Ivan Estrada welcomes you to Miracle Mile! In 1921, the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard now known as the Miracle Mile was a 20-foot-wide dirt road, flanked by oil wells and barley fields. Today, the strip is a busy thoroughfare, home to museums, the La Brea Tar Pits, and a collection of historic Art Deco structures. The story of the Miracle Mile’s stunning transformation from cow path to commercial artery — told through selected images from the region’s photographic archives — is part of the larger narrative of L.A.’s decentralization, as electric railways and automobiles encouraged sprawl and drained the downtown retail district of its vitality.