June 23rd CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard

Open streets and the opportunity to explore one of the most legendary boulevards in Los Angeles car free by foot, bike, skates or other non-motorized transport marks the June 23
CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.… the most walkable CicLAvia route ever!

SM Spoke, Santa Monica feeder ride information coming soon. As usual we plan to start at the top of the Santa Monica Pier. Specific start time and route will be posted here as they are confirmed.

CicLAvia Route wilshire-6:23:2013Click here to download a printable map    

Wilshire Boulevard was first carved out as a long path through a barley field in 1895. While its beginnings were humble, this path has transformed into one of the most notable boulevards in all of the United States.
From 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on CicLAvia day, participants can stroll through a snapshot of the city’s architectural evolution from Victorian vision to modernist experimentation; massive towers of business to intimate houses of worship; world class museums to working class mercados.

The CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard route will connect One Wilshire in Downtown Los Angeles to Fairfax Avenue along Miracle Mile. These two anchor hubs will feature pedestrian zones with performers, activities sponsored by several fantastic museums, programming by  community partners, food trucks and more. Additional hubs along the route include MacArthur Park, Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire.

CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. This collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together 17 local cultural institutions for a wide-ranging look at the postwar built environment of the city as a whole, from its famous residential architecture to its vast freeway network, revealing the city’s development and ongoing impact in new ways. Major support for CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard has been provided by the Getty Foundation.

As part of Pacific Standard Time Presents, the June 23 CicLAvia will include programs designed to provide participants with a deeper look at the architectural history of Wilshire Boulevard. Radio broadcasts by noted architectural researcher and commentator Edward Lifson will lead up to the June 23 event and will be available for participants to download and listen to as free podcasts.

The radio series will tell stories that run quickly through Wilshire’s beginnings more than a century ago and its pre-WWII boom years, to focus on the modern era, with stories and sounds. A diverse group of Angelenos will share their dreams, challenges, failures and successes. Lifson will examine the forces shaping this boulevard, explore how Wilshire’s getting its mojo back, with a new subway line, the tallest new tower in town, attractive apartments, a radical new campus for LACMA, a huge museum for the movies, and more.

Catherine Gudis, who is an Associate Professor of History at the University of California at Riverside and is the school’s Director of the Graduate Program in Public History, is preparing an architectural guide for participants in the June 23 CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard. The guide, designed by Colleen Corcoran, will allow people to appreciate and understand the context for modernism and the role the Wilshire Boulevard built environment has played as the city’s cultural and demographic makeup has changed.

CicLAvia is open to the public and free of charge. Registration is not required and there is no starting or ending point along the route. From 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., CicLAvia – Iconic Wilshire Boulevard offers six miles of car-free, open streets and participants can join the fun at any point along the route.

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