Zwirner has helped foster the careers of some of the most influential artists working today and has maintained long-term representation of a wide-ranging, international group of artists.
In 1993, David Zwirner opened his eponymous gallery on Greene Street in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. In 2002, Zwirner relocated his gallery from SoHo to West 19th Street in Chelsea. In 2012, the gallery expanded, opening on Grafton Street in the heart of London’s Mayfair district. Coinciding with its twentieth anniversary in 2013, David Zwirner inaugurated a new five-story exhibition and project space on West 20th Street in New York.
In 2017, the gallery opened on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and launched David Zwirner Online, the gallery’s online viewing room. David Zwirner’s first gallery in Asia opened in 2018 in Hong Kong, and in 2019, David Zwirner opened its first Paris gallery. In 2021, David Zwirner opened 52 Walker, a gallery space in New York programmed and led by senior director Ebony L. Haynes. In 2023, David Zwirner opened its first gallery spaces in Los Angeles.
C L E A R I N G
530 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
C L E A R I N G is a contemporary art gallery based in New York, Los Angeles, and Brussels. The gallery was founded in 2011, with a focus on showing emerging art. It now represents over 20 living artists, providing many of them—such as Harold Ancart, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Calvin Marcus, and Marguerite Humeau—with their first gallery exhibitions. The gallery also represents the estates of Eduardo Paolozzi, Bruno Gironcoli, and René Heyvaert. C L E A R I N G supports its artists by producing works, exhibitions, and books, as well as working closely with public and private institutions.
Morán Morán
641 N. Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Established in 2008, Morán Morán focuses on exhibitions of contemporary art, representing emerging and mid-career artists as well as presenting historical material. Since its early years, the gallery has supported exploration and collaboration, inviting curators and artists to conceive exhibitions, performances, and happenings that expand programming beyond the traditional gallery model. These endeavors imprinted a freeform and experimental identity early on, as well as establishing a history of discovery, which serves as the gallery’s foundation.
Kuya Lord
5003 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
“Kuya Lord’s Filipino feast is food of power, finesse and delight” —Bill Addison, LA Times
Kuya Lord is an elevated fast casual restaurant concept by Chef Lord Maynard Llera, featuring regional Filipino dishes that he grew up eating in Lucena City, Quezon Province, Philippines. While the food hearkens back to his childhood, Chef Maynard applies his classical techniques in enhancing and reinventing traditional Filipino dishes.
The monicker Kuya Lord comes from the Tagalog word for “older brother,” combined with the chef’s name, "Lord Maynard." The first Kuya Lord was a pop-up that Chef Llera and his wife opened in their La Cañada garage during the pandemic. There they developed such a substantial following that they chose the same name for their new permanent location in LA's Koreatown.
A few seats for sit-down dining are available, but mostly the restaurant accepts take-out and advance-order catering. Kuya Lord does not have a phone. Please message them on Instagram.
James Fuentes
5015 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Since 2007, James Fuentes has championed a gallery program that is led first by exceptional contemporary artists who are atypical from the conventions of their field. The gallery is known for its focus on humanity, history, and society with a non-exclusionary approach, positioning itself as a leader in the field as our contemporary institutions seek to do the same. In the spring of 2023, the gallery opened an outpost in the Melrose Hill neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Hours: Tues–Sat: 10 AM–6 PM
Osteria La Buca
5210 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Farm-to-table Italian food, with all-natural ingredients, made in-house daily. From the site: "In the vein of a traditional Italian osteria as a casual, local gathering place for food, friends, and wine, our menu reflects a less complicated classic grassroots approach to Italian country food inspired by our backyard here in southern California.
"Our core belief: great food need not be elaborate or overwrought, but rather fresh, uncomplicated, and well-executed in order to get out of the way of the ingredients and find the joy in their innate flavors and qualities.
"The joy of eating seasonally, simply, and well among good company is one shared by all at Osteria La Buca. It is with this simple thought in mind that we invite you to join us to celebrate and have a seat at our table."
Sweet Corner Coffee and Cake
5174 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Located right next door to the Hollywood Historic Hotel, Sweet Corner offers the perfect treat for those visiting Los Angeles as well as for friends and neighbors. Give your LA morning a sweet start with one of the neighborhood's newest bakeries. Sit out front and watch the world go by—or if you don't have time to linger, just order in.
Sweet Corner proudly serves La Colombe coffee, as well as desserts, cakes, and other breakfast items.
The LODGE
1024 N. Western Ave
Los Angeles CA 90029

The Lodge is a contemporary art gallery based in East Hollywood, Los Angeles. Since opening in early 2015, the gallery has brought a singular, vibrant perspective to the city’s rapidly growing cultural landscape. The gallery possesses an inclusive roster that spans modalities and viewpoints. More jewel than big box, The Lodge encourages intimacy, interaction and a sense of wonder that is in the tradition of iconic Angeleno galleries like Walter Hopps’ Ferus’. Here, the gallery is a physical experience designed to celebrate play, theatre and improvisation.
HOURS: Thurs-Sat. 12-6PM
Harkawik
5538 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Harkawik was founded by curator and artist Peter Harkawik. Harkawik organized his first exhibition, focused on the late New Zealand filmmaker Darcy Lange, in 2009. He went on to create a series of well-regarded surveys, including Touchy Feely (2011), Made in Space (2013), and Walk Artisanal (2016), before establishing his first permanent location in Mid City, Los Angeles, in 2018 and moving to Santa Monica Blvd. in 2023
Tlayuda L.A. Restaurant
5450 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Family-owned Mexican eatery offering Oaxacan dishes, including namesake tlayudas, in cozy surroundings. From the site: "We serve home-style cooking inspired by Oaxacan cuisine. Our ingredients are fresh and cooked to order. Feel free to visit our restaurant or order online. We would love to share with you our cuisine and provide the best experience from southern Mexico."
Hollywood Forever Cemetary
6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038
Since 2002, Hollywood Forever has teamed up with the film organization Cinespia to produce outdoor classic film screenings each summer (May through September). Thousands of people gather on Fairbanks Lawn after sunset to watch classic Hollywood movies projected onto the side of a mausoleum. Attendees bring picnic baskets along with blankets and chairs to enjoy a truly unique evening. Outdoor screenings also feature pre-show DJs, themed photo booths, and sometimes a visit by the film’s stars, directors, or filmmakers.
Paramount Pictures Studio Tour
5515 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038

As the longest operating and only remaining major studio in Hollywood, Paramount Pictures has been on the ground floor of every major development in filmfrom the advent of motion pictures, to the emergence of television, through the digital revolution. During our 100-year history, we have served as the production site for thousands of notable movies and TV shows.