Brilliantly colored specimens at the Exposition Park Rose Garden
BOUNDARIES: Figueroa St., Jefferson Blvd., Vermont Ave., Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
DISTANCE: About 1.5 miles
DIFFICULTY: Easy (includes short flights of steps)
PARKING: Metered parking is available on Exposition Blvd.
NEAREST METRO STATION: Exposition Park/USC
The University of Southern California is a world-renowned private learning institution with a state-of-the-art campus where students are extremely well cared for and at the same time held to very high expectations. The attractive college grounds are located south of downtown Los Angeles. Just across the street is Exposition Park, a state-owned property that is home to numerous museums and outdoor educational displays, the classically inspired Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and a magnificent rose garden (open all year, except during pruning in January and February).
Start on the west side of Figueroa Street at the intersection with Childs Way (just north of Exposition Boulevard). This is one of the entrances to the 
USC campus. Trojan Hall (a student residence) and the admissions office are located at 615 Childs Way. Walk west on Childs Way. At 635 is the Alumni House, a simple but elegant white clapboard building dedicated in 1880 as the original University of Southern California. According to the plaque in front of the structure, this is the oldest university building in all of Southern California.
Turn right to cut diagonally across the Alumni House plaza, heading northwest toward McCarthy Quad. You emerge into the expansive lawn area, where students gather to lounge around in the sun or frantically complete assignments on their laptops (the entire campus is equipped with wireless Internet access). The quad is bordered to the south by Doheny Library and to the north by Leavey Library—you can see the top of the Shrine Auditorium just beyond Leavey on the other side of Jefferson Boulevard.
Head west on Hellman Way, with Doheny Library on your left and the quad on your right. Pass Alumni Park on your left before coming to the very collegiate-looking (even by USC architectural standards) Bovard Administration Building. As you pass the north side of the building, you can even peek into the university president’s opulent office, which occupies the northwest corner of the first floor. Next, you pass the renowned Annenberg School for Communication on your right and the Physical Education Building on your left.
Turn right just past the Annenberg building, and then turn left to enter Heritage Hall. In the lobby, you can admire every sports trophy USC has ever won, including countless Heisman Trophies awarded to the Trojan football team—quite impressive, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Exit Heritage Hall and retrace your steps back along Hellman Way past Bovard; then turn right to cut diagonally across Alumni Park (heading southeast). Stop in the center of the park to admire the graceful Prentiss Memorial Fountain, also known as Youth Triumphant and The Four Cornerstones of American Democracy.
You’ll have to circle the fountain to discover each of these cornerstone values; the words are engraved into the fountain and illustrated by pretty little statues.
Once through the park, turn left to head southeast on Childs Way. On your right, pass the Alfred Newman Recital Hall, which is decorated with an elaborate bas-relief of prehistoric mammals, and Hubbard Hall.
Turn right just past the entrance to Lewis Hall, following the brick-paved passageway south toward Exposition Boulevard.
Exit through the gate onto Exposition Boulevard, and cross the street at the crosswalk before turning left toward Figueroa Street.
Turn right on Figueroa and continue to State Drive, where you’ll turn right to enter Exposition Park. Suspended on your right is an old United Airlines jet—one of the Aerospace Museum’s several outdoor air- and spacecraft displays.
As you continue west on State Drive, you pass the former Aerospace Museum (its future is unknown), which was designed by Frank Gehry in 1984.
Turn right just past the Aerospace Museum, passing the redbrick facade of the old Armory building, which is now home to the California Science Center’s Annenberg wing.
The spectacular 
Exposition Park Rose Garden is on your left. Pause to admire the carefully ordered plots of colorful rosebushes, with the ornate domed building of the original Los Angeles County Historical and Art Museum (now part of the Natural History Museum) forming a picture-perfect backdrop. Walk through the garden toward the museum, breathing deeply to enjoy the sweetly scented air.
Emerge from the garden, and turn left. Then turn right at the next footpath, which you follow to the imposing entrance of the 
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. You can explore the grand interior architecture and educational displays of the museum for a moderate fee.
From the Natural History Museum entrance, follow the path south toward the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Turn left at the next path, and follow the walkway up into the remarkable plaza of the 
California Science Center. This area is covered by a huge, cylindrical metal structure from which strings of gold balls hang, representing the galaxy. Admission to the Science Center’s permanent exhibit galleries is free, so take some time to explore this truly educational and entertaining museum. The IMAX Theater is next door—if you have an extra hour or two and around $8 to spend, watching a film on one of the enormous screens is a sensory treat. After exploring the California Science Center, exit back out into the plaza and turn left (heading in the opposite direction of the Natural History Museum).
Just before you reach the parking structure adjacent to the IMAX Theater, turn right to follow the sidewalk, cross Exposition Park Drive, and then turn left on the other side of the street to head toward the main entrance of the 
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This 92,516-seat stadium held its first football game (USC versus Pomona College) in 1923 and has since hosted two Olympiads, two Super Bowls, and a World Series. Stop to check out the headless (and anatomically correct) statues of male and female Olympians in front of the stadium entrance.
Cross Exposition Park Drive once again to head back toward the parking structure, and then descend the staircase that leads into the sunken garden to the left of the structure.
LA Memorial Coliseum
Follow the pleasant path past educational displays about hummingbirds and butterflies. An interactive exhibit on the top level of the parking structure shows kids how to use a lever to lift up an actual pickup truck—pretty cool. Continue to follow the path around the structure as it turns to the right, passing under an A-12 Blackbird spy craft built in the 1960s.
Ascend the stairs on your left and continue straight ahead, passing in front of the entrance to the 
California African American Museum. If the museum is open, take advantage of the free admission to learn more about the cultural and artistic contributions that African Americans have made, particularly in California and the West.
When you find yourself back at the jet exhibit at the intersection of State Drive and Figueroa Street, exit Exposition Park onto Figueroa and turn left. Ahead, you’ll see a giant neon sign for Felix Chevrolet/Cadillac, a pop culture landmark graced with the likeness of the lovable cartoon cat himself.
If you parked your car on Exposition Boulevard, turn left there or continue on Figueroa Street to the start of the walk at the intersection of Childs Way.
USC and Exposition Park
Points of Interest
University of Southern California Figueroa Street at Exposition Boulevard; usc.edu
Exposition Park Rose Garden 701 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037; 213-763-0114, laparks.org/park/exposition-rose-garden
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007; 213-763-3466, nhm.org
California Science Center 700 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037; 323-724-3623 or 213-744-7400 (for IMAX Theater), californiasciencecenter.org
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 3911 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90037; 213-747-7111, lacoliseum.com
California African American Museum 600 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037; 213-744-7432, caamuseum.org
