The Miracle Mile has served as a location in a number of films, most famously in the cult favorite Miracle Mile (1988) – a-boy-meets-girl at the La Brea Tar Pits, learns of an impending nuclear apocalypse on a pay phone outside of Johnie’s Coffee Shop, then spends the rest of the movie searching for her in the Miracle Mile. [There’s a wonderful appreciation of the movie on the Radiator Heaven blog: click HERE.]
The Miracle Mile also had a starring role in Volcano (1997) when the La Brea Tar Pits erupts and spews a river of molten lava down Wilshire Boulevard that consumes the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the May Company building.
Other films featuring the La Brea Tar Pits include Bad Influence (1990) and Last Action Hero (1993).
Steve Martin roller skated through LACMA’s Ahmanson Gallery in L.A. Story (1991) and Robert Altman used the museum’s central courtyard to stage a star-studded charity event in The Player (1992).
Chris Burden’s “Urban Lights” display of vintage streetlamps at the Odgen entrance to LACMA is seen in Valentine’s Day (2010) and No Strings Attached (2011).
But perhaps the most enduring star in the Miracle Mile is Johnie’s Coffee Shop at Wilshire and Fairfax. Its stellar resume includes appearances in Quentin Tarentino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992), The Big Lebowski (1998), and American History X (1998).
Miracle Mile Trailer
Volcano Trailer
[Click on images to view.]
Miracle Mile Residential Association 