Mid-Wilshire is a neighborhood in the central region of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It is known for the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 19 ...

, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the Miracle Mile shopping district.

Geography

City of Los Angeles boundaries

According to the city's official community plan, the Wilshire Community Plan Area (CPA), also known as the Wilshire District, "is bounded by Melrose Avenue and Rosewood Avenue to the north; 18th Street, Venice Boulevard and Pico Boulevard to the south; Hoover Street to the east; and the Cities of

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

and

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

to the west."Wilshire Community Plan
(retrieved 2018-08-08) The adjacent CPAs are Hollywood to the north;

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

and West Adams– Leimert– Baldwin Hills to the south; Silver Lake–

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

–

Elysian Valley __NOTOC__ Elysian Valley, commonly known as Frogtown, is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California, adjoining the Los Angeles River. It has two parks, both maintained by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA). The Frog ...

and Westlake to the east; and West Los Angeles to the west. The Wilshire area includes the neighborhoods of (roughly from east to west)

Wilshire Center Wilshire Center is a neighborhood in the Wilshire region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The name "Wilshire Center" is a relatively modern moniker that refers to much of the eastern portion of the Wilshire Community Plan area (CPA), ge ...

Koreatown A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...

(part of which extends outside the CPA), Windsor Square,

Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which displ ...

, Larchmont, Mid-Wilshire, Mid-City, Miracle Mile, Beverly–Fairfax, and the Carthay neighborhoods (commonly known as Carthay Circle,

South Carthay South Carthay is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. Located south of Carthay Circle,''The Thomas Guide,'' 2008, page 633 South Carthay was developed in the 1930s by Spyros George Ponty. Geography The neighborhood is bounded by O ...

, and Carthay Square).Historic Resources Survey Report: Wilshire Community Plan Area
SurveyLA, January 23, 2015 Within the Wilshire CPA, the neighborhood of Mid-Wilshire is bounded roughly by Crenshaw Boulevard, Pico Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue, and Wilshire Boulevard. Part of Miracle Mile overlaps with Mid-Wilshire.

Mapping L.A. boundaries

Map of Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, California

According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' Mapping L.A. project, Mid-Wilshire is bounded on the north by West Third Street, on the northeast by

La Brea Avenue La Brea Avenue is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the City of Los Angeles and in Los Angeles County, California. La Brea is known for having diverse ethnic communities, and many shops and restaurants along its route. History ''La Br ...

and

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent 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 ...

, on the east by Crenshaw Boulevard, on the south by Pico Boulevard and on the west by

Fairfax Avenue Fairfax Avenue is a street in the north central area of the city of Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard in Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end. From La Cienega Boulevard (be ...

.
"Central L.A.," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
"Mid-Wilshire," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''''The Thomas Guide,'' 2006, page 633 Mid-Wilshire is flanked by Fairfax, Los Angeles, Fairfax,

, and Windsor Square to the north;

and Arlington Heights to the east; Mid-City to the south; and Mid-City West ( Carthay and Beverly-Fairfax) to the west and northwest.

Neighborhoods

Mid-Wilshire includes the following neighborhoods:

Little Ethiopia

Little Ethiopia is a block-long stretch of

between Olympic Boulevard and Whitworth Drive in

. The area has a high concentration of Ethiopian restaurants, as well as a significant concentration of residents of Ethiopian and Eritrean ancestry.

Miracle Mile

Miracle Mile is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) stretch of

between Fairfax and Highland Avenues. 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 the area's potential and developed Wilshire as a commercial district to rival downtown Los Angeles.

Oxford Square

Oxford Square is an historic neighborhood which, according to the Oxford Square Neighborhood Association, lies between Pico Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard and includes both sides of Victoria Avenue and South Windsor Boulevard. In 1910 the neighborhood was laid out between

on the north and Pico Street on the south, west of the

Los Angeles Country Club The Los Angeles Country Club is a golf and country club on the West Coast of the United States, west coast of the United States, located in Los Angeles, California. History In the fall of 1897, a group of Los Angeles residents organized the Los ...

. It was served by the Pico Street streetcar line. The unimproved lots offered by developer Emil Firth ranged from 50 to 100 feet on the street and were 171 feet deep. The streets were 70 feet wide, with 15-foot

sidewalks A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone ...

and parkways, which were to be planted with palm trees and flowers. Ornamental electroliers were to be placed every 300 feet. Lot prices ranged from $1,000 to $2,500. Earlier, in 1907. the Harriman interests had begun a four-track subway line across Oxford Square, south of Wilshire Boulevard. In 1991 the City Council approved a request by Oxford Square - Windsor Village residents to close 10th Street at Victoria Avenue in an effort to reduce crime in the communities after a recent outbreak of burglaries and robberies, as well as one homicide. In February 2015 the neighborhood association was lobbying to form an

Historic Preservation Overlay Zone The Historic Preservation Overlay Zone of the City of Los Angeles in California has been hailed by historic preservation advocates for its pioneering program, which designates not just buildings but entire neighborhoods or districts as worthy of h ...

(HPOZ). That would have put a temporary moratorium on the issuance of city building and demolition permits. Los Angeles City Council approved the HPOZ, adopting its preservation plan effective March 26, 2017.

Park La Brea

Park La Brea is an apartment complex bounded by 3rd Street on the north, Cochran Avenue on the east, Sixth Street on the south, and

on the west. With 4,255 units located in eighteen 13-story towers and 31 two-story "garden apartment buildings," it is the largest housing development in the United States.R. Daniel Foster
"Park La Brea, 70-year-old design still feels the love (and hate)"
''

'', February 24, 2012. (In February 25, 2012 print edition, p. E5, under headline "Park La Brea: monster or jewel?")

