High Hopes for Miracle Mile

Having spent “my best years” in and around the Miracle Mile, Tracey Kaplan’s article (“Miracle Mile Owners Spurn Proposal for Historic Zone,” Westside, Feb. 15) is of special interest to me. Ironically, my sister worked at the now-defunct El Rey Theatre (pictured in the article) for a dollar an hour in the ‘50s, and I myself was a box boy at the (long-gone) Ralphs, on Wilshire and Hauser at the same time.

The Miracle Mile during the Nifty ‘50s was an exciting, marvelous time to grow up. There were three fine theaters, the El Rey, Ritz and Four Star; the many thriving department stores offered part-time jobs for students; Wilshire Boulevard was “spotlessly” clean, and the area was safe, day or night!

During the last several years in the Southland, I’ve seen the demise of every drive-in restaurant, the Brown Derby(s), Music City, and I’ve heard / read the frightening rumor that Farmers Market may close! What next? Is Los Angeles to become a city of high-rise buildings without a touch or trace of history? Equally sad was the earthquake of 1971 that destroyed my alma mater, Los Angeles High School, and today is “just another high school,” and the recent fire at the magnificent main Library.

I truly respect Lyn MacEwen Cohen’s efforts to have a four-block strip of Wilshire Boulevard designated a historic district, and I’m in high hopes that this letter of mine will be published to reach concerned citizens, just as Tracey Kaplan’s article reached me!

EDDIE CRESS

Los Angeles