Our Story
Established in 1999, Red Line Tours was first to offer access to story-rich walking tour experiences of Los Angeles’ neighborhoods on a regular daily basis. In partnership with Williams Sound, we reinvented how our guests experience walking tours with our ground breaking “Live Audio” system overcoming the problem of street noise and improving your connection with our guides. From the beginning, our mission has been for visitors and locals alike to reenvision Los Angeles by nudging them toward “a road less traveled” and weighing our experiences heavily on story and activating all your senses.
Our Founders
Tony Hoover
Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Tony Hoover studied fine art at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and was heavily influenced by the post industrial Mid-West, cities, architecture and public art. In the 1970s South Bend was in a steep decline and Chicago, 90 minutes outside of South Bend, was booming. South Bend’s decline and Chicago’s boom heavily influenced Tony’s curiosity about cities, their stories and reshaping their futures. Arriving to Los Angeles in the 1990’s Tony saw Los Angeles as he did Chicago of the 1970s – a city preparing to boom and with thousands of stories yet to be told. Tony is also the co-founder of LA Threadz Clothing line and host of City of Angels.
Michael Hernandez
Born and native Angelino, Michael Hernandez began his adult career in non-profit but would later have a career change that would fit with his passion for Los Angeles! While exploring and appreciating the diversity that Los Angeles has to offer, in 2009 Michael decided to leave the non-profit world so that he could work for Red Line Tours, this would allow him to put his city on display for tourists from all around the globe. With all its diverse culture, its Pulitzer prize-winning architecture, its colorful outdoor murals and its Hollywood dream, Los Angeles had become his museum.
Michael is wearing our “Catch the Earth” hoodie designed by famed LA based artist Kent Yoshimura. You can find it in our LA Threadz store. Michael is co-host of City of Angels show on YouTube.
Our Guides
Breeanna has been guiding for over 10 years in the Los Angeles area and has real-life television and film experience.
Armond Kinard, an artist and Los Angeles native, can be seen on tours or working on movie sets.
Jarod has been a Los Angeles enthusiast his whole life, so it his delight to share it with everyone.
Tamra is a comedy writer who loves music, dive bars, and sharing Hollywood history.
Our Artists
Kent Yoshimura
Kent Yoshimura is a Los Angeles based multi-media artist best known for his large scale murals and site specific installations. Kent has directed creative content for global brands such as McDonald's, Lego, AT&T, Benjamin Moore, Ford, and many others.
Learn More or check our artist links
Eric Junker
Eric Junker channels his restless energy into creating art and design inspired by the colliding energies of his life in urban Los Angeles and his passion for nature and road trip adventures. His murals can be found throughout Southern California, and as far afield as New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Baja California, Costa Rica, and New York City. In his interdisciplinary creative practice, he has contributed design, art, and ideas to a client roster that has included OCULUS, TOMS, PATAGONIA, COACH, TARGET, and the LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC. His work has been recognized by CBS This Morning, NBC LA, ABC 7, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Cool Hunting, Elle Décor, and Angelino Magazine. He is also active in non-profits that support pediatric cancer research and homeless youth empowerment. He's currently a Lecturer at USC's Roski School of Art and Design, and formerly taught as an Adjunct Professor at USC's Marshall School of Business.
Learn More or check our artist links
Andre Miripolsky
Andre Miripolsky’s keen understanding of pop imagery and energy launched a dynamic career that resulted in work with Elton John (the famous 1980 Concert in Central Park “Piano Keys” costume) and Bette Midler (album package/visual design for her 1982 worldwide “DeTour”), as well as Quincy Jones, The Rolling Stones, Gato Barbieri, Robin Williams, Beastie Boys, Cheap Trick, MTV, and “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. For thirty years, he has continued to explore and discover creative wonders in his Kingdom of Color.
Learn More or check our artist links
George Townley
George Townley is a twenty-three-year-old illustrator and designer based in the United Kingdom with a BA (Hons) degree focused in Illustration from the University of Central Lancashire. George lived in California while also studying at California State University San Marcos which he says changed his style for the better: “Experiencing a big change in my environment and living away from home for the first time inspired me to take my work in a new direction. Since then, my passion for Americana and architecture has been prevalent in all my projects since.” George Townley is currently living and working in London for the NCS record label.
Learn More or check our artist links
Live Audio
How our Live Audio™ system reinvented the walking tour experience.
Our unique headset based low-frequency radio broadcasting system allows you to hear our guides over the most extreme city noise including traffic, construction and other distractions. You wear an audio headset and receiver while our guides wear a headset microphone transmitter. Although this may resemble the systems used by museums for pre-recorded tours, our walking tours are not pre-recorded. They are led by a live guide who will interact with you during the entire course of the experience. Because our Live Audio system operates from a distance of 300+ feet you will have the freedom to linger over a detail or take a photo without straining to hear your guide.
Ideal for persons with some hearing impairment.
The Live Audio system is helpful for our hearing impaired guests who can adjust sound levels to their comfort. Because Live Audio uses over-the-ear headsets it typically works well with most hearing aid systems. For those with total hearing loss we can provide a follow along transcript of the tour complete with visual prompts.
Excellent for educational experiences including student and youth groups
The Live Audio system is also helpful for our hard-of-hearing guests who can adjust sound levels to their comfort. And student groups also benefit from the ease of communicating with a larger group without shouting or searching for individuals who may have wandered away.
In addition to the Live Audio system, Red Line’s plans for the future include the addition of pre-recorded tours in various languages to accommodate guests who might wish to follow along in languages other than English. Currently, Red Line does offer certain tours in Spanish and Japanese for pre-arranged groups. Please contact our tour office to make arrangements for one of these tours.
Awards
“Rated Excellent on TripAdvisor for 15 years in a row.”
