City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950 [Paperback]

Richard W. Longstreth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 1998

Winner of the Lewis Mumford Prize for Best Book Published in American City & Regional Planning History 1995-1997From the 1920s to the 1950s, Los Angeles did for the shopping center what New York and Chicago had done for the skyscraper. In a single generation, the American retail center shifted from the downtown core to the regional shopping center. This rise of the regional shopping center is one of the most significant changes to the American city in the twentieth century, and no other American city has done as much as Los Angeles to spur that change.Ten years in the making, City Center to Regional Mall is a sweeping yet detailed account of the development of the regional shopping center. Richard Longstreth takes an historical perspective, relating retail development to broader architectural, urban, and cultural issues. His story is far from linear; the topics he covers include the emergence of Hollywood as a downtown in miniature, experiments with the shopping center as an amenity of planned residential developments, the branch department store as a landmark of decentralization, the evolution of off-street parking facilities, and the obscure origins of the pedestrian mall as a spine for retail complexes.Longstreth takes seriously the task of looking at retail buildings--one of the most neglected yet common building types--and the economics of real estate in the American city. He shows that Los Angeles in the period covered was a harbinger of American metropolitan trends during the second half of this century. Over 250 illustrations, culled from a wide variety of sources, constitute one of the best collections of old LA photographs published anywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A]n engaging look at the neglected history of retail architecture and its relationship to the automobile." Mary Marien , Christian Science Monitor

About the Author

Richard Longstreth is Professor of American Civilization in the Department of American Studies at George Washington University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st Edition in this form edition (June 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262621258
• ISBN-13: 978-0262621250
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 7.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative Book about Los Angeles, December 10, 1999

By 

Mark Hunter (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950 (Paperback)

If you ever wanted to know about the history of Los Angeles and how it became a large metropolitian area, this is the book for you. Hundreds of pictures from the late 1800's to the 1950's makes this book a very resourceful tool.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched documentation of retailing change in L.A, August 5, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Canberra,Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950 (Hardcover)

The changes in retailing which have taken place in L.A. which are examined in this book have occured throughout the United States and are taking place throughout the world right noe. The population shift to the suburbs and shopping in regional malls.

This has caused the value of retail space to decline in many area of America.