Crossroads of the World
- Architect
- Robert Vincent Derrah
- Style
- Streamline Moderne
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
Ella Crawford built Crossroads of the World in 1936 on the Sunset Boulevard lot where her husband, Charles H. Crawford, had been shot — turning it into what she called a 'permanent world's fair with a cosmopolitan atmosphere.' She hired Streamline Moderne architect Robert V. Derrah, who designed a ship-shaped central building surrounded by a village of cottages styled after different countries, widely credited as America's first outdoor shopping mall.
the building
The ocean liner building. Derrah shaped the mall's central building like an ocean liner, the same nautical Streamline Moderne vocabulary he was using at the same time on the Coca-Cola Building.
A village of nations. Surrounding the ship-shaped centerpiece, a cluster of cottage-style bungalows was designed to represent different countries, turning the shopping complex into a miniature world's fair.
the style
Derrah worked in Streamline Moderne, the nautical-inflected style he was also applying to the Coca-Cola Building at the same time — hence Crossroads' ship-shaped centerpiece.
More on Streamline Modernethe architect
Robert V. Derrah was finishing his Streamline Moderne redesign of the Coca-Cola Building when he took on Crossroads of the World, giving him two ocean-liner-themed Los Angeles landmarks in close succession.
significance
Crossroads of the World is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 134, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 4, 1974. Once a mall, it became office space for entertainment-industry tenants — music publishers, casting agencies, film writers — before its current owner began planning a new development for the site.
nearby
- Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
- S. H. Kress and Co. Building
- Max Factor Make-Up Salon
- Bank of America Building
- Lee Drug
- Johnny's Steak House Building