The Gilmore gas station on the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue; photograph dated 1928. The gas station was demolished the following year to make way for the construction of the E. Clem Wilson Building. The brick-clad building facing La Brea Avenue in the left background housed an office and switching station for the Southern California Telephone Company, completed in 1925 to serve the city’s western neighborhoods. It was enlarged from three to five floors in 1942 and given a complementary Art Deco facade by architects John and Donald Parkinson. It continues to operate today under the ownership of AT&T. (“Dick” Whittington Photography Collection, 1924-1987; USC Digital Library)