7th Street (Los Angeles)

7th Street is a street in Los Angeles, California running from S. Norton Ave in Mid-Wilshire through Downtown Los Angeles. It goes all the way to the eastern city limits at Indiana Ave., and the border between Boyle Heights, Los Angeles and East Los Angeles.[1]

Seventh Street looking west from Broadway, 1917. Bullocks building is at the far right. B. H. Dyas sporting goods store is visible right and Ville de Paris, before Dyas bought it, visible left.
J. W. Robinson's flagship store on Seventh Street at launch, 1915. Robinson's locating on 7th marked the beginning of the street as the upmarket downtown shopping district

Originally agricultural land, 7th Street between Broadway (on which corner stood Bullock's) and Figueroa Street, became downtown's upscale shopping district. This began with J. W. Robinson's deciding to build their flagship store in 1915 on Seventh far to the west of the existing Broadway shopping district, between Hope and Grand streets. The Ville de Paris and Coulter's as well as numerous specialty shops came and rounded out the district.

The area lost its exclusivity when the upscale downtown stores opened branches in Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, Westwood and Pasadena in the late 1920s through the 1940s, notably the establishment of Bullock's upscale landmark branch Bullocks Wilshire in Mid-Wilshire in 1929.[2]

Thirteen large office buildings opened between 1920 and 1928. By 1929, every plot on 7th between Figueroa and Los Angeles Streets had been developed.[2]

The area remained an important, if not the most exclusive, center of retail and office space throughout the 1950s, but started a slow decline throughout the 1980s due to suburbanization. It was also the concentration of Downtown financial activity on Bunker Hill, a few blocks north. The flagship department stores like Bullock's (1983), Barker Brothers (1984) and Robinson's (1993) had closed and only the Broadway/Macy's at The Bloc, previously named Broadway Plaza remained. However, in 1986, the Seventh Market Place mall, now FIGat7th, opened, bringing a smaller retail cluster back to Seventh such as the 7th Street/Metro Center station opening in 1991.

With new, large skyscrapers such as the Wilshire Grand Center and the nearby U.S. Bank Tower bridging the gap with Bunker Hill, Seventh Street is now contiguous to the large financial district to the north and is once again a highly desired office district.

Landmarks

In order west to east. Source: Los Angeles Conservancy.[2]

Harbor Freeway to Figueroa
Wilshire Grand, orig. Hotel Statler, demolished
  • Wilshire Grand Center, north side, tallest building in the Western United States. Located on the site of the original Wilshire Grand Hotel, opened in 1952 as the Hotel Statler. In 1954, renamed the Statler Hilton. In 1968, renovated and renamed the Los Angeles Hilton, and later the Los Angeles Hilton and Towers. Renovated again in 1963.
  • FIGat7th, shopping center, originally called Seventh Market Place, housing both a Bullock's and May Co. branch in the 1980s-1990s

Figueroa to Flower
Barker Brothers Building
  • Barker Brothers Building (818 Building) 818 W. Seventh Street, Curlett and Beelman (1926), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #356, Renaissance Revival, home of Barker Bros. furniture and homewares department store. Now offices.
  • Home Savings of America Tower (Figueroa Tower), 831 W. Seventh Street, Albert C. Martin and Associates (1989).
  • Fine Arts Building, 811 W. Seventh Street, Walker and Eisen (1926), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #125
  • 7th Street/Metro Center light rail and subway station at 7th & Flower

Flower to Hope
Roosevelt Building
  • Roosevelt Building (The Roosevelt), 727 W. Seventh Street, Curlett and Beelman (1927), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #355/ National Register of Historic Places: Renaissance Revival building, purported to be the largest office building in Southern California when it opened. Curlett and Beelman designed six buildings on Seventh Street. Converted in 2008 to 222 residential units. Spectacular original restored mosaic marble floors in the lobby.
  • Dunn-Williams Building (Spreckels Building), 714 W. Seventh Street, Samuel Heiman (1922), Los Angeles Historic- Cultural Monument #984
  • The Bloc Los Angeles, originally built in 1973 called the Broadway Plaza, housing The Broadway department store after it moved from Broadway and 4th streets, now a Macy's

Hope to Grand
J. W. Robinson's Building, 600 W. 7th St.
  • J. W. Robinson's Building, 600 W. Seventh Street, Noonan and Richards (1915), Edgar Mayberry with Allison and Allison (1934 remodel), Los Angeles. The first major department store to move to Seventh Street from Broadway. Almost nine acres of floor space on seven floors. Robinson’s was immediately successful and spurred the further development of 7th Street as an upscale shopping district. In 1934, a major remodel gave the store its current Moderne façade, replacing the original Beaux Arts design.
  • Union Oil Building, 617 W. Seventh Street, Curlett and Beelman (1923)
  • Broadway Plaza (later Macy’s Plaza, now The Bloc), 700 W. Seventh Street, Charles Luckman Associates (1973): hotel, offices and shopping center originally with a Broadway department store branch replacing its downtown flagship on Broadway (the street)

Grand to Olive
Brockman Building
  • Brockman Building, 530 W. Seventh Street, Barnett, Haynes and Barnett (1912), National Register of Historic Places
  • Quinby Building, 529 W. Seventh Street, Meyer and Holler (1926)
  • Bronson Building (The Collection), 527 W. Seventh