clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Goodbye Bob's Big Boy, Hello BMW

New, 38 comments

As reported in May, Bob's Big Boy near Wilshire and Highland was going to get the heave-ho by the end of July if it wasn't deemed a historic-cultural monument. Well, that didn't happen, and, as of now, Bob's has served its last grease-laden meal. In Bob's place will be a new BMW dealership, departing its home in Beverly Hills and soon occupying both sides of Wilshire, just west of Highland. The high-end dealership will include a four-story service center on the north of the boulevard, where the Art Deco Ehlers Cadillac showroom used to be. The dealership, featuring rooftop and basement parking, will open in late 2009, reports the Larchmont Chronicle's Jane Gilman.

Without going into the rationale of putting a car dealership on LA's grandest and busiest thoroughfare, there's another issue pecking at locals. Fred Pickel, president of the La Brea-Hancock Homeowners Association, said meetings with the BMW developer to save the Ehlers showroom or incorporate Art Deco design into the new plans were disappointing. Fun fact: the architect of Ehlers also designed the Wiltern and Mayan theatres. (Rendering via Larchmont Chronicle)
· BMW moves to Wilshire in 2009 [Larchmont Chronicle]
· Bye, Bye, Bob's [Curbed LA]