The (Berlin) Wall Along Wilshire

What You’re Actually Looking At

The ten gray slabs on the front lawn of 5900 Wilshire Boulevard are the real thing. Each one is an original segment of the Berlin Wall, shipped to Los Angeles in 2009 by the Wende Museum, a Cold War history museum based in Culver City. Lined up end to end, they cover just under 40 feet, making this the longest intact stretch of the former wall outside Germany.

The installation is easy to walk past without registering what it is. From a moving car, it reads as graffiti-covered concrete in front of an office building, which is true of many things in LA. It rewards slowing down. Park, walk up, and approach the first panel on the left, where a historical marker explains what you’re looking at. Read it before you move on.

The Artwork on the West Side

Five of the ten panels carry commissioned artwork. Thierry Noir, a French artist who began painting the Berlin Wall illegally in Berlin in 1984, contributed one segment. His bold, cartoonish figures appear in orange on one panel near the center. His presence here is significant: Noir spent five years painting miles of the actual wall as an act of protest, making him one of the most recognized artists connected to it.

Berlin street artist Bimer painted his section before the slabs left Germany. His signature cartoon bear, rendered in green, appears on the seventh segment. The three remaining painted panels are by LA artists. Kent Twitchell, known for large-scale portraits throughout the city, painted two segments at the original 2009 unveiling: portraits of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, two presidents with direct ties to the wall’s history. In 2014, he returned to add a figure of Nelson Mandela to the ninth panel. Farrah Karapetian and Marie Astrid González each painted one segment at the installation’s debut.

The last four segments are largely untouched, showing original graffiti from Cold War-era Berlin on the side of the wall that faced West Germany.

Behind the Wall

Walk around to the back. The east-facing side, the surface that once looked out over the death strip toward East Berlin, was blank when the installation first went up in 2009. In November 2011, the Wende Museum invited three artists to paint it as part of a project examining surveillance, past and present. German art duo Herakut took the left section. Los Angeles artist Retna painted the middle. British muralist D*Face worked the right side.

This side stays in shadow for much of the day, which adds something to the atmosphere but makes the artwork harder to see. Come in the morning if you want better light on it.

A Few Honest Notes on the Visit

This is a sidewalk and lawn installation on one of LA’s busiest streets. There are no guides, no audio tour, and no signage beyond the historical marker on the first segment. You’ll be doing your own reading and your own research if you want full context on the artists. That’s fine. The installation holds up on its own terms even without it.

Budget 15 to 20 minutes to work both sides properly. There’s street parking on Wilshire; the LACMA parking structures nearby are paid but easy. No gate, no schedule, no cost.

The Wende Museum, the organization behind this installation, is a separate destination about five miles away in Culver City at 10808 Culver Blvd. It holds over 100,000 Cold War artifacts, is also free to visit, and is open Friday through Sunday. If the Wall Along Wilshire prompts curiosity about the broader story, the museum is a logical follow-up.