The History of Desmond's Wilshire Tower Store
Early Origins
Desmond’s started as a small hat shop opened by Irish immigrant Daniel Desmond in the early 1860s, back when Los Angeles was still a dusty town of fewer than 5,000 people. After learning the trade back East, Desmond set up his shop near Olvera Street and proudly advertised it as “the only hat store in Los Angeles.” He ran the business himself, crafting and selling hats to ranchers, merchants, and civic leaders alike. What began as a one-man operation soon became a local staple. Over time, Desmond’s grew into one of Los Angeles’s most recognizable department stores, mirroring the city’s own rise from humble beginnings to a bustling metropolis.
Expansion
As Los Angeles grew, so did Desmond’s, first evolving into a full men’s clothing store and eventually a complete department store. The business moved several times within downtown Los Angeles before settling at 553 South Spring in 1915, and finally at 616 South Broadway in 1924. That Broadway flagship became Desmond’s downtown anchor for decades. By the late 1920s, the brand was ready to expand even more. One of its most notable locations appeared in 1928 on the newly minted Miracle Mile, inside the Art Deco Wilshire Tower at 5514 Wilshire Boulevard. Desmond’s helped establish the Miracle Mile as Los Angeles’s pioneering shopping district designed for the age of the automobile.
The Wilshire Tower
Set between Fairfax and La Brea, Desmond’s Wilshire Tower marked a true turning point for Los Angeles retail. Designed by renowned architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood—famous for landmarks like the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite and the Grand Canyon Lodge—the eight-story tower rose in bold Art Deco and Zigzag Moderne style. It captured the energy and optimism of a city on the move, built for a new era when shopping by car was part of the modern LA experience. When most stores were still downtown, Desmond’s westward move helped turn Wilshire Boulevard into the city’s next great commercial destination.
Desmond’s took pride of place on the ground-floor corner of Wilshire Tower, sharing the space with fellow retailer Silverwoods. Above them, the building housed a mix of offices—dentists, doctors, and designers—making it one of Los Angeles’s earliest mixed-use buildings. Outside, the tower’s façade stood out with its terra cotta details, bronze-framed windows, and elegant symmetry meant to catch the attention of drivers gliding down Wilshire Boulevard. Inside, Desmond’s beguiled shoppers with elegant wood finishes, gleaming brass accents, and sweeping curved display windows.
Desmond’s embraced the Miracle Mile’s forward-thinking design, complete with large signs, broad lanes, and rear parking for motorists. The Wilshire storefront itself was built with both drivers and pedestrians in mind, featuring curved corners and vertical lines that made it visible from every angle. Its glowing “Desmond’s” neon sign became a landmark, and remains one of the few historic signs still standing along the corridor.
A Landmark Legacy, Reimagined
An early pioneer of LA's adaptive reuse movement, the Wilshire Tower is now reimagined as a luxury apartment building, surrounded by a vibrant stretch of museums and cultural institutions from LACMA to the Academy Museum. The Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument also retains many striking original features: columns with carved “D” emblems, historic plaster, lobby ornamentation, and curved display windows. The iconic lobby and preserved façade continue to reflect the early glamour of Wilshire and the forward-thinking spirit that made Desmond’s such a defining name in LA retail.