Wilshire Blvd at Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills 1972
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This photograph captures one of Beverly Hills’ most recognisable intersections in 1972—where Wilshire Boulevard meets the split of North and South Santa Monica Boulevard. It was (and still is) the symbolic gateway to the city’s luxury shopping district, though the scene looked very different before the redevelopment waves of the late 1980s and 1990s.
On the prominent southwest corner stands L. L. Hutton & Company, Ltd., a refined Beverly Hills jeweler known for estate diamonds, fine Swiss watches, and imported luxury giftware. The distinctive white modernist building with its curved façade and sculpted arch-frame windows was typical of the city’s mid-century architectural style: elegant, restrained, and built to complement rather than overpower the streetscape. For decades, Hutton catered to a clientele of entertainment industry professionals, international buyers, and long-established Beverly Hills families.
In the distance is the Rox-San Medical Building, another well-known local landmark, housing doctors, cosmetic specialists, and private practices. Together, these buildings reflected Beverly Hills’ dual identity: retail glamour and discreet personal services for an affluent community.
The cars lining the intersection—long American sedans, convertibles, and personal luxury coupes—fit perfectly with the era when Beverly Hills boulevards were dominated by Detroit chrome rather than European supercars. Pedestrian traffic looks light and unhurried, and the streetscape feels open compared to today’s more densely built urban fabric.
Both major buildings in this scene have since disappeared. L. L. Hutton’s building was demolished during early 1990s commercial redevelopment, replaced by contemporary luxury retail flagships including Prada and Gucci. The Rox-San building followed later, razed in 2017. Yet despite these changes, the geometry of the intersection—the palms, the angled roadway, and the signature Beverly Hills street layout—remains instantly recognisable.
This image preserves the city at a transitional moment: past the glamour of the 1950s and 1960s, but not yet reshaped by the high-end global luxury branding that would define Beverly Hills in the decades to follow.
