Farmers Market (Los Angeles)
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Farmers Market during the holiday season | |
| Location | 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles |
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| Coordinates | 34°4′21″N 118°21′37″W / 34.07250°N 118.36028°WCoordinates: 34°4′21″N 118°21′37″W / 34.07250°N 118.36028°W |
| Opening date | 1934 |
| No. of stores and services | Over 100 |
| Website | farmersmarketla.com |
| Designated | July 24, 1991 |
| Reference no. | 543 |
The Farmers Market is an area of food stalls, sit-down eateries, prepared food vendors, and produce markets in Los Angeles, California. First opened in July 1934, it is also a historic Los Angeles landmark and tourist attraction.
The Farmers Market features more than 100 restaurants, grocers, and tourist shops, and is located just south of CBS Television City. Unlike most farmers' markets, which are held only at intervals, the Farmers' Market of Los Angeles is a permanent installation and is open seven days a week. The dozens of vendors serve many kinds of food, both American cuisine from local farmers and restaurants and Los Angeles' variety of local ethnic foods from the many immigrant communities of Los Angeles, with many Latin American and Asian cuisines well represented.
It is located at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. It is adjacent to The Grove outdoor shopping mall; an electric-powered streetcar runs between the two sites.
The market is a destination for foodies in search of the market's ethnic cuisines, its specialty food markets, and its prepared-food stalls. A sign that reads "Meet Me at Third and Fairfax" displays at the front of the Farmers Market.
History
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The market started when a dozen nearby farmers began to park their trucks on a field to sell fresh produce to local residents. The cost to rent the space was fifty cents per day.
In 1870, Arthur Fremont (A. F.) Gilmore and his partner, who relocated to Los Angeles from Illinois, bought two sizable farms, one of which was the 256-acre (1.04 km2) dairy farm at this corner. Gilmore gained control when the partnership dissolved later.
Gilmore Oil Company replaced the dairy farm when oil was discovered under the land while drilling for water in 1905; this became the Salt Lake Oil Field. Earl Bell (E. B.) Gilmore, son of A. F. Gilmore, took over the family business. The younger Gilmore started midget car racing and brought professional football to Los Angeles. He built Gilmore Field for the Hollywood Stars baseball team, which was owned by Bing Crosby, Barbara Stanwyck, and Cecil B. DeMille.[1]
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Gilmore Oil Co. gasoline station
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Gilmore Oil Company history
When CBS Television City opened next door in 1952, the Farmers Market provided those working or visiting that television studio a convenient place to shop or eat.
In the 1970s The Country Kitchen, a restaurant owned and operated by Jack and Eileen Smith (located next to the still-operating Du-par's), was popular with stars and their fans alike. Mickey Rooney could sometimes be found working behind the counter. Other customers included Elvis Presley, Regis Philbin, Rip Taylor, Mae West, Johnny Carson and even The Shah of Iran on his visit.
In the early 1990s a major renovation, expansion, and master plan was devised for the Market by Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Inc.. The project was initiated to provide new retail, office, and services spaces and reconfigure circulation and parking for the historic site.
In Popular Culture
The 1971 Beach Boys song H.E.L.P. Is on the Way indirectly refers to the Farmers Market in its lyrics:
"We ate tonight at Fairfax and 3rd
(Fairfax and 3rd)
We're gonna spread the news and give you the word."
Ironically, the song served to promote songwriter Brian Wilson's own health food store, Radiant Radish, some 14 miles away.[2]
See also
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farmers Market (Los Angeles). |
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