The Wonderful World of India Mandelkern

BOOK DETAILS

On May 8, 2026 the first segment of the D Line Subway Extension opened for service, adding 3.92 new miles of rail and three new stations to the Metro system.

But before the first cones were set out on the street, the Wilshire Subway was an unrealized idea passed down for generations. The Backbone Route. Metro Rail. The Purple Line. The D Line.

Wilshire Subway: The Making of the D Line Subway Extension is a photographic essay and cultural history of the D Line Subway Extension written and edited by India Mandelkern and photographed by Ken Karagozian.

The book features a foreword by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as additional essays by David L. Ulin, Leo Marmol, and James Rojas, which contextualize the project within broader conversations about the political, social, and geological complexities of Los Angeles.  

• 82 pages

• 50+ black-and-white photographs

• 8 x 10 x .25 inch

• Softcover

• ISBN: 9798218874735

• First edition

• $25 (plus shipping)

Retail partners carrying Wilshire Subway

• LACMA Bookstore (5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

• Skylight Books (1818 N. Vermont Avenue. Los Angeles, CA 90027)

• Stories Books and Cafe (1716 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026)

• Artbook @ Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles (901-909 E. Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013)

• CRAFT Contemporary (5814 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

• Hennessy & Ingalls (300 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90013)

• Chevalier’s Books (133 N. Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004)

• Arcana: Books on the Arts (675 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232)

• Village Well Books & Coffee (9900 Culver Boulevard #1b, Culver City, CA 90232)

• North Figueroa Bookshop (6040 Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90042)

• 1301PE (6150 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

Upcoming book signings

• Los Angeles Times Festival of Books @ USC (with Hat & Beard Press), Sunday, April 19, 2026

• Chevalier’s Bookstore, Tuesday, May 5, 2026 (7-8:30pm)

• Metro D Line Subway Extension Grand Opening Afterparty @ 1301PE, May 8, 2026 (3-6pm)

• Printed Matter LA Art Book Fair, LAABF @ ArtCenter (with Hat & Beard Press), May 7-10, 2026

Recent press

• Check Out ‘Wilshire Subway’ Book and Exhibition, Streetsblog LA, April 14, 2026

• Beneath Wilshire Boulevard, a Monumental Project, and the People Who Built It, ArtNowLA, April 15, 2026

• Book Takes Us Behind the Scenes of Megaproject, Larchmont Chronicle, April 23, 2026

• A Powerful Photo Project Became a Love Letter to the Workers Who Built the D Line, Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2026

• New Book + Exhibition Celebrate the Workers Behind the D Line Subway, Larchmont Buzz, May 1, 2026

• First Phase of D Line Extension to Open Friday, Unlocking Wilshire Boulevard, LAist, May 5, 2026

• LA Metro’s Decades-in-the-Making D Line Opens This Weekend, KCRW, May 6, 2026

• The New LACMA is a Big Deal for Los Angeles: The Wilshire Subway is Even Bigger, Punch List, May 8, 2026

• Review: Ken Karagozian – Wilshire Subway – 1301PE, Musée Magazine, May 12, 2026