It's a Miracle

The L.A. Times' "Surroundings" column goes back to the origins of Wilshire's Miracle Mile (where our offices happen to be).

I've long been fascinated by this stretch of Wilshire -- what it once was, and the promise of what it could be again. Believe it or not, the murals on the walls of the Marie Callender's (next to the La Brea Tar Pits, on the ground floor of the building that houses SAG) are a great way to picture how L.A.'s onetime shopping mecca once looked.

The L.A. Times article specifically looks at the old Desmonds building; the El Rey Theater; and the Dominguez Wilshire Building.

Meanwhile, we wrote last year about the controversy surrounding a developer's plans to knock down the old Mullen and Bluett Department Store (which now houses a Sav-On and a Office Depot).

We wrote last year: Back in the day, it was a department store and remains one of the last examples of L.A. architect Stiles Clements' California design.

Or is it? An Art Deco architecture expert hired by Legacy Partners (which wants to build an apartment complex there) claims the structure -- once known as the Mullen & Bluett building -- is a fraud.

Well, the building's coming down, regardless of the debate. And a new Office Depot is being built as we speak across from the Variety offices.

Wilshire Boulevard, including the Miracle Mile, will be in the spot light soon as LAObserved's Kevin Roderick releases his new book, "Wilshire Boulevard." (A few more mentions, and maybe I'll convince Kevin to comp me a copy!)