Los Angeles is a city full of places to eat and shop, but few can offer visitors the comprehensive experience that The Grove does. The Grove is situated on the corner of Third and Fairfax, next to the historic Los Angeles Farmers Market. Complete with a theater complex, a major department store, a host of other smaller shops and restaurants, and even a trolley and dancing fountain in the middle of a landscaped park, The Grove is one of the city's best places to spend the day.
The shops and the restaurants, like the city itself, represent a wide variety of cultures. There are restaurants that serve traditional American food such as The Cheesecake Factory and The Farm of Beverly Hills. Italian food is also on the menu at The Grove, thanks to restaurants like Maggiano's Little Italy and La Piazza, both of which offer traditional and innovative Italian dishes respectively. Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro bring signature French dishes to The Grove, while the Whisper Lounge allows visitors to re-live the heydays of old Hollywood.
Visitors to The Grove can also enjoy a movie with their dinner. The Grove Theaters represent one of the sites true landmarks. Featuring the latest offerings from Hollywood, The Grove Theaters give patrons an amazing movie experience in a classic theater setting reminiscent of the great movie theaters of the past. Designed by Caruso Affiliated, the theater is intended to reflect the art and architecture at the time when the historic Farmers Market was first built. Operated by Pacific Theatres, The Grove Theaters consist of 14 screens, with more than 3000 plush, stadium-style seats. The two largest theaters are filled with 500 seats each, including 90 loge boxes. Tickets can be purchased through an automated, touch-screen system, as well as by phone and in-person.
Every thirty minutes, visitors to The Grove are also treated to a free dancing fountain show. Designed by the same people that created the dancing fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, this 30-foot long fountain "dances" to music by artists like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Harry Connick, Jr. Special musical medleys are also played during the holidays. The fountain consists of thirty-two pulsing water jets, surrounding eight arching columns of water that can reach as high as sixty feet. The more than 50,000 gallons of water used for the shows are recycled every two hours.
In addition to The Grove Theater and the dancing fountain, several other landmarks mark The Grove's landscape, including a free trolley built from a 1950's Boston street car that carries visitors along First Street from the center of The Grove to the Farmers Market next door. The Grove's signature landmark is an 18-foot high bronze statue of two angels, one male and one female, soaring up to the sky representing the opportunities offered by The City of Angels. The statue, created by sculptor De L'Esprie and aptly named "The Spirit of Los Angeles", sits atop a 22-foot limestone column, and is the centerpiece of The Grove Mall in Los Angeles.
