EXHIBITS
Talking to America: Iranian Communities in Southern California: Persian Square
Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, California
Iranians in Southern California are scattered in different neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. But the strip of Westwood Blvd. between Wilshire and Santa Monica, known as Persian Square or Tehrangeles, remains the main hub of Iranian businesses and a point of interest for many Iranians both visiting and living in the area.
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The two sides of Westwood Blvd are filled with the smiling faces of Iranian dentists and lawyers on large billboards, and storefront signs in Farsi that point to Persian restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, bookstores, gift shops, beauty salons, language and art classes, and other services from photocopying to immigration document preparation. Posters and flyers about Iranian-American public events, bazaars, and concerts are also frequently seen around the Westwood Blvd.
About two miles east of Westwood Blvd., at the entrance of the city of Beverly Hills, sits the Freedom Sculpture, an artistic rendering of the Cyrus cylinder meant to represent "respect for cultural diversity and inclusiveness that originated with Cyrus the Great of Persia."[1] Financed through a crowdfunding campaign as well as a number of large individual donations by Iranian-Americans [2], the sculpture was unveiled on July 4th 2017 and presented as a gift to the city of Los Angeles.