The name "Wilshire Center" is a relatively modern moniker that refers to much of the eastern portion of the Wilshire Community Plan area (CPA), generally from Virgil Avenue and Hoover Street on the east to Wilton Place and Crenshaw Boulevard on the west. It borders Hollywood to the north at Melrose Avenue, and Koreatown and part of Harvard Heights to the south. The area was historically known as part of the Wilshire District. As the Wilshire area expanded westward, neighborhood names emerged to distinguish parts of the district from each other.[1]
Wilshire Center includes some of the Wilshire CPA's oldest streetcar suburbs dating to the early 20th century. Historic Preservation Overlay Zones within Wilshire Center include Wilshire Park and Country Club Park.[1]
Within the neighborhood, the Wilshire Center Regional Commercial Center, as defined in the city's general plan, is generally bounded by 3rd Street on the north, 8th Street on the south, Hoover Street on the east, and Wilton Place on the west.[2] Google Maps uses the general boundaries of the Regional Commercial Center for the neighborhood.[3][lower-alpha 1] Services provided by the business improvement district are limited to the commercial area between Wilton Place, Hoover Street, Third Street and Eighth Street.[4]
Gaylord Hotel and Wilshire Boulevard in Wilshire Center
History
Wilshire Boulevard is named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire—a millionaire who in 1895 began developing a 35-acre (140,000m2) parcel stretching westward from Westlake Park (MacArthur Park) for an elite residential subdivision. A socialist, Wilshire donated to the city a strip of land for a boulevard on the conditions that it would be named for him and ban public transit, railroad lines, and commercial or industrial trucking and freight trains.
A Los Angeles Times overview of the area referred to "the corridor's former glory as a haven for blue-chip corporations and fine shopping."[8]
In the early 1900s, steam-driven motorcars started sharing Wilshire Boulevard with horse-drawn carriages. At the turn of the century, Germain Pellissier raised sheep and barley between Normandie and Western Avenues. Reuben Schmidt purchased land east of Normandie for his dairy farm.
In the mid-1990s, it had a reputation for "crime and grime," and many businesses had left the area, but by 2001 it had recovered.[8] The Los Angeles Times noted that: "Another sign of the district's popularity emerged this summer with the opening of a plush, $35-million spa, mall and golf complex called Aroma Wilshire Center just east of Western Avenue that caters to the city's affluent Korean population, many of them entrepreneurs who own businesses in the area."
Apartment buildings
Distinguished high-rise apartment buildings and hotels were erected along Wilshire Boulevard. The lavish Ambassador Hotel was built in 1921 on 23 acres (93,000m2) of the former site of Reuben Schmidt's dairy farm. In approximately 1929, the Academy Awards ceremony was moved from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to the Ambassador Hotel. It closed in 1989 and, despite efforts of historic preservationists, has been demolished. The site is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which in 2010 opened the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools and a small park on the site. It is the most expensive public school in the United States.
Typical side street apartments at 4th and Catalina
The area nearby became the site of elegant New York-style apartment buildings such as the Asbury, the Langham, the Fox Normandie, the Picadilly, the Talmadge (after Norma Talmadge), the Gaylord, and the Windsor. Many film stars lived in these buildings.
As of 2021, a building boom fueled by density bonuses and the City of Los Angeles's Transit-Oriented Community incentives has increased the supply of apartments and condominiums in the area,[9] and older office buildings have been converted into apartments and condos. Large apartment buildings have been constructed at the Metro stops at Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/Vermont.
Commercial
Gloria Swanson's husband, Herbert Somborn, opened the Brown Derby Restaurant, a hat-shaped building at Wilshire and Alexandria, in 1926. The hat now sits on top of a restaurant in a mini-mall.
In 1929, the elegant Art-Deco Bullocks Wilshire was built at Wilshire and Westmoreland as the city's first branch department store in the suburbs. It closed in 1993 and now houses the library of Southwestern Law School.
A section of Germain Pellessier's sheep farm became the site of the Pellessier Building and Wiltern Theatre, which began construction at the corner of Wilshire and Western in 1929. The theater, operated by Warner Brothers, opened in 1931.
In 1929, the Chapman Market drew motorcars to the world's first drive-through grocery store at Sixth St and Alexandria.
Chapman Market today
The San Francisco-based I. Magnin opened a store in 1939 at Wilshire and New Hampshire.
In 2001, David Y. Lee was the largest landlord in the district, owning 20 buildings comprising about 7 million square feet of space in Mid-Wilshire and three buildings in nearby Park Mile.[8]
Office buildings
In 1952, on the driving range on the south side of Wilshire between Mariposa and Normandie, the first three 12-story Tishman Plaza buildings were built in 1952 (they're now known as Central Plaza), designed by Claude Beelman.
Insurance companies began locating their West Coast headquarters in Wilshire Center because of tax incentives provided by the State. Some 22 high-rise office buildings were erected on Wilshire Boulevard from 1966 to 1976 to provide office space for such companies as Getty Oil Co., Ahmanson Financial Co., Beneficial Standard Life Insurance, Wausau, and Equitable Life Insurance. The Chapman Park Hotel, built in 1936, was torn down to make way for the 34-story Equitable Plaza office building erected in 1969. By 1970, firms such as CNA, Pacific Indemnity, and Pierce National Life were starting construction of their own high-rise buildings. Southwestern University School of Law moved from its downtown location of 50 years to a four-story campus just south of Wilshire Boulevard on Westmoreland in 1973.
