The part of Wilshire Boulevard near the L.A. County Museum of Art is known as the "Miracle Mile." How it got that nickname is another Street Story. In the mid- to late-1920s, property owners along Wilshire Boulevard wanted to "brand" the street so it would stand out in the public's mind.

Matt Roth, historian for the Automobile Club of Southern California, says, "First they call it the 'Great White Way of Los Angeles' which refers, of course, to Broadway in New York. Then they call it the Champs Elysee of Los Angeles, referring to the famous shopping street in Paris. Another set of publicity materials refer to it as the Fifth Avenue of the west. The thing is, none of these comparisons actually have anything to do with Wilshire Boulevard, except that those other streets are, in fact, celebrated."

In 1929, the prestigious Bullock's department store moved to Wilshire and an associate of real estate magnate A.W. Ross came up with the name "Miracle Mile."

(Airdate for this story: 12/16/07)