Wilshire Boulevard: The Grand Concourse of Los Angeles

Wilshire Boulevard is the unofficial Main Street of dreams that flows 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. Wilshire's style, architecture and historic prominence are recorded in more than 150 photos, so readers understand the fascinating cultural geography of the first auto-dependent metropolis. Wilshire Boulevard details the thoroughfare's crucial part in the emergence of Los Angeles as a world city and relates the fascinating story of Gaylord Wilshire, the turn-of-the-century social gadfly who never experienced his namesake's enduring fame.

Kevin Roderick is a journalist, editor, blogger and author living in Los Angeles. He is the creator and publisher of LA Observed, a widely cited news website that Forbes rated as Best of the Web. He is a Contributing Writer on politics and media at Los Angeles magazine, an award-winning radio commentator, and is often asked by the media to talk about Southern California issues. In addition to Los Angeles, Kevin's magazine reporting has appeared in Smithsonian, Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Industry Standard, C, L.A. Architect and the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. His latest book, Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and Editor's Choice, as well as a finalist for the Southern California Book Award.

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 piqued 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.