Tag Archives: Wilshire Blvd
Looking northeast from Wilshire Blvd, from west of Figueroa St toward the Richfield Building in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1937
In this circa 1937, we’re standing on Wilshire Blvd—we know that from the Wilshire Special streetlights. The view is looking northeast from west of Figueroa St toward downtown LA. Back then, the skyline of that part of downtown was dominated … Continue reading
Billboard on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, 1938
Click the photo for a larger view. In 1940, the May Co department store turned the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Fairfax Ave into a landmark corner with its curved, gold-painted flagship store. As with most landmarks, it can … Continue reading
Sparse traffic passes by a branch of the Bank of America on Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 1932
I couldn’t find any details of this photo of Angelenos passing by a branch of the Bank of America on Wilshire Blvd, so I can’t even tell you the cross street. But it does strike me as somewhat unnerving to … Continue reading
Color photo looking west along Wilshire Blvd from Commonwealth Ave toward Bullocks Wilshire department store, Los Angeles, 1972
I don’t normally post images from as late as 1972, but I’m a sucker for color photos, especially if they’re of one of LA’s most iconic buildings: the Bullocks Wilshire department store. We’re looking west along Wilshire Blvd from Commonwealth … Continue reading
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Tagged Bullocks Wilshire, Color photo, Hotels, Stores and Shopping, Town House Hotel, Wilshire Blvd
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Color photo looking east along Wilshire Blvd from the eastern end of MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, circa 1950s
Here we have a vibrant circa-1950s photo looking east along Wilshire from the eastern end of MacArthur Park. Past the trees on the left, we can see the top of the huge sign for the Westlake Theatre (MacArthur Park was … Continue reading
Residence of General Harrison Grey Otis, 2401 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, circa early 1900s
In 1881, General Harrison Grey Otis (a Union Army officer during the Civil War) started the Los Angeles Times, and in 1898, built this home on the north side of Wilshire Blvd at Park View St. It overlooked Westlake Park … Continue reading
A packed Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd hosts the 12th Academy Awards on the night of February 29, 1940
Click on the photo for a bigger version. On February 29, 1940 (a Leap Year Day!), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held the 12th Academy Awards presentation at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel on … Continue reading
Color photo of the front lawns of the Ambassador Hotel, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles (undated)
These days, it’s unlikely that you’d find a big-city hotel with so much lawn around it—land is too valuable! But back in the early 1920s, when the Ambassador Hotel was being built on Wilshire Blvd (between Mariposa and Catalina, it … Continue reading
Night photo looking east along Wilshire Blvd from Fairfax Ave past the May Co department store, Los Angeles, March 1949
Thanks to this Life magazine photographer, we get an idea of what it was like to drive east along Wilshire Blvd from the May Co department store on the northeast corner of Fairfax Ave. We can see the sign for … Continue reading
Color photo facing east along the Miracle Mile section of Wilshire Blvd looking toward Ohrbach’s and Coulter’s stores, Los Angeles, circa mid-1950s
I do love a color photo that shows us what it was like to stand on a LA street on an average day in the 1950s. We’re facing east along the Miracle Mile section of Wilshire Blvd looking toward Ohrbach’s … Continue reading