Shopping mall on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Hamilton Dr, Los Angeles, 1930

Shopping mall on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Hamilton Dr, Los Angeles, 1930These days, Los Angeles is littered with corner mini-malls. Hardly any of them are particularly attractive or add anything to the overall cityscape (aside from crassly commercial functionality, I guess.) What a much more pleasant vista it would be if they looked more like this one. Taken in 1930, this shows a mini mall on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Hamilton Dr., a block east of Restaurant Row on La Cienega Blvd. How many mini malls these days have a clock tower, a Juliet balcony, and an arched doorway??? I have two questions I’m hoping somebody might be able to answer: Are other US cities filled with mini malls, or is that more of a California thing? And would people back in the 1930s have called these places “mini malls”?

** UPDATE ** – David G says: “The term “mini-mall” is of circa 1965 vintage, because first there had to be big shopping “malls” (a postwar development) before there could be “mini-malls” as a terminological matter. But small strips like this go back to the 1920s and are thought to be a Los Angeles export. See: A Brief History of the Mini-Mall

Thankfully, this mini mall has survived the years intact. This image is from March 2021.

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11 responses to “Shopping mall on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Hamilton Dr, Los Angeles, 1930”

  1. stephen dimmick says:

    Mini malls are an America wide travesty unfortunately

  2. Matt says:

    Not sure but believe these types of establishments were referred to as “drive-in-markets”, their original purpose. Recall in the 1980’s this location was used as the Beverly Hills Porche dealership. Can you imagine a more charming car dealership building?

  3. Al Donnelly says:

    Is there a cafe/feedbag of some sort involved in this one?

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