Why you should visit Blue Ribbon Garden.
You should visit the Blue Ribbon Garden because it’s one of LA’s most poetic escapes, a secret garden that floats above the city, tucked beneath the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall.
From the moment you step inside, the city’s chaos fades into a melodic hush. Designed by architect Frank Gehry as both an architectural counterpoint and an emotional refuge, the garden unfurls like a hidden sonata, a composition of sculptural landscaping, reflective pools, and California flora that bloom with cinematic timing. It’s a rare example of design that whispers rather than shouts: curves of stainless steel mirror sunlight onto tulip trees and coral bells, while pathways curve gently to frame the skyline. The centerpiece, A Rose for Lilly, a monumental blue-and-white ceramic fountain dedicated to Walt Disney’s wife, glimmers like porcelain under the LA sun. Sitting here feels surreal, as if you’ve stepped into an ethereal world suspended between art and air, a reminder that even amid Downtown’s vertical ambition, there’s space for softness and reflection.
What you didn’t know about Blue Ribbon Garden.
What you didn’t know about the Blue Ribbon Garden is that its creation was deeply personal, a love letter disguised as architecture.
Few visitors realize that Gehry designed the garden not as an afterthought to the concert hall but as its soul. The stainless steel petals of A Rose for Lilly were made from shards of broken Delft porcelain, donated by Los Angeles’ own women’s arts society, the Blue Ribbon. This intimate collaboration between artist, architect, and community turned what could have been an ornamental terrace into a sanctuary of shared memory. Even the plant selection tells a story: the mix of native and exotic species mirrors the city’s cultural diversity, while the pathways intentionally meander like musical phrases, inviting discovery instead of direction. The garden’s design also takes into account acoustics, Gehry calibrated its surfaces to reflect distant echoes from the concert hall’s rehearsals, allowing subtle notes to drift into the open air. It’s not just a garden; it’s a conversation between architecture, sound, and emotion, an invisible symphony you can feel rather than hear.
How to fold Blue Ribbon Garden into your trip.
To fold the Blue Ribbon Garden into your trip, time your visit for late afternoon, when the metallic curves of the concert hall begin to glow under the setting sun.
Enter through the Grand Avenue staircase, letting your ascent mimic a crescendo, each step revealing more of the skyline and the play of light across Gehry’s undulating façade. Bring a coffee or pastry from nearby Grand Central Market and linger on one of the garden’s benches; it’s the perfect prelude or encore to a concert at the Disney Hall. If you’re visiting during performance season, you might even catch the faint strains of the LA Philharmonic warming up below, a moment of accidental magic that defines this space. The garden is free to enter and open to the public, making it an ideal secret stop for travelers seeking a quiet, elevated slice of Los Angeles romance. Few places so perfectly distill the city’s creative essence, where sound becomes space, and steel gives birth to serenity.
Hear it from the Foresyte community.
“The kind of building that makes you look up, then keeps you there. Concerts feel bigger than life, but the vibe inside is surprisingly intimate.”
Where meaningful travel begins.
Start your journey with Foresyte, where the planning is part of the magic.
Discover the experiences that matter most.
