Crossroads of the World

This unusual little collection of shops has been called "L.A.'s first modern shopping mall." Built in 1936, Crossroads of the World is perhaps most notable for its unique architecture. The centerpiece building of the project resembles a miniature ocean liner, an Art Deco facade complete with portholes, railings, life preservers, and decks,. An outdoor village of small, European-style bungalows surrounds the "ship" (Italian, Mexican, Turkish, New England, French - there's even a lighthouse!), and rising above it all is a central 30'-foot Streamline Moderne tower, topped by an 8-foot, revolving globe of planet Earth.

Crossroads of the World was once a retail shopping center, but today it is a quiet office complex.