In the early 20th century, there was no better example of a classic American downtown than Los Angeles. Since World War II, Los Angeles's Historic Core has been "passively preserved," with most of its historic buildings left intact. Recent renovations of the area for residential use and the construction of Disney Hall and the Staples Center are shining a new spotlight on its many pre-1930s Beaux Arts, Art Deco, and Spanish Baroque buildings.

This volume presents a pictorial history of Los Angeles hotels downtown, in Hollywood, and along the Wilshire Boulevard corridor from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. By the early 1900s, many hotels, including luxury ones, had been established in downtown Los Angeles to cater to business travelers and tourists. In the late 19th century, after the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad, hotels were built to encourage tourism and sell real estate in the agricultural Hollywood area. And with the growth of the motion picture studios in the early decades of the 20th century, grander...

During the first half of the twentieth century, Los Angeles grew into a sprawling metropolis. As suburbs developed, demonstration homes and housing exhibitions brought innovative architectural and interior design styles. Displays like the California Home and Garden Exhibition showcased the latest in timesaving appliances, modern furniture and cutting-edge building techniques meant to represent the future and ideals of Southern California living. Model and tract home exhibitions like those at Leimert Park inspired a new generation of homebuyers. Designed to house the masses, multi-family...