Misplaced Pages

#111888

36-561: The mall originally opened as the open-air Broadway–Valley shopping center in 1955. Similar to what happened with nearby Valley Plaza , after opening additional department stores and retail strips opened on the periphery of the Broadway center. During the 1960s the merchants' association of the various owners marketed its retail properties collectively as the Panorama City Shopping Center . In 1964 it claimed to be

72-468: A huge commercial success, and proved historically influential. Ross had invented the car-oriented urban form — what Reyner Banham called "the linear downtown" model later adopted across the United States. The moves also contributed to Los Angeles's reputation as a city dominated by the car. A sculptural bust of Ross stands at 5800 Wilshire, with the inscription, "A. W. Ross, founder and developer of

108-586: A project of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles. Shortly after 2000, J. H. Snyder acquired the core Valley Plaza property from lender iStar, and announced plans for a $ 300 million renovation. Over the next 10 years, leases were not renewed and tenants were evicted, resulting in a mostly abandoned property. However Snyder was not able to follow through on the plans and sold it back to iStar in 2011. As of mid-2020, only

144-588: A second strip of shops, plus a roof over the mall walkway. The retail sales area increased to 145,000 square feet (13,500 m) and the mall was physically connected to the adjacent Broadway store. A large stainless sculpture by artist Sebastian Trovato was added, portraying intertwining rings. In 1986, the Panorama Mall ranked 40th out of the 61 regional shopping malls in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with more than $ 68 million in annual sales. Business

180-410: A separate identity from Valley Plaza. The May Co. being very large, 452,000 square feet (42,000 m ), Valley Plaza was reported to have the second-largest suburban branch department store in the country, outsized only by a branch of Hudson's in suburban Detroit. On February 5, 1959, a third major department store anchor, a 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m ), two-level J. C. Penney opened on

216-710: A stretch of Wilshire Boulevard known as Museum Row. It also contains two Historic Preservation Overlay Zones : the Miracle Mile HPOZ and the Miracle Mile North HPOZ. Miracle Mile's boundaries are roughly 3rd Street on the north, Highland Avenue on the east, San Vicente Boulevard on the south, and Fairfax Avenue on the west. Major thoroughfares include Wilshire and Olympic boulevards, La Brea and Fairfax avenues, and 6th Street. Google Maps identifies an irregularly shaped area labeled "Miracle Mile" that runs from Ogden Drive on

252-441: A windshield. This meant larger, bolder, simpler signage and longer buildings in a larger scale. They also had to be oriented toward the boulevard and architectural ornamentation and massing must be perceptible at 30 MPH (50 km/h) instead of at walking speed. These building forms were driven by practical requirements but contributed to the stylistic language of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne . Ross's moves were unprecedented,

288-554: Is located in the city's Wilshire community plan area. Los Angeles Metro's D Line subway is being extended along Wilshire Boulevard to the Veterans Affairs Hospital, from its current terminus at Western Avenue in Koreatown. In 1985, A federal ban on tunneling operations in the area was passed at the behest of the district's congressional representative Henry Waxman after an explosion , caused by

324-840: Is within the Los Angeles Unified School District , Board District 4. Landmarks include The Los Angeles County Museum of Art , the Petersen Automotive Museum , SAG-AFTRA , the El Rey Theatre , La Brea Tar Pits , Park La Brea Apartments , 5900 Wilshire , Ace Gallery , the Zachary All building (5467), the Olympia Medical Center , and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures . Johnie's Coffee Shop

360-561: The Valley Plaza Tower , was completed. The building is now occupied by Wells Fargo Bank. It was upon opening, the tallest building in the San Fernando Valley. Architects were Douglas Honnold and John Rex and the style is "Corporate International". It was one of the first skyscrapers built in Los Angeles after the 1957 repeal of a 150-foot height limit ordinance. Murals that have adorned the full height and width of

396-507: The Laurel Plaza mall was closed due to damage but the department store May Co. remained open. It became a Robinsons-May in 1993, then Macy’s in 2006 which operated until 2016, after the property was sold for redevelopment, and is now a mixed-use development called NOHO West , home to Trader Joe's , L.A. Fitness , and Regal Cinemas , amongst others. After the earthquake, the renovation of Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza area became

SECTION 10

#1732773056112

432-619: The Miracle Mile. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , designed by Renzo Piano , is located in the former May Company Department Store on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. A new contemporary structure for the museum's theaters is located behind the building. Miracle Mile contains two Historic Preservation Overlay Zones. The Miracle Mile HPOZ comprises 1,347 properties. Its boundaries are Wilshire Boulevard to

