Preview: Lankershim Boulevard’s new energy

How Lankershim Boulevard emerged as one of the most significant streets in the San Fernando Valley.

Lankershim’s vitality butts up against shuttered businesses in North Hollywod.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Twenty years ago, no one would have included Lankershim Boulevard on a list of the most significant streets in the San Fernando Valley.

Today, the corridor is emphatically on the rise, energized by a pair of Red Line subway stops, a rapid-bus route packed with riders and the burgeoning North Hollywood Arts District. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne explores the changes along Lankershim in the fifth story in his series on the boulevards of L.A.

Take a virtual tour with Hawthorne below — and look for his full report Saturday online and in print in the Los Angeles Times.