Take a trip through the magnificent department stores of old L.A.

On the back of this postcard from Patt Morrison’s collection, Bob wrote: “This old town is decorated up so that you would hardly know it.” It was mailed to a recipient in San Fernando in 1909. Robinson’s “The Robinson Store is one of the show places of Los Angeles,” according to this vintage postcard from Patt Morrison’s collection. Broadway A postcard from Patt Morrison’s collection with a 1908 postmark shows the restaurant at the Broadway Department Store in Los Angeles. Letts helped to set up one of his employees in business with another store, known by that man’s name … Bullock’s The back of this postcard from Patt Morrison’s collection says that Bullock’s Wilshire is “where the elite of Hollywood and Beverly go to shop.” … Bullock’s. The reverse of this 1958-postmarked postcard from Patt Morrison’s collection says, “The May Company’s Lakewood Center store is the world’s largest suburban department store located in the largest parking-shopping center of its kind in America.” Suburban shopping centers decentralized the nucleus of downtown shopping, with name department stores anchoring malls like the pioneering one in Lakewood, opened in 1951 — a from-scratch shopping universe crafted for the from-scratch community of Lakewood.