468-467: The Miracle Mile. Vision to see, wisdom to know, courage to do." As wealth and newcomers poured into the fast-growing city, Ross's parcel became one of Los Angeles's most desirable areas. Acclaimed as "America's Champs-Élysées ," this stretch of Wilshire near the La Brea Tar Pits was named "Miracle Mile" for its improbable rise to prominence. Although the preponderance of shopping malls and

504-444: The United States. He also required merchants to provide automobile parking lots, all to aid traffic flow. Major retailers such as Desmond's , Silverwoods , May Co., Coulter's , Harris and Frank , Ohrbach's , Mullen & Bluett , Phelps-Terkel , Myer Siegel , and Seibu eventually spread down Wilshire Boulevard from Fairfax to La Brea. Ross ordered that all building facades along Wilshire be engineered so as to be best seen through

540-688: The Valley, such as the Sherman Oaks Galleria , Sherman Oaks Fashion Square , and Northridge Fashion Center . In 1979, the Santa Monica -based Macerich Co. real estate development firm and the Connecticut General Mortgage and Realty Investments Co. bought the mall for $ 5.8 million, enclosed and renovated it. The $ 7 million in improvements included a refresh to the look of the mall, new construction including

576-458: The buildup of methane seeping up through the district's long-depleted oil wells, destroyed a department store. The ban was implemented despite the fact that methane deposits abound in most of Los Angeles. In late 2005, the ban was overturned, owing to tunneling techniques that make it possible to mitigate the methane concern. A westerly extension of the subway was then supported by many civic officials in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica,

612-437: The central business districts of the surrounding towns, and which provided limited parking some distance from the stores. The shopping center opened August 12, 1951, with parking for 4000 cars, and having cost between $ 20,000,000 and $ 40,000,000 (depending on the source) to build. Early anchors included (from north to south): Valley Plaza would later extend along Victory Boulevard to cover 100 acres (40 ha). By 1956 it

648-526: The current status is as follows: Along Victory Boulevard west of Laurel Canyon, the Penney's building at 12215 Victory is used by West Coast University as a campus. The Regal Cinemas closed as of December 2021. The McMahan's Furniture store at 12126 Victory Blvd. is now a DaVita dialysis center. Further south along Laurel Canyon ( Laurel Plaza and the May Co.), after the 1994 Northridge earthquake ,

684-553: The development in the 1960s of financial and business districts in downtown and Century City lessened the Miracle Mile's importance as a retail and business center, the area has regained its vitality thanks to the addition of several museums and commercial high-rises. The black and gold Deco Building in Art Deco style at 5209 Wilshire was built in 1929, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . It

720-539: The first center with four major department stores. Panorama Mall was renovated and enclosed in 1980. The Broadway–Valley shopping center, as it was then known, opened on October 10, 1955, as a single strip of stores along Van Nuys Blvd. north of Roscoe Blvd, with 89,000 square feet (8,300 m) of retail space adjacent to and sharing a parking lot with a 226,000-square-foot (21,000 m) Broadway department store designed by architect Welton Becket . Silverwoods , Mandel's , Kinney Shoes , Lerner's and Woolworth were

756-454: The former May Co./Laurel Plaza site is under construction as NoHo West , a mixed-use development including retail. Valley Plaza served as a filming location for: TV shows Music videos 34°11′14″N 118°23′51″W  /  34.1871795°N 118.3973922°W  / 34.1871795; -118.3973922 Miracle Mile, Los Angeles Miracle Mile is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles , California . It contains

SECTION 20

#1732773056112

792-546: The former Montgomery Ward store across from the mall is slated to become a residential and retail mixed-use development. 34°13′25″N 118°27′02″W  /  34.223516°N 118.4505892°W  / 34.223516; -118.4505892 Valley Plaza Valley Plaza was a shopping center in North Hollywood, Los Angeles , one of the first in the San Fernando Valley , opened in 1951. In

828-457: The mid-1950s it was reported to be the largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States and the third-largest in the country. It was located along Laurel Canyon Boulevard from Oxnard to Vanowen, and west along Victory Boulevard . Like its competitor Panorama City Shopping Center to the north, Valley Plaza started with one core development and grew over time to market, under

864-404: The multiple downtowns that characterize contemporary Los Angeles. Ross's insight was that the form and scale of his Wilshire strip should attract and serve automobile traffic rather than pedestrian shoppers. He applied this design both to the street itself and to the buildings lining it. Ross gave Wilshire various "firsts," including dedicated left-turn lanes and timed traffic lights, the first in

900-699: The north side of Victory Blvd. just west of Sears and just east of the Hollywood Freeway. A Goodyear tire store also opened around this time. It was also around this time that the Hollywood Freeway was extended north to Magnolia Boulevard and the Ventura Freeway was completed nearby, greatly increasing the accessibility of the center. In 1960 the Los Angeles Federal Savings and Loan Tower, now known as

