Wilshire Boulevard
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Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Running 16 miles from Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, it has been called "the backbone of Los Angeles" and "Fifth Avenue of the West." Many of the post-1956 skyscrapers in Los Angeles are located along Wilshire; indeed, one of the oldest and tallest is known simply as "One Wilshire." Aon Center, at one point Los Angeles's largest tower, is at 707 Wilshire Boulevard in Downtown Los Angeles.
One particularly famous stretch of the boulevard between Fairfax and La Brea Avenues is known as the Miracle Mile. The area just to the east of that is referred to as the Park Mile.
All of the boulevard is at least four lanes in width, and most of the portion between Hoover Street and Robertson Boulevard has a raised center median. The widest portion is in the business district of central Westwood, where mobs of pedestrians crossing Wilshire at Westwood Boulevard must traverse ten lanes (including two left-turn pockets). This and the nearby intersection of Wilshire and Veteran are among the busiest in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Metro Purple Line subway runs along Wilshire Boulevard from just past the 7th/Figueroa Street stop to its western terminus at Western Avenue in Koreatown; the Hollywood spur splits off from the main line at Vermont Avenue. Considerable discussion is underway to extend the Purple Line to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, following Wilshire for most of its route: during the 2005 campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles, ultimately victorious candidate Antonio Villaraigosa pledged to begin construction of the Wilshire Boulevard subway.
The Metro Rapid line 720 operates along Wilshire and has been the object of considerable attention due to its significant growth in ridership since it started operating June 24, 2000. Due to its high ridership, 60-foot NABI articulated buses are used on this route.
Wilshire Boulevard was named by H. Gaylord Wilshire, a real estate developer from Ohio who also owned a lucrative gold mine in Aspendell, near Bishop, California. An historic apartment building, the Gaylord, across from the site of the Ambassador Hotel carries his first name.
Traveling on Wilshire Boulevard (with the exception of late nights and Sundays) is difficult, as it passes through the busiest sections of Los Angeles. The Santa Monica and Brentwood portions are relatively tame, but the Westwood and Beverly Hills portions are almost guaranteed to have thick traffic. There are traffic lights on every block in Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile.
The boulevard's widest portion is in Westwood and Holmby Hills, where it expands to six, and briefly, eight lanes. Several glitzy condominium buildings overlook this part of Wilshire, hence earning its title of Millionaire's Mile.
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[edit] MacArthur Park Connection
Wilshire Boulevard formerly ended at the park's lake, but in 1934 a berm was built for it to cross and link up with the existing Orange Street (which ran from Figueroa to Alvarado) into downtown Los Angeles. Orange Street was renamed Wilshire and extended east of Figueroa to Grand. This divided the lake into two halves; the northern one was subsequently drained.
[edit] Cities and Communities along Wilshire Boulevard (east to west)
- Downtown Los Angeles
- Westlake
- Koreatown (also known as Wilshire Center)
- Larchmont
- Country Club Park
- Wilshire Park
- Hancock Park
- Miracle Mile
- Carthay
- Beverly Hills
- Holmby Hills
- Westwood
- Sawtelle
- Brentwood
- West Los Angeles
- Santa Monica
[edit] Landmarks along Wilshire Boulevard (west to east)
- Third Street Promenade (Santa Monica)
- Wadsworth Theater
- VA Hospital (Veterans Affairs Medical Center West Los Angeles, in Sawtelle)
- Los Angeles National Cemetery
- University of California, Los Angeles (nearby)
- Hammer Museum
- Beverly Hills Ritz Hotel
- Los Angeles Country Club
- Beverly Hilton
- The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
- Rodeo Drive
- Canon Theater
- Wilshire Theater
- Petersen Automotive Museum
- Hancock Park
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- La Brea Tar Pits
- George C. Page Museum
- Wiltern Theatre
- Radisson Wilshire Plaza Hotel
- Southwestern University School of Law (in the former Bullocks Wilshire department store complex)
- MacArthur Park
- Good Samaritan Hospital
[edit] Books
- Roderick, Kevin; J. Eric Lynxwiler (2005). Wilshire Boulevard: The Grand Concourse of Los Angeles. Los Angeles, CA: Angel City Press. ISBN 1-883318-55-6.
[edit] References
- A landscape of names (PDF). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on January 27, 2006.