In the 1970s and 1980s, commerce moved to the city's less congested Westside as well as the San Fernando Valley, and businesses and affluent residents eventually followed. I. Magnin closed, while Bullocks Wilshire held out until 1993. Rental rates in office buildings plummeted from an average of $1.65/sq ft to a dollar between 1991 and 1996; property values dropped from a high of $120/sq ft to $30 or $40 per foot in 1998.[citation needed]
Subsequently, the Wilshire Center Streetscape Project used federal funds to rejuvenate Wilshire Boulevard. It was one of the most ambitious and significant urban rehabilitation projects found anywhere in America and in 1999 was awarded the Lady Bird Johnson Award from The National Arbor Day Foundation.
Religious buildings
Wilshire Christian Church was the first church on Wilshire Boulevard in 1911. The church property at Wilshire and Normandie was donated by the Chapman Brothers, owners of Chapman Market, whose historic building remains nearby on Sixth Street.
There are no city parks or community gardens in Wilshire Center, and only small parks in the surrounding communities. This is one of the most 'park-poor' areas of the city.[14]
See also
Harold A. Henry, Los Angeles City Council president active in improving Wilshire Center
“Streetscape: the Plan that Saved a Community” by David Wallace.
Notes
↑ Where other reliable sources are available for the boundaries of neighborhoods, they should be treated preferentially to Google Maps and Google Street View. It is difficult if not impossible to verify as they are subject to change and documentation and archives are not available.
Related Research Articles
Koreatown is a neighborhood in central Los Angeles, California, centered near Eighth Street and Irolo Street.
Miracle Mile is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California.
Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home to over 40,000 residents.
Westlake, also known as the Westlake District, is a residential and commercial neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It was developed in the 1920s. Many of its elegant mansions have been turned into apartments and many new multiple-occupancy buildings have been constructed.
Larchmont is a half-square-mile neighborhood in the central region of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has three schools and one small park. It has been the site of early and recent motion picture shoots.
East Hollywood is a densely populated neighborhood of 78,000+ residents in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is notable for being the site of Los Angeles City College, Barnsdall Park, and a hospital district. There are seven public and five private schools, a Los Angeles Public Library branch, and three hospitals. Almost two-thirds of the people living there were born outside the United States, and 90% were renters. In 2000 the neighborhood had high percentages of never-married people and single parents.
The B Line is a fully underground 16.4 mi (26.4 km) rapid transit line operating in Los Angeles, running between Downtown Los Angeles and North Hollywood. It is one of seven lines in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Wilshire Boulevard 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.
Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is known for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district.
The Harbor Gateway is a 5.14-square-mile residential and industrial area (13.3 km2) in the Los Angeles Harbor Region, in the southern part of the city. The neighborhood is narrow and long, running along a north-south axis. Its unusual shape has given it the alternative name of "the Shoestring Strip". The northern limit of the neighborhood is Imperial Highway, a city street just north of I-105.
Mid City is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California.
Wilshire Park is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California.
Olympic Boulevard is a major arterial road in Los Angeles, California. It stretches from Ocean Avenue on the western end of Santa Monica to East Los Angeles—farther than Wilshire Boulevard and most other streets.
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.
Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of 23.3 miles (37.5 km), is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length between its southern end in San Pedro and south of Downtown Los Angeles, it runs parallel to the west of the Harbor Freeway (I-110).
The D Line is a fully underground 6.4-mile (10.3 km) rapid transit line operating in Los Angeles, running between Downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown district. It is one of seven lines on the Metro Rail system, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Normandie Avenue is one of Los Angeles County's longest north–south streets, with a stretch of about 22.5 miles (36.2 km). It lies between Western Avenue to the west and Vermont Avenue to the east. The avenue begins in the south by branching off from Vermont Avenue south of Pacific Coast Highway in Harbor City. Through traffic on Normandie is directed onto Irolo Street between just north of Olympic Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard; in this section, Normandie exists as a small residential street. After crossing Franklin Avenue, Normandie resumes as a residential street before reaching its northern terminus at Ambrose Avenue in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles City Council District 4 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, situated in Central Los Angeles, the southern San Fernando Valley, and eastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is represented by Councilmember Nithya Raman, the first woman to represent the district.
Los Angeles City Council District 5 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council. District 5 represents Los Angeles communities in the Westside, central-eastern Santa Monica Mountains, and central-southern San Fernando Valley. Katy Young Yaroslavsky is the current council member.
Los Angeles City Council District 10 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council.
1 2 3 "Commercial Real Estate; Moderate Rebirth of Mid-Wilshire; The area, also known as Wilshire Center, has seen its vacancy rate drop. But it hopes for a bigger rise in retail development.: [Home Edition] - ProQuest". ProQuest421865637.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States of America 
California 
Los Angeles 
