Twenty six years ago and five blocks west of the new location, Tom Jancar and his partner Richard Kuhlenschmidt opened an art gallery in the basement of the Los Altos apartment building. This gallery would come to be recognized as one of the seminal institutions in the development of Los Angeles art culture. During the period of their partnership, Jancar / Kuhlenschmidt Gallery exhibited the work of artists including William Leavitt, Louise Lawler, David Amico , Richard Prince, David Askevold, Chris Williams among others.

Inaugurated in October 2006, the Jancar Gallery opened on the top floor of a 1929 vintage art deco office tower on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.