Wilshire Boulevard!

CURATING THE CITY: WILSHIRE BLVD. KIDS’ GUIDE 2 5 2 2 6 1 COLOR BY NUMBERS 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 2 5 8 11 14 17 20 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 About the Los Angeles Conservancy About This Guide The Los Angeles Conservancy is a private nonprofit This Kids’ Guide to Wilshire Boulevard is part of a new membership organization that works through education educational initiative of the Los Angeles Conservancy, and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the Curating the City. This program treats the city as a historic architectural and cultural resources of Los living museum, presenting a fresh framework for seeing Angeles County. Formed in 1978 as part of the effort to L.A.’s architectural and cultural heritage in new ways. save the Los Angeles Central Library from demolition, This pilot program encourages you to take a the Conservancy is now the largest local historic new look at one important aspect of Los Angeles – the preservation group in the United States, with more than great Wilshire Boulevard – by touring the boulevard 8,000 members. For more information, visit with this booklet in hand, attending cultural events www.laconservancy.org. along the way, and using new resources such as this guide and a website devoted solely to this project. Visit www.curatingthecity.org to learn about the people, architects, and buildings that made Wilshire the great boulevard it is today. You can also create your own customized tour, browse through photo galleries, read personal stories and contribute your own, and find more educational activities for kids and teachers. Los Angeles Conservancy 523 West 6th Street, Suite 826 Los Angeles, CA 90014 laconservancy.org 213 623.2489 WELCOME TO WILSHIRE BOULEVARD! Many people think of this street as one of the most important in Los Angeles. It’s been called the spine, or backbone, of the city, connecting different parts of Los Angeles. At over 100 years old, Wilshire Boulevard has lots of stories to tell about the people and the places that have made Los Angeles famous. Wilshire Boulevard is lined with office buildings, stores, theaters, churches, apartments, and hotels. You won’t see too many stand-alone houses, but you will see short and tall buildings, old and new. As you walk along the sidewalks, you’ll hear many different languages, from English to Spanish to Korean to Tagalog. Wilshire Security Pacific Collection / Los Angeles Public Library Boulevard is like the rest of Los Angeles – an exciting mix of people from different backgrounds interesting is that it’s home to a collection of very and different parts of the world. different neighborhoods. Take some time to explore But watch out – Wilshire Boulevard can surprise Wilshire and its incredible buildings. You’ll find that you! Don’t just look at a part of Wilshire and think that the story of Wilshire Boulevard is also the story of how you’ve seen it all. One thing that makes this street so Los Angeles has grown and changed over the years. A VERY LONG LINE WHAT’S A BOULEVARD? Wilshire Boulevard is a pretty long street – almost 16 The word boulevard is originally from the German miles. It stretches from downtown Los Angeles all the way word for a wall-like structure. The first boulevards in to the Pacific Ocean. The fact that Wilshire is linear, or in Europe marked the boundaries of cities. Over time, a long line, is one of the things that makes it special. the definition changed to be a wide street with many Really old cities – like London, Paris, or even lanes and beautiful views. Do you think Wilshire New York – started with clumps of tiny streets crowded Boulevard fits this definition? closely together. That’s because these cities developed before there were cars, when people traveled mostly by foot or by horse. The small, winding streets were good for walking but not for driving. ANCIENT HISTORY By the time Wilshire Boulevard – and the rest of Los Angeles – really started to grow, the car had Thousands of years ago, prehistoric mammoths, become an important part of life in Los Angeles. People mastodons, and saber-toothed cats roamed Ice Age didn’t want small, winding streets for walking. Instead, Los Angeles. A lot of them lived where Wilshire they wanted wide, straight roads for driving. Boulevard is now. You can see their bones and learn their history at the George C. Page Museum at the Los Angeles was one of the first modern cities 1 purposely designed with cars in mind. Remember this as La Brea Tar Pits, on Wilshire’s Miracle Mile. you explore Wilshire Boulevard. TAKING IT ALL IN There’s one problem with such a long street. It’s hard to see everything in a day! Use this guide to help you explore Wilshire Boulevard in small pieces. The numbers on this map look backwards, but they’re just listed going east to west, like the descriptions in this guide. 21 19 17 15 13 11 Miles Playhouse Westwood & Beverly Wilshire Hotel May Co. Building Dominguez-Wilshire The Darkroom 1130 Lincoln Blvd. Wilshire Blvds. 9500 Wilshire Blvd. 6067 Wilshire Blvd. 5410 Wilshire Blvd. 5370 Wilshire Blvd. Hollywood SUNSET BLVD. SANTA MONICA BLVD. Y W F E L A D N E L G . E HO Beverly Hills V LLY A W OO RTON WAY Miracle Mile H D F BU T W . Y L . E A E . Windsor Square/ Wilshire Parks E V E UCLA V A V A W A D UCLA N X Hancock Park Center District O N A A A F E M L R R D. I BLV M IRE H WILSH B A O G F I A C L H . 18 17 D WILSHIRE BLVD. V D L Downtown B . V . Westwood . L . E B . T A E L S A D V P G C V I V A Los Angeles R E N L A N E T O N B W O N V E M N . I . I L T D R LV A W O T S B O C T L E T E S H S A I UN 19 N O I S T VETERANS H M R A A H O S W E S S R 20 L D E B AFFAIRS W N E A L E V V W R E R D S A T C . W V L O A O VD. D . E BL Y ENT B PICO BLVD. W VIC L F SAN V R D BO . R . D. HA E CE BLV V VENI A S D A N N A D R I BU E G N G D O Y F W D R Y . SANTA MONICA FWY. D V BL Santa Monica E IR SH IL W 21 WY. CA F ONI TA M SAN . O VD C BL EA O N IC A P V E. 22 22 20 18 16 14 12 Palisades Park Wadsworth Chapel Beverly Hilton Hotel Johnie’s Coffee Shop Petersen Automotive Sontag Drug Co. Eisenhower & 9876 Wilshire Blvd. 6101 Wilshire Blvd. Museum 5401 Wilshire Blvd. 2 Bonsall Aves. 6060 Wilshire Blvd. Each section will tell you about one of the neighborhoods on Wilshire. Use the buildings in this guide as a starting point to do some exploring of your own. 9 7 5 3 Scottish Rite Masonic St. Basil’s Catholic Bullocks Wilshire MacArthur Park 1 Temple Church Building Alvarado St. to Pegasus 4357 Wilshire Blvd. 3611 Wilshire Blvd. 3050 Wilshire Blvd. Park View St. 731 Wilshire Blvd. Hollywood SUNSET BLVD. SANTA MONICA BLVD. Y W F E L A D N E L G . E HO Beverly Hills V LLY A W OO RTON WAY Miracle Mile H D F BU T W . Y L . E A E . Windsor Square/ Wilshire Parks E V E UCLA V A V A W A D UCLA N X Hancock Park Center District O N A A A F E M 16 L R 15 R D. I 12 BLV M IRE H WILSH B 10 9 8 7 A O G F I A 4 C L H . D WILSHIRE BLVD. V D L Downtown B . V . Westwood . L . E B . T A E L S A D V P G C V I V A Los Angeles 14 R E N 13 L A 6 5 N 11 E T O N B 3 W O N V E M N . I . I L T D R LV A W O T S B O C T L E T E S H S A I UN N O I S T VETERANS H M R A A H O S W E S S R L D E B AFFAIRS W N E A L E V V 1 W R E R D S A T C . W V L O A O VD. D . E BL Y ENT B PICO BLVD. W VIC L F SAN V R 2 D BO . R . D. HA E CE BLV V VENI A S D A N N A D R I BU E G N G D O Y F W D R Y . SANTA MONICA FWY. D V BL Santa Monica E IR SH IL W WY. CA F ONI TA M SAN . O VD C BL EA O N IC A P V E. 10 8 6 4 2 Higgins/Verbeck/ Wilshire Boulevard Ambassador Hotel Elks Club/ Roosevelt Building Hirsch Mansion Temple 3400 Wilshire Blvd.

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