Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles - Hardcover

Roderick, Kevin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1883318556 ISBN 13: 9781883318550

Publisher: Angel City Pr, 2005

Synopsis

"Wilshire Boulevard is the unofficial Main Street of dreams flowing through Los Angeles history. Like Los Angeles itself, Wilshire is an accidental phenomenon created out of civic pride and the yearning of the masses to drive. Its 15-mile route to the sea has been called the Fifth Avenue of the West and the Champs Elysees of the Pacific"--Provided by publisher.

About this title

About the Author

KEVIN RODERICK is an author and journalist in his hometown of Los Angeles. He is a Contributing Writer on the masthead of Los Angeles magazine, a former staff writer and senior editor at the Los Angeles Times, and has written for Smithsonian, the Los Angeles Times Magazine and L.A. Architect. Kevin also is the founder and editor of the websites L.A. Observed and America s Suburb.com. His first book, The San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb considered the history and lore of the giant basin that is separated from the rest of Los Angeles by a mountain range and cultural differences.=== J. ERIC LYNXWILER grew up in the suburbs of Southern California and stayed close to home while attending UCLA. Although he didn t realize it at the time, his grade school journeys to the La Brea Tar Pits peeked an interest in Wilshire Boulevard which resulted in years of research, collecting, and a one-day hike from downtown to the ocean. Although he s a graphic designer by trade, he interprets his degree in Urban Anthropology through his renowned Neon Cruises of nighttime Los Angeles and is also a docent for the Los Angeles Conservancy, an active member of the Commercial Board of the Modern Committee preservation group, and a former board member of the Museum of Neon Art. === Graphic artist AMY INOUYE designs books, makes funny art projects and is mom to Chicken Boy, a twenty-two-foot fiberglass man/boy with a chicken s head (aka the Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles). A graduate of Art Center College of Design, she lives with a vast collection of chicken memorabilia on Historic Route 66 in Los Angeles.

From the Inside Flap

Wilshire Boulevard is the unofficial Main Street of dreams flowing through Los Angeles history. Like Los Angeles itself, Wilshire is an accidental phenomenon created out of civic pride and the yearning of the masses to drive. Given such illustrious nicknames as the Fifth Avenue of the West and the Champs Elysees of the Pacific, it s no wonder that over the years Wilshire has become one of the world s most renowned thoroughfares. In the pages of Wilshire Boulevard, celebrated author Kevin Roderick tells the remarkable story of the boulevard s development from a dirt road through a barley field in 1895 to the bustling fifteen-mile central concourse of the City of Angels. Roderick and urban anthropologist J. Eric Lynxwiler illustrate Wilshire s style, architecture and historic prominence with 150 vintage images culled from private collections and the state s most important archives. The meticulously researched story and glorious visuals allow readers to understand Wilshire Boulevard s impact on the world s first auto-dependent metropolis. Wilshire Boulevard details the thoroughfare's crucial part in the emergence of Los Angeles as a world-class city and relates the fascinating story of Gaylord Wilshire, the turn-of-the-century social gadfly who would have relished his eponymous avenue s enduring fame. For anyone who has lived the life that is Los Angeles, Wilshire Boulevard recounts an important past.

Edition details

• Publisher: Angel City Pr
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1883318556
• ISBN 13: 9781883318550
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208