Los Angeles Times Olympic Printing Plant

This is the worst newspaper, lacks information and charges a lot per month and the majority of the newspaper is advertisements. The billing department people are rude, pushy and hateful. The customer service department is accusatory and hateful as well. I am so glad I am rid of them! When you try to cancel the paper they try to sucker you in to a different delivery service. They try to film flam bambuzle you. So done!

LOVE the walking tours, our guide (sorry forgot his name think it’s was darrel and the last name sounded japanese)
It was super fun for my kids and everyone on the tour. It was a small group with about 20 people. We walked through many fun places at the printing plant.
The best part is, IT’S FREEEEE… just gotta say that free, just like the sit and sleep commercial,… ROFL.
yes, it’s was really fun, informative, educational, and best of it, it wasn’t too long or too short, about 45 minutes long.
But you do have to be at least 8 years old to be on the tour, I kinda sneak my daughter in, she was a month away from her BIG 8 bday. When I booked my tour, the guy said it was ok, since my son is 10 years old. The tour probably not safe for younger kids, since they might want to wander off or touching things.
Anyways, would love to go back again in another 4 years, when they are bit older.
FYI: prior to the tour, I took my kids to the Los Angeles Times Building in dtla on 1^st street, if you kids not into reading, they might not like it, but my son love to read, and there at the lobby it showcase about 40 of the major news over the last 80 years or so. And while you are there, you can also go to the city hall observatory (which is within 5 mins walk from LA Times Building)
one last thing, parking at the LA Times Plant is Free, for those that worry about where they can park at. also, there are no restaurant or snack area inside the plant. and yes, there is a very clean restroom on the left as soon as you walk inside the building.

This tour sounds like it will be pretty boring but once you begin you will feel as though you are a part of history. I have never in my life been so fascinated by seeing pieces of papers roll through machines. Darrell Kunitomi leads this tour in such a way that you will feel as though you are being involved in the history of the LA Times personally. I highly recommend it. It’s FREE!

VERY interesting Tour! The tour takes you into history of the LA Times and enables you to see the process of the morning paper… and the importance of it! Great for kids and students!

We took a tour of the printing plant for the LA Times and learned a few facts. Did you know that the West coast version of USA Today and the NY Times are printed there?
The real reason for being there was for Jonathan Gold’s Bite Nite. Last year was held at the Times building downtown and was cramped and stifling. This years event was two nights with even more restaurants represented.
Highlights were Spago, CUT, Jar, Mozza, MB Post, ink, Shunji, Little Sister, Bestia. Although only small tastings, great representation of the delicious creative power of these restaurants.

the los angeles times offers fantastic free tours of their olympic printing plant! located on the edge of the industrial district, they’re given every other month and coincide with the downtown LA art walk (reservations are required, search on eventbrite for the listings). this ninety minute long tour is led by newsroom veteran darrell kunitomi, who’s been with the paper for about thirty years, and i loved it. as the times likes to say, this is one of the city’s greatest industrial tours and it’s definitely my favorite cultural find, as of late.
for anyone interested in the printed stuff, it’s a fascinating look inside the largest newspaper production plant in the country. built in the late 1980s and opened in 1990, the olympic printing plant cost $ 230 million to build and today employs more than 400 workers at the just-​under 700,000 square foot facility.
if that sounds huge, it is. the pressroom is 530 feet long– almost twice the length of a regulation football field and it seems to have miles and miles of production line that are constantly printing, at speeds of up to 70,000 newspapers per hour. it’s sort of an indescribable sensation, to be standing so close to this giant metal, mechanical beast that’s seemingly been tamed by technology. not to mention all the robots in action everywhere. yep– robots. all over the place.
in addition to watching the presses rolling, the tour also explores the other areas involved with newspaper production– from setting the plates to distribution. i especially liked walking around the storage room, it’s an incredibly vast space with oceans of newsprint spools in various sizes and weights stacked up and towering all over the place, making you feel a bit insignificant in the scheme of things.
finally, a bit of advice: i recommend grabbing a pair of those ear plugs that are available outside the doors to the pressroom because the roar of the machinery is very loud! and bring your camera, the photo opportunities are numerous.