ABSTRACT
Broadway is a major street in downtown Los Angeles. It appeared on most early maps of the city, and was originally called Calle de la Eternidad (Eternity Street) since the original dirt road from the pueblo connected to a cemetery. In one of the first plans of Los Angeles after the Mexican–American War (1846–48), by Lieutenant Edward Ord in 1849, Broadway was identified as Fort Street. Soon after the street was renamed Broadway in 1890, the first of many large department stores opened as the city began to grow rapidly. Between 1903 and 1930, 19 major theaters and movie palaces joined the retailing businesses as well as several buildings that are now historic landmarks, including the Bradbury Building (designed by George Wyman in 1893), which became a favorite location site for Hollywood movies. Buildings owned by two major newspapers, The Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Examiner, were also part of the Broadway extravaganza.
