Wilshire Boulevard

For other uses, see Wilshire (disambiguation).

Wilshire Boulevard
Maintained by	California Department of Transportation
West end:	Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica
Major junctions	I-405 in Los Angeles SR 110
East end:	Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles

Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown

Wilshire Boulevard ( /ˈwɪlʃər/ WIL-shər) 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. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire Boulevard in the 1890s by clearing out a path in his barley field. A historic apartment building, the Gaylord, across from the site of the Ambassador Hotel carries his middle name.

Overview

The Miracle Mile

Running 15.83 miles (25.48 km) 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, where the world's most luxurious boutiques are located. 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 (and presently second-largest) tower, is at 707 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.

One particularly famous stretch of the boulevard between Fairfax and Western Avenues is known as the Miracle Mile. The area just to the east of that is referred to as the Park Mile. Many of Los Angeles largest museums are located at the Miracle Mile.

Wilshire Boulevard in West LA

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 eight lanes (including two left-turn pockets). This and the nearby intersection of Wilshire and Veteran are among the busiest in Los Angeles.

The Wilshire Corridor is also located along Wilshire. It contains many high-rise residential towers. The Wilshire Corridor is located next to Century City, one of Los Angeles' busiest districts. The Fox and MGM studios are located in a series of skyscrapers along with many historic Los Angeles hotels.

Wilshire Blvd is also the principal street of Los Angeles Koreatown. Here you may find many of Los Angeles oldests buildings as well as many skyscrapers. Koreatown is one of Los Angeles's densest districts as well as Mid Wilshire

The view from the Getty Center, south of the Sepulveda Pass, looking east, south, and west. The San Diego Freeway can be seen at the center

Transportation

The Purple and Red subway lines of the LACMTA run along Wilshire Boulevard from just past the 7th/Figueroa Street station before serving the Westlake/MacArthur Park and Wilshire/Vermont stations, where the Purple Line continues along Wilshire to serve two stations at Normandie Avenue and at Western Avenue in Koreatown, while the Red Line branches off to terminate in North Hollywood. Metro Local line 20, Metro Rapid line 720, and Santa Monica Transit line 2 operate along Wilshire Boulevard. Due to the high ridership of line 720, 60-foot (18 m) NABI articulated buses are used on this route.

Metro Rapid 720 bus headed to Santa Monica

Metro Purple Line subway

Considerable discussion is underway to extend the Purple Line to Westwood/UCLA, 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.

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, giving it the title of Millionaire's Mile. This section is also known as the Wilshire Corridor.

The sections of Wilshire Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles are notorious for their giant potholes.

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)

Map of Wilshire Boulevard and adjacent communities

• 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)

LACMA West (formerly the May Company Department Store)

Wilshire Boulevard through Miracle Mile in the 1960's

• 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
• Sinai Temple
• Beverly Hills Ritz Hotel
• Los Angeles Country Club
• Beverly Hilton Hotel
• The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
• Rodeo Drive
• Canon Theater
• Wilshire Theater
• Consulate-General of Israel
• 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
• Wilshire Boulevard Temple
• Radisson Wilshire Plaza Hotel
• Southwestern University School of Law (in the former Bullocks Wilshire department store complex)
• MacArthur Park (formerly Westlake Park)
• Good Samaritan Hospital

Major Intersections

The entire route is in Los Angeles County.

Location	Destinations	Notes
Santa Monica	Ocean Avenue
	Lincoln Boulevard
West Los Angeles	I-405 (San Diego Freeway) – Sacramento, Long Beach	Interchange; former SR 7
	Sepulveda Boulevard
	Westwood Boulevard
	Beverly Glen Boulevard
Beverly Hills	SR 2 (Santa Monica Boulevard)
	La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles	Fairfax Avenue
	La Brea Avenue
	Crenshaw Boulevard
	Western Avenue
	Vermont Avenue
	Alvarado Street
	I-110 / SR 110 – San Pedro, Pasadena	Interchange
	Figueroa Street	Former US 6
	Grand Avenue

See also

• Ernest L. Webster, Los Angeles City Council member, 1927–31, helped introduce traffic-signal system
• Harold A. Henry, Los Angeles City Council president active in beautifying the boulevard

Further reading

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. 

Articles

• "A landscape of names" (PDF). Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-1242006-placenames-a,1,4858861.acrobat?coll=la-util-news-local. Retrieved January 27, 2006. 

External links

• Wilshire Wonders (kcet.org)
• Curating the City: Wilshire Blvd
• An excerpt from "Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles", by Kevin Roderick