Join Esotouric on a tour revealing the bookish cultural history in the heart of the city, packed with tales of colorful Los Angeles writers, readers and booksellers.

Starting from Grand Central Market, where the young John Fante hustled cheap fruit from the Japanese vendors to fuel his dreams of becoming Bunker Hill’s great novelist, we’ll blaze a time traveler’s trail along Hill, Grand and Broadway, visiting Central Library with its street corner monuments to Fante and Ray Bradbury, to former locations of legendary book sellers Jake Zeitlin, Caravan, Dawson’s and Fowler’s, explore Pershing Square’s rich literary history and symbolism, and so much more.

This walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone.

Tour begins at 10:30am sharp, with check-in time 10am at the patio outside Grand Central Market in front of Maple Block BBQ at 324 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Please arrive on time and proceed to the check in table to get signed in and logged in to the smartphone slideshow. Scroll down for tour rules and recommendations.

Purchase tickets and find more information about the tour at https://esotouric.com/event/downtown-book-lovers-2025/