The Story of ROW

Meet Sebastian Salvador, the Creative Director at design firm Rios and the Principal Designer for ROW DTLA. He is one of the visionaries whose approach helped to shape the concept for the district.

“ROW DTLA was imagined as a stage for a vibrant urban community. We wanted to create a site that people could explore, and every time find something new,” he says.

Necessary to the process was an understanding of the past in order to add to ROW’s story today.  Careful consideration was given to maintain the character of the original historic site.

Once upon a time, Salvador reminds us, all the goods that passed through Los Angeles came through here. Originally the terminus for the Southern Pacific Railroad, the bustling produce market later opened in 1914, and is still in operation today - more than 100 years later.

And while much of the original buildings were kept intact, they were also expanded upon to create new moments of discovery and connectivity.

See how Sebastian helped to tell ROW’s story and reimagine the district as the thriving, self-sustaining, creative community that it is today.