This week, Charlie Hess, our #eyesonLarchmont photographer, took a stroll up Larchmont, north of Beverly Blvd., where he captured several of the distant building types and uses on upper Larchmont in his photos.
It’s always fascinated me that Larchmont has three distinct vibes as it runs through the neighborhood from Third Street to Melrose. Starting from the south, it’s residential. Then at First Street, it becomes our charming shopping village, our community Main Street, if you will. Then north of Beverly it combines the two, in its own unique way!
Historically, the three blocks between Beverly and Melrose were residential. But they gradually morphed into commercial space over the years as more businesses wanted to be close to the Village. Believe it not, there used be gas stations at the corners!
In 1964, Welton Becket and Associates designed the Larchmont Medical Building, which towers over the neighborhood, forever changing the streetscape. At the time, it might have been considered a coup to have a building designed by the famous firm whose work also included Capitol Records, the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the Pan Pacific Auditorium, and the Cinema Dome.
Today, the tower is the only tall building among the single-story bungalows and small multi-story exposed brick buildings that illustrate the street’s 1920s heritage.
