Wilshire Boulevard

Infobox road
highway_name=Wilshire Boulevard
maint=California Department of Transportation
direction_a=West
terminus_a=Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica
junction=jct|state=CA|I|405 in Los Angeles
jct|state=CA|SR|110
direction_b=East
terminus_b=Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles

Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire (1861-1927), an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining.

Overview

Running 16 miles from Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles to Ocean Avenue in the City of Santa Monica, Wilshire Boulevard is densely developed throughout most of its span, connecting five of Los Angeles's major business districts to each other, as well as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica downtown. 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.

Transportation

The Purple and Red subway lines of the LACMTA run along Wilshire Boulevard from just past the 7th/Figueroa Street station until Vermont Avenue, where the Purple Line continues along Wilshire to terminate at Western Avenue in Koreatown, while the Red Line branches off to terminate in North Hollywood. 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 on 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 Henry 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 middle 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 tall glitzy condominium buildings overlook this part of Wilshire, hence earning its title of Millionaire's Mile. This section is also known as the Wilshire Corridor.

MacArthur Park Connection

Wilshire Boulevard formerly ended at the MacArthur Park 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.

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

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
* E. Clem Wilson Building
* Wiltern Theatre
* Radisson Wilshire Plaza Hotel
* Southwestern University School of Law (in the former Bullocks Wilshire department store complex)
* MacArthur Park
* Good Samaritan Hospital

Major Intersections

Books

*cite book
last = Roderick
first = Kevin
coauthors = J. Eric Lynxwiler
title = Wilshire Boulevard: The Grand Concourse of Los Angeles
publisher = Angel City Press
location = Los Angeles, CA
date = 2005
id = ISBN 1-883318-55-6

References

*cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-1242006-placenames-a,1,4858861.acrobat?coll=la-util-news-local|title=A landscape of names|work=Los Angeles Times|format=PDF|accessmonthday=January 27 |accessyear=2006

External links

* [http://kcet.org/explore-ca/california-stories/drivingpassions/wilshire/ Wilshire Wonders (kcet.org)]
* [http://www.curatingthecity.org/ Curating the City: Wilshire Blvd]
* [http://www.californiaauthors.com/2006/07/05/excerpt-roderick/ An excerpt from "Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles", by Kevin Roderick]