936-450: The north, San Vicente Boulevard to the south, La Brea Avenue to the east, and Orange Grove Avenue to the west. It is located in the city's Wilshire community plan area. The Miracle Mile North HPOZ primarily consists of single-family residences which are uniform in scale, massing and setbacks, the majority of which were built from 1924 to 1941. Its boundaries are Gardner and Detroit streets, between Beverly Boulevard and Third Street. It

972-411: The other stores in the complex. The anchor department stores opened as follows: A 1964 advertisement promoted 86 stores collectively as the "Panorama City Shopping Center" – not just the Broadway and Silverwoods complex. These included three full-line freestanding department stores within one block of The Broadway. By the 1970s, business had declined compared to other regional malls that had opened in

1008-465: The single name "Valley Plaza", a collection of adjacent retail developments with multiple developers, owners, and opening dates. The idea to develop the plaza came from developer Bob Symonds in 1942, who had helped to create the Miracle Mile concentration of shops on Wilshire Boulevard . from started with a 210,000-square-foot (20,000 m ) 2-story Sears store announced in 1948. The center

1044-569: The three cities through which the proposed extension runs. In early 2008, the project—which is destined to terminate in Santa Monica—received $ 5 billion in federal funds. In late 2008, Measure R passed, releasing $ 10 billion in reserve funds to start work on public transit projects in Los Angeles County. Service to three new stations, La Brea Station, Fairfax Station and La Cienega Station, is expected to begin in 2025. The area

1080-529: The west to Citrus Avenue and La Brea Avenue on the east. The area is roughly bordered on the north by 4th Street and on the south by 12th Street. In the early 1920s, Wilshire Boulevard west of Western Avenue was an unpaved farm road, extending through dairy farms and bean fields. Developer A. W. Ross saw potential for the area and developed Wilshire as a commercial district to rival downtown Los Angeles. The "Miracle Mile" nickname first appeared in local newspapers on January 27, 1929. The Miracle Mile development

1116-469: The western side of the tower over the decades. Today it portrays the history of Los Angeles; previous subjects were the 1976 United States Bicentennial , the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, and former football team of the city, the Los Angeles Raiders . Reasons for the decline of Valley Plaza included: From the original development on the west side of Laurel Canyon Boulevard,

Panorama Mall - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-935: Was designed by the architecture firm of Morgan, Walls & Clements , which also designed the Wiltern Theatre , the El Capitan Theatre , and other notable buildings in Los Angeles. Landmark buildings past and present, as well as some of the well-known businesses lining Wilshire during its main period as a retail center of Los Angeles (1930s–1960s). Architects : MWC = Morgan, Walls, & Clements , WB = Welton Becket & Associates Styles : AD = Art Deco, Ch = Churrigueresque , ︎SCR = Spanish Colonial Revival , SM = Streamline Moderne Italics indicate demolished buildings. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The Petersen Automotive Museum , Craft Contemporary , George C. Page Museum , and La Brea Tar Pits pavilions, among others, create "Museum Row" on

1188-491: Was improving, according to the manager of the Broadway, but the Los Angeles Times characterized retail in the area as "awaiting revival". In the late 1990s, Walmart opened in the building vacated by the Broadway after that chain's merger into Federated Department Stores and then Macy's , which was initially what it was supposed to become. The owners renovated the mall again for $ 1 million in 2005. As of 2019,

1224-578: Was initially anchored by the May Company Department Store with its landmark 1939 Streamline Moderne building on the west and the E. Clem Wilson Building on the east, then Los Angeles's tallest commercial building. The Wilson Building had a dirigible mast on top and was home to a number of businesses and professionals relocating from downtown. The success of the new alternative commercial and shopping district negatively affected downtown real estate values, and triggered development of

1260-646: Was on a 50-acre lot including 15 acres of parking. Urbanism analyst Richard Longstreth wrote that Symonds was the first developer in Southern California to recognize the importance of the new, ever-expanding freeway system to shopping centers, as they would attract large numbers of shoppers who would find it convenient to visit by car, avoiding problems with existing shopping areas, almost all of which required navigating streets choked with traffic, either in Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, or

1296-699: Was reported to cover 100 acres with 1,039,000 square feet of retail space, the third-largest in the nation at that time, after Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers, New York and Northland Center in Greater Detroit . It was reported to have close to $ 100 million in annual sales. The Valley Plaza Merchants Associated counted the May Company department store at Oxnard St., as part of "Valley Plaza", but later, in 1968, May would build an enclosed mall, Laurel Plaza , attached to their store, thus forming

#111888