When scouting locations for our newest store, Jenette Bras WESTSIDE, we thought it might be near to impossible to find an interesting old building in this younger, dingbat, stucco-crazed part of the city. It did take a lot of hunting, but it was worth it! The building we fell in love with sits on the Southwest corner of Sawtelle and Santa Monica Blvd and is over a 100 years old - eons in LA years. Digging a little deeper into the city's fascinating history, I discovered that this corner was part of the town of Sawtelle, CA founded in 1896 by the local manager of the nearby Veterans Home, and didn’t officially join Los Angeles until 1922. The rich soil attracted Japanese farmers and small merchants, and without the racially restrictive covenants of other nearby neighborhoods, they purchased small homes. Today the area is called, ‘Sawtelle Japantown and Jenette Bras sits on the northern border of this great neighborhood. Although neither of these photos show our exact building, they give you a great idea of the block in the 1900s. The top photo from 1906 a few blocks west of us - 'Oregon Ave’ now called Santa Monica Blvd. The bottom photo is the actual intersection of Sawtelle and Santa Monica circa 1900! The photographer is shooting with his back to our building. #jenettebras #jenettebrasWestside #sawtelle #sawtelleJapantown #westLA #losangeles #history #issei #nisei #sansei (at Jenette Bras 11300 Santa Monica Blvd)