Categories: Local & Entertainment; Shopping

P2 Revisited: The Most Horrifying Parking Structures in Los Angeles

By GillianS
updated 3 months ago

Before I came to L.A., my experience with parking garages was very limited. I grew up where there were vast, sprawling tracts of land ripe for paving. Mall parking at Christmas meant parking your van, snow tires and all, a mile away from the entrance to Nordstrom, which seemed terrible at the time. That was before I knew the horror that was circling endlessly upwards (or even down!!) looking for parking in a structure. But thanks to my brilliant decision to move to L.A., I know know the horror that is the crappy parking garage. You would think it would be pretty straightforward, but some are definitely worse than others...

The Grove

6301 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90036

The massive structure at The Grove was the inspiration for this guide. You drive in and there are these red flashing signs everywhere telling you how many spaces are on each level.

Level 1: VALET.
Level 2: VALET
Level 3: 1
Level 4: 3.

Yes, this is a brilliant technological innovation (that I honestly haven’t figured out yet) but did I really need a huge sign to tell me it’s going to be easier to find a parking space at the top?

The nice (ridiculous, indulgent, quintessentially L.A.) thing about the Grove is that it has a convenient and luxurious Valet Parking system. You know, if you want to spend $20 just to go to the mall.

The massive structure at The Grove was the inspiration for this guide. You drive in and there are these red flashing signs everywhere telling you how many spaces are on each level.

Level 1: VALET.
Level 2: VALET
Level 3: 1
Level 4: 3.

Westside Pavillion

10800 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064

The parking at the Westside Pavillion is scarier than the other lots on this list, mainly because it is underground. Deep, deep underground. On a busy day, you can circle up to 5 levels UNDER THE GROUND. I’m no expert on earthquakes, but I’m pretty sure that 5 levels underground is not the place you want to be if there is one. There is also something not a little bit terrifying about the idea of not finding a spot. Then you end up at the bottom. And…then what? Yikes.

The Future of Crappy Parking Garages

This 2007 New York Times article by Phil Patton describe the future of tragically annoying and sometimes scary parking structures such as these. In this magical future (which is happening now in more advanced and cramped cities like New York and Tokyo) CARS WILL PARK THEMSELVES!

Ok, not really, but there are these really cool automated parking garages that mean you don’t have to drive up and down and worry about not being able to find where you parked. That is awesome.

Westfield Century City

10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90067

You will either think I am exaggerating or that I am exceedingly dumb when I tell you that the last time I was at the Century City Shopping Center, it took me nearly 30 minutes to find my car when I wanted to leave…and my friend was driving me around! I assure you I am not exaggerating.

But the time before that I saw Jessica Simpson here, so it’s pretty much a wash.

Arclight Hollywood

6360 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

This parking structure isn’t so bad, in theory. As a matter of fact if you’re just going to park to go to the gym or grab a bite at the expensive sushi restaurant that has been Coming Soon for the past 3 years, it’s probably A-OK. The problem is that most people are coming here to go to the movies. The problem with the movies is that they start and end at very similar times. And when everyone is trying to leave a parking structure at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME, it gets a little out of control. Like, wait to get out of your parking spot for 20 minutes out of control. Like, get charged extra because it takes you so long to get from where you prepay to exit to where your car actually exists out of control. Yeah.

Glendale Galleria

100 Wes Broadway, Glendale, CA 91210

I get close to hyperventilating just thinking about the structure at the Glendale Galleria. With 3 levels and over 220 stores, the Galleria is the second largest mall in L.A. County (after Del Amo Fashion center – even I have never braved that mall) and its parking structures don’t let you forget it. On holiday weekends, traffic for blocks around slows to a crawl as Ford Windstar and Porsche Cayenne alike haul the kids to Red Robin and load them up on Mud Pie before setting them loose on Hot Topic. It doesn’t matter if you just want to try on ridiculous shoes at Steve Madden, you have to wait for a spot with everyone else.

AMPCO Parking

9460 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212

It’s more than likely that no one who ever reads this will ever have to park in this particular structure. But I had to every day for a year and it was painful. It’s not the actual structure that’s the problem: it’s not massive and you won’t lose your car like in some of the others on this list. My problem was that I was forced to park on the top level (because it was cheaper for my boss) and something about the design of this parking garage – there is no convenient ramp that goes up only one side – means that it takes literally 8 minutes to get to the top. The garage is only 6 levels (I think). This is all well and good if you just want to park for a leisurely shopping trip on Beverly Drive, but it really really really sucks when you’re late for work! I also hated my job, so that probably didn’t endear the parking situation to me any more.

Universal City Walk

North Hollywood, CA 91601

Whether it’s the overpriced tourist shops, the garish, Vegas-like lighting or the girls who want to ride the mechanical bull at Saddle Ranch, there are myriad reasons not to go to Universal ShittyWalk (see what I did there??). But if you were ever tempted (I don’t know what would tempt you, they closed the Back to the Future ride years ago) please let the parking keep you away. Not only does it cost TEN DOLLARS, it’s massive, confusing and sucktastic.