"They don't make them like this anymore," Ruben Pardo, security guard for the Wilshire Tower, tells us as he shows off a brass-and-mahogany elevator. They sure don't. The art deco buildings of 1920s, '30s, and '40s Los Angeles were the architectural equivalent of the era's movie musicals - as sexily precise as a line of tap-dancing chorus girls. Wilshire Boulevard's "Miracle Mile" boasted an especially splendid concentration of art deco: Here showplaces like the Dominguez Wilshire and the May Company (now LACMA West) wowed with sleek façades and cloud-kissing towers. Happily, many of these buildings have survived to dazzle you today - as you'll see on the Miracle Mile walking tours offered by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. The tours, which run the third Saturday of every other month, give you a look at only-in-L.A. masterworks that may leave you tap-dancing yourself. - Michael Tennesen
Deco the halls
The next Miracle Mile walking tour is at 10 a.m. Jul 17. $10, reservations required. www.adsla.org or 310/659-3326.
