I grew up in Los Angeles. My family and my aunt and uncle's family lived on Plymouth near 3rd Street and 6th and Arden as I was growing up. My parents also originally had a home near Beverly and Arden. I went to 3rd Street School, John Burroughs, and L.A. High.

Wilshire memories include Bullocks, my favorite place to shop even after I moved to Palos Verdes. One of my favorite memories was having tea. My mother and I and a friend with her three-year-old son went for tea in the Tea Room. The little boy disappeared and we were naturally upset, and then there he was!

The Tea Room had fashion shows, and he was following the models! I took my own daughter shopping. There were wonderful sales. It was a beautiful store, and I miss it. The address, of course, was Vermont and Wilshire.

I also loved the Ambassador [Hotel], which I truly miss. My mother and grandmother stayed there as hotel guests, and my mother was married there in 1927. My friend's twins were also married there many years later.

I loved the pool and the coffee shop when I was growing up and "double dated" there in the Cocoanut Grove for a very important birthday. I have a picture of that and a 1920s picture of my mother in her wedding dress. It's sad to see the hotel today.

We also miss the Brown Derby. My mother used to take us there as a special treat. My husband and three children joined her for wonderful Thanksgiving dinners.