Park Mile

Park Mile is a commercial strip that lies along Wilshire Boulevard between Highland Avenue on the west, Wilton Place on the east, Sixth Street on the north and Eighth Street on the south. Some of the office buildings in the district have been designed to harmonize with the nearby

area, with long, horizontal warm look of brick and other textures rather than a vertical high-tech design. Construction is regulated by the Park Mile Ordinance, adopted by the city in 1979. It was designed to protect the single-family nature of the residential area and to promote development that provided Park Mile with an "image and sense of continuity." There is a three-story height limit along Park Mile, as well as a ban on painted signs on the outside of buildings. In 1990 a Park Mile-Wilshire District neighborhood design review board, composed of five to seven volunteers appointed by City Council members, was one of four such local boards throughout the city that oversaw architectural planning.

Sycamore Square

Sycamore Square is a neighborhood located between Hancock Park to the north, Miracle Mile to the west, and Brookside to the east. It is bordered by Wilshire Boulevard to the north, Olympic Boulevard to the south, La Brea Avenue to the west, and both sides of Citrus Avenue to the east.

Wilshire Vista

Wilshire Vista is a neighborhood of 1700 homes. It contains two Los Angeles Cultural Historic Monuments.

Population

The 2000 U.S. Census counted 41,683 residents in the 2.78-square-mile neighborhood—an average of 14,988 people per square mile, among the highest population densities for the city and the county. In 2008 the city estimated that the population had increased to 47,176. The median age for residents was 34, about the city's average. Mid-Wilshire was said to be "highly diverse" when compared to the city at large. The ethnic breakdown in 2000 was

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

, 33.6%;

blacks Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

, 22.7%;

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

, 19.9%; Asians, 19.8%; and others, 3.9%. Mexico (16.1%) and Korea (24%) were the most common places of birth for the 25.1% of the residents who were born abroad, a figure that was considered average for the city as a whole. The median household income in 2008 dollars was $58,483, average for Los Angeles. The average household size of 2.1 people was low for Los Angeles. Renters occupied 78.3% of the housing units, and home- or apartment owners the rest. Mid-Wilshire residents aged 25 and older holding a four-year degree amounted to 45.2% of the population in 2000, a high rate for both the city and the county. The percentage of residents with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

was also high.

Libraries and parks

Public facilities are provided by City of Los Angeles: the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Los Angeles Public Library. Public schools are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, The schools operating within Mid-Wilshire are:
"Mid-Wilshire Schools," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times'' * Los Angeles High School, Los Angeles Senior High School, LAUSD, 4650 West Olympic Boulevard * Los Angeles Community Adult School, 4650 West Olympic Boulevard * Hancock Park Elementary School, LAUSD, 408 South Fairfax Avenue * Wilshire Crest Elementary School, LAUSD, 5241 West Olympic Boulevard * Queen Anne Place Elementary School, LAUSD, 1212 Queen Anne Place * Queen Anne Recreation Center, Recreation and Parks, 1240 West Blvd

Landmarks and attractions

* The Wilshire Ebell Theater, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #250. *

, the Page Museum,

and the La Brea Tar Pits on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax and Curson avenues. * The Miracle Mile, a commercial strip on Wilshire Boulevard east of Fairfax Avenue designed in the 1920s by developer A. W. Ross to attract and serve automobile traffic rather than pedestrian shoppers. * Petersen Automotive Museum, on the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. One of the world's largest automobile museums, the Petersen is a nonprofit organization specializing in automobile history and related educational programs. *

Olympia Medical Center Olympia Medical Center (OMC) was a hospital in Los Angeles, California. History Founded in 1948 as Midway Hospital Medical Center, the hospital has undergone several owners. In 1993, Summit Health Ltd. sold the hospital to OrNda HealthCorp. It ...

, formerly Midway Hospital Medical Center, between Olympic and San Vicente boulevards. * Harold A. Henry Park, named after the former city councilman, at Ninth Street and Plymouth Boulevard. * Los Angeles High School Memorial Park, with its associated Memorial Library, dedicated to the L.A. High graduates who took part in World War I. It is on Olympic Boulevard between Mulllen and Muirfield avenues, facing Los Angeles High across the street. * Queen Anne Recreation Center, at 12th Street and West Boulevard, with an auditorium, barbecue pits, a baseball diamond, basketball courts, children's play area, picnic tables, and tennis courts. * Town and Country shopping center, on the southeast corner of Third Street and Fairfax Avenue. * William Grant Still Residence, located at 1262 South Victoria Avenue; Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #169.

Notable residents

Christian Audigier Christian Audigier (; 21 May 1958 – 9 July 2015) was a French fashion designer known for the Ed Hardy and Von Dutch clothing lines. Early life Christian Audigier was born on 21 May 1958 in Avignon, France. Career Audigier began working in ...

French fashion designer *

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

- Canadian singer and novelist * William Grant Still - African-American composer, known for Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"

References

External links

* Seal, Kathy.
MID-WILSHIRE : Minorities' Private School Connection
" ''

''. June 11, 1995. * Doherty, Jake.
Lawmaker Opposes Site for School : Education: Density that would result from a Temple-Beaudry facility is 'not good planning,' Assemblyman Richard Polanco says.
''

''. January 16, 1994.

Los Angeles City Park Mile ordinance.

Letters in the ''Larchmont Chronicle'' concerning the Park Mile Specific Plan, May 29, 2014
LA Times: Mid-Wilshire crime map and statistics

Wilshire Community Plan, Los Angeles Department of City Planning, April 2005 {{Portal bar, Los Angeles Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Central Los Angeles Wilshire, Los Angeles Los Angeles County, California regions West Los Angeles Westside (Los Angeles County) Edge cities in Greater Los Angeles