# Crossroads of the World

Los Angeles, CA · mall · tier: draft · Retrofit Atlas record `n-df0d7506ee` · release 2026-10-21

Canonical: https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ca/los-angeles-crossroads-of-the-world/  
JSON: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/n-df0d7506ee.json · Provenance: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/n-df0d7506ee.provenance.json · API: https://retrofitatlas.org/api/v1/sites/n-df0d7506ee

## Facts

| Field | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Status | approved | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Strategy | redevelop, reinhabit | none |
| New use | hotel, housing, mixed, office, retail | none |
| What is there now | Three high-rise buildings are planned to bring 950 apartments and condos, a 308-room hotel, and 190,000 square feet (18,000 m2) of commercial space. | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Opened | 1936 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Retrofit year | 2019 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Original developer | Ella | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Entitlement year | 2019 | none |
| Planning notes | Approved by Los Angeles City Council. | none |

## Quoted support

- **architect_original**: “designed by Robert V. Derrah” — extraction-deep:nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3b

## Timeline

- 1936: Opened as an open-air mall
- 1936: Opened
- 1950: Converted into an office complex
- 1977: Purchased and restored by Mort La Kretz
- 2019: Project to revamp approved by City Council
- 2019: Retrofit: redevelop, reinhabit

## Deals and debt

- 1977 sale:  Mort La Kretz   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_of_the_World

## Background (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened)

Crossroads of the World is an open-air mall on Sunset Boulevard and Las Palmas in Los Angeles. The mall features a central building designed to resemble an ocean liner surrounded by a small village of cottage-style bungalows. It was designed by Robert V. Derrah, built in 1936, and has been called America's first outdoor shopping mall.
Once a busy shopping center, the Crossroads later became private offices, primarily for the entertainment industry with a variety of music publishers and producers, television and film script writers, film and recording companies, novelists, costume designers, publicists, and casting agencies.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_of_the_World

## Sources

- Crossroads of the World — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_of_the_World

## Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Crossroads of the World, Los Angeles, CA." Record n-df0d7506ee, release 2026-10-21, tier draft. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ca/los-angeles-crossroads-of-the-world/ (accessed 2026-10-21).

```bibtex
@misc{retrofitatlas_losangelescrossroadsoftheworld,
  title = {Crossroads of the World, Los Angeles, CA},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ca/los-angeles-crossroads-of-the-world/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-df0d7506ee, release 2026-10-21, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-21}
}
```

Licence: research use only; terms undecided with the authors (https://retrofitatlas.org/licence/). Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0. Tiers: curated = from the authors' public map, not reviewed by them; draft = imported or model-extracted, unreviewed.