The exterior of this Frank Gehry modern masterpiece looks like a swooping, intricate new tool used for an unknown, slightly sinister purpose. But the inside looks like a remarkable wooden instrument that strums beautifully.

Opened in October 2003, this 2,265-seat landmark is now the permanent home of the LA Philharmonic and the LA Master Chorale. The concert hall also welcomes everyone from Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax to Alanis Morissette and Sting. WDCH was once a source of complaint (the hall's highly reflective surface had to be treated after neighbors were bombarded by excess heat and light), but the hall has become as LA as the Hollywood Sign, adding a flash of postmodernist pizzazz to the Downtown skyline. The curved panels of stainless steel coating the exterior are reminiscent of Gehry's design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; the inside is outfitted with warm colored woods, curvy white walls and glass skylights. The auditorium itself has an open platform stage and seating in the round, so even the "cheap seats" promise a good show. Of particular note are the billowy wooden ceilings, the giant hand-crafted pipe organ and the Technicolor upholstered seats. The acoustics, thanks to Gehry's collaboration with renowned Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, are perfect.