Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles

1 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, House of the Month, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  12 minutes

The May Company Building, now the Saban Building © Downtowngal/cc-by-sa-4.0

The May Company Building, now the Saban Building © Downtowngal/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a museum in Los Angeles, California constructed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which is devoted to the history, science, and cultural impact of the film industry. It is the first large-scale museum of its kind in the United States. The museum is located in the historic May Company Building on the intersection Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, part of Museum Row on the Miracle Mile. Originally expected to open in 2020, its completion and opening was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum eventually opened to selected celebrity guests on September 25, 2021, and to the general public on September 30. On Thursday, July 14, the museum voluntarily recognized Academy Museum Workers United as the bargaining representative for 160 of its employees.   read more…

Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles

30 August 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  8 minutes

Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica © flickr.com - inazakira/cc-by-sa-2.0

Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica © flickr.com – inazakira/cc-by-sa-2.0

Wilshire Boulevard is a 15.83 miles (25.48 km) boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal east-west arterial roads of Los Angeles, it is also one of the major city streets through the city of Beverly Hills. Wilshire Boulevard runs roughly parallel with Santa Monica Boulevard from Santa Monica to the west boundary of Beverly Hills. From the east boundary it runs a block south of Sixth Street to its terminus. The boulevard was named after Henry Gaylord Wilshire (1861-1927), a landowner, publisher and socialist (only in America: A boulevard that stands for income inequality between the poor (homeless camps) and the super rich like no other in the world is named after a socialist. You can’t help but grin).   read more…

Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles

1 December 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, House of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

© salewskia/cc-by-sa-4.0

© salewskia/cc-by-sa-4.0

Wilshire Grand Center is a 1,100-foot (335.3 m) skyscraper in the Financial District of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is the tallest building in Los Angeles, the tallest building in California, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and outside of New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia, and the 10th tallest building in the United States. Its height surpasses the U.S. Bank Tower by 82ft (25m). The building is part of a mixed-use hotel, retail, observation decks, shopping mall, and office complex, expected to revitalize downtown Los Angeles and the area surrounding the building. The development of the complex is estimated to cost $1.2 billion. The plans include 67,000 square feet (6,225 m²) of retail, 677,000 square feet (62,895 m²) of Class A office space and 900 hotel rooms. InterContinental is the tower’s hotel component, comprising 900 rooms and suites.   read more…

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel

9 May 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, Hotels Reading Time:  6 minutes

© panoramio.com - otterboris/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – otterboris/cc-by-3.0

The Beverly Wilshire Beverly Hills (A Four Seasons Hotel), commonly known as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Located at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard on the east side of South Rodeo Drive, it was completed in 1928. It has been used as a shooting location for films and television series. Guests have included US presidents and celebrities. In 1990, he Beverly Wilshire was the primary setting for the movie Pretty Woman, though most interior scenes were actually shot at the defunct Ambassador Hotel nearby. Decades later, it also became a common filming location for HBO’s Entourage television series, with cast and crew filming there at least three times per season when it was produced from 2004 until 2011.   read more…

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