 Looking south down Avenue of the Stars, 1977 | |
| Maintained by | Bureau of Street Services, City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works |
|---|---|
| Location | Century City, Los Angeles, California |
| South end | Pico Boulevard |
| Major junctions | Olympic Boulevard |
| North end | Santa Monica Boulevard |
The Avenue of the Stars is the main thoroughfare in Century City, Los Angeles, in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of California.
The avenue is one of the main roads in Century City, a neighborhood of West Los Angeles. It runs from the Hillcrest Country Club at West Pico Boulevard north to the Los Angeles Country Club at Santa Monica Boulevard. [1] It is crossed by Constellation Boulevard, West Olympic Boulevard, and two smaller streets: Galaxy Way and Empyrean Way. [1]
Like most of Century City, the land on which this avenue was built was originally part of a ranch owned by cowboy actor Tom Mix (1880–1960). [2] Later, the land became the backlot of 20th Century Fox. [2] It was later sold to Alcoa, which hired real estate developer William Zeckendorf (1905–1976) to develop Century City. [2]
The first building on the avenue, the Gateway West Building, was designed by architect Welton Becket (1902–1969) and built in 1963. [2] [3] Located on the southwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and the Avenue of the Stars, it was demolished in 2015. The second building was the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986), and built from 1964 to 1966. [2] At the same time, the Gateway East Building, on the southeast corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and the Avenue of the Stars, was completed in 1965; its exact address is 1800 Avenue of the Stars. [4] Five years later, the 1900 Avenue of the Stars building, designed by architect Albert C. Martin, Jr. (1913–2006), was completed in 1970. [5]
More buildings in the central section of the avenue came later. For example, the Century Plaza Towers, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986), was built from 1972 to 1975. [2] The Fox Plaza, designed by William Pereira (1909–1985), was built from 1985 to 1987. [2] The SunAmerica Center, located at 1999 Avenue of the Stars, and designed by the architectural firm Johnson Fain, was built from 1989 to 1990. [6] The 2000 Avenue of the Stars building was built from 2004 to 2007. [7]
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The high-rise buildings along the avenue are home to many offices and diplomatic consulates. Some of them include:
Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward Durell Stone are generally considered to be the two master practitioners of "New Formalism".
Century City is a 176-acre neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of the most prominent employment centers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and its skyscrapers form a distinctive skyline on the Westside.
West Adams is a historic neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. The area is known for its large number of historic buildings, structures and notable houses and mansions.
Welton David Becket was an American modern architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California.
The history of Santa Monica, California, covers the significant events and movements in Santa Monica's past.
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Wilshire Boulevard ('wɪɫ.ʃɚ) is a prominent 15.83 mi (25.48 km) boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal east-west arterial roads of Los Angeles, it is also one of the major city streets through the city of Beverly Hills. Wilshire Boulevard runs roughly parallel with Santa Monica Boulevard from Santa Monica to the west boundary of Beverly Hills. From the east boundary it runs a block south of Sixth Street to its terminus.
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Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA. It is named after Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California.
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Century Plaza Towers are two 44-story, 571-foot (174 m) twin towers in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. They are the tallest buildings in California outside Downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The West Hollywood Gateway is a 248,000 sq ft (23,000 m2) two-level urban vertical retail power center in West Hollywood, California. It was developed by the JH Snyder Company and designed by architect Jon Jerde, located on the southwest corner Santa Monica Blvd. and La Brea Avenue at the border of West Hollywood and Los Angeles. The structure features two subterranean parking levels and two above-ground retail levels.
The Fairmont Century Plaza is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Located in Century City, the hotel forms a sweeping crescent design fronting the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of the Stars complex. At the time of its opening in 1966, the Century Plaza Hotel was the highest building in Century City, with views extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It was also the first hotel to have color televisions in all of its rooms. The hotel closed for renovations in 2016, and reopened on September 27, 2021. It is now operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and it is a member of Historic Hotels of America.
Wenceslao Alfonso Sarmiento, also known as W.A. Sarmiento, was a Peruvian-born American modernist architect.
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Abram Wesley Eager (1864–1930) was an American architect. He designed many houses in Los Angeles, California.
Gateway West Building was a skyscraper in Century City, Los Angeles, California.
William Krisel was an American architect best known for his pioneering designs of mid-century residential and commercial architecture. Most of his designs are for affordable homes, especially tract housing, with a modern aesthetic.
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