by: Josh Marks
Are you gonna cruise the Miracle Mile? – Billy Joel,
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me (Glass
Houses, 1980)
Long before the Piano Man referenced
In the early 1920s Ross turned 18 acres of empty land west of downtown into a
bustling commercial district. The automobile, not the pedestrian, would shape
the Miracle Mile. Ross mandated that the building facades along Wilshire be
engineered so drivers could see everything through their windshield while
traveling through the strip. This led to a unique style of urban design called
Art Deco.
A sculptural bust of the founder and developer of the Miracle Mile can be found
at the intersection of Wilshire and Curson, across
from
The post-war boom of the 1940s brought major retailers such as Desmonds and May Company to the Miracle Mile district.
These upscale department stores contributed to the prominent stature of the
area. By the ‘60s the neighborhood was in decline as major shopping centers
sprung up in the suburbs and financial institutions and businesses spread
across the
However, in the 1980s the area started to make a comeback with the arrival of
several museums and high-rise office complexes. Also, the entertainment
industry established a presence along the Miracle Mile, including the Screen
Actors Guild and the trade magazines — Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
One of the most recognizable landmarks in Los Angeles is the still-bubbling La
Brea Tar Pits, which is next to the Page Museum (5801 Wilshire Blvd.;
www.tarpits.org), with an extensive collection of Ice Age fossils. The Los
Angeles County Museum of Art (
These cultural institutions are all located along a part of the Miracle Mile
called Museum Row.
Most of the Miracle Mile District shuts down after dark with the exception of a
few restaurants and clubs. The El Rey Theatre (
The Miracle Mile is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in