The upscale Bullock’s Wilshire department store opened in 1929 (this picture was taken in 1936), just prior to the stock market crash and on a partly-deserted stretch of Wilshire Boulevard so far from downtown that people thought it’d never make it. (It closed in 1993.) Why go all the way down there when there were so many stores (including a Bullock’s) in the downtown area? Mr. Bullock had the foresight to orient his building not to the street but to the rear to accommodate the ever-increasing number of automobiles. When you gave the valet your car keys, he gave you a parking position number so that when you purchased something in the store, they would put it in your car for you. No more lugging around boxes, bags and packages around the store. Now, that’s classy!

More information, see: Spotlight on Bullock’s Wilshire