__NOTOC__ The 2nd Street Tunnel is a widely filmed and photographed tunnel on 2nd Street under Bunker Hill in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' described it as "the most recognizable city landmark most Americans have never heard of".Neil, Dan
"The automakers' tunnel of love is a cause for reflection"
. ''

'' (April 21, 2009). It is long and lined with glossy white-glazed tiles that act similarly to a photographic light box and provide visually interesting, distorted reflections of things placed in it. The tunnel was built to relieve congestion on the earlier 3rd Street Tunnel. Construction began in 1916 and was completed in 1924, with its formal opening on July 25 of that year. The distinctive white tiles, which give the tunnel its glow, came from Germany, which caused controversy at the time due to

Anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is fear or dislike of Germany, its Germans, people, and its Culture of Germany, culture. Its opposite is Germanophile, Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment main ...

at the onset of

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. The tunnel runs from South Figueroa Street at the northwest to Hill Street at the southeast. 2nd Street also runs above for two blocks at the surface from Hill Street at the southwest to South Hope Street. The two entrances are very different in character, automotive columnist Dan Neil describing the contrast of "the grittier east entrance and the glowing aperture of the west side, with flaring buttresses reminiscent of the shell of the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

Traffic

The tunnel has two-way traffic. It previously had four lanes (two in each direction), but in late 2013 a bike lane in each direction was added, resulting in one car lane and one bike lane in each direction.

In popular culture

The tunnel appears frequently in car advertisements from many manufacturers. Seventy-three car ads were filmed in the tunnel from 2006 to 2008, averaging more than two per month. The tunnel has appeared in many movies, including ''

The Student Nurses ''The Student Nurses'' is a 1970 American film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It was the second film from New World Pictures and the first in the popular "nurses" cycle of exploitation movies. It has since become a cult film. Plot Four young women ...

'' (1970), ''

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'' (1974), ''

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'' (1978), '' When a Stranger Calls'' (1979), ''

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'' (1982), ''

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'' (1983), ''

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'' (1984), '' Repo Man'' (1984), ''

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'' (1985), ''

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'' (1989), ''

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'' (1992), ''

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'' (1992), '' Demolition Man'' (1993), ''

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'' (1996), '' Money Talks'' (1997), ''

Con Air ''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich in the lead roles. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a pr ...

'' (1997), ''

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'' (1997), '' Enemy of the State'' (1998), ''

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'' (2003), ''

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'' (2007), ''

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'' (2010), '' Black November'' (2012), and '' Knight of Cups'' (2015). The 2nd Street tunnel has been featured in music videos such as "

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" by

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, "It’s Over Now" by Neve, "

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, " It's My Life" by

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, " Kings and Queens" by

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, "Protovision" by

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, "Bet" by

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, "Feel Good" by

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and

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featuring Daya, "Narcissist" by Halo Circus, " Please Me" by

and

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, " You Can't Stop The Girl" by

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. The tunnel has also been used for fashion shows, including the 2004 LA Fashion Week show by designer Michelle Mason,Richardson. Eric
"Auto Shoots Nothing New for 2nd Street Tunnel, But Fashion Shows?"
(April 21, 2009) and for parties, such as the 2013 Golden Globe Awards the Art of Elysium/

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

party.

References

External links

{{Commons category
flickr images of 2nd Street Tunnel with Creative Commons licenses

Blog entry
Bunker Hill, Los Angeles Road tunnels in California Tunnels completed in 1924 Tunnels in Los Angeles

Traffic

In popular culture

See also

References

External links