The Brentwood Country Mart is a local shopping center in the Brentwood district of

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, California, next to the

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eastern city limit. First opened on November 18, 1948, “it’s a quaint reminder of a bygone era, and Brentwood residents are very protective of it.”

Overview

The Brentwood Country Mart is a shopping center, located at 225 26th Street just south of San Vincente Boulevard. Architect

Rowland Crawford Rowland Henry Crawford (1902–1973) was an American architect and artist. Most of his buildings are located in the Los Angeles metro area. Biography Rowland Crawford was born October 28, 1902, in Deadwood, South Dakota. He attended the Universit ...

designed the barn-like architecture. The Mart has its own free parking lot and offers an outdoor dining area surrounding a large fire pit in the middle. The Mart hosts a variety of stores and dining options. Additionally, The Brentwood Country Mart offers a multitude of free events for families.

History

In the 1920s, land was zoned in Brentwood Place; 26th Street and

San Vicente Boulevard San Vicente Boulevard is a major northwest-southeast thoroughfare located in the western portion of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, CA. The boulevard begins at Venice Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and La Brea Avenue and travels in ...

was reserved for commercial construction. The Herbert M. Baruch Corporation, a construction company that existed from the early 1920s until the mid 1950s, originally developed the country mart. Louis M. Sentei and A.L. Levin were the original owners of the mart. Their mission was to create a “one stop shopping” center in the heart of Brentwood. Architect

, famous for designing the

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

Department Store, and phase two of the

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, designed a commercial building with a country feel to it. Sentei and Levin aimed to create a similarity to the Fairfax District

Farmers' Market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

, a place containing a grouping of fresh food eateries. His design embodied the rural atmosphere of Brentwood at the time. The Country Mart included a post office, shoe repair, and barbershop, which are still present today.

J.S. Rosenfield and Co.

In 2003, the Brentwood Country Mart was acquired by James Rosenfield of J.S. Rosenfield and co.Roger Vincent (January 27, 2003)
Developer Buys Brentwood Country Mart
''

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''. He restored the property architecturally, and reinstated many of the Mart's original offerings, such as a post office, food courtyard, barber shop, toy store, and shoe repair shop, as well as a rotating series of pop-up shops such as Kule and Rowing Blazers. J.S. Rosenfield and co. leased the property from John E. Anderson (the namesake of UCLA Anderson School of Business). J.S. Rosenfield and Co. is also the owner of the Montecito and Marin Country Marts, the Aero Theatre, and multiple other locations.

Celebrity sightings

Since opening its doors, The Brentwood Country Mart has played host to a large number of celebrities. Upon opening, movie stars such as

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

, and Greta and

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

were frequent visitors.

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

Rachel Zoe Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig (born September 1, 1971) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and author who rose to prominence as a celebrity wardrobe stylist. She has been credited with the creation of "the boho-meets-rock chic look that came ...

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...

Sela Ward Sela Ann Ward (born July 11, 1956) is an American actress, author, and producer. Her breakthrough TV role was as Teddy Reed in the NBC drama series ''Sisters'' (1991–1996), for which she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...

, and

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...

are among the celebrities who have also been sighted in 2011 and 2012.

References

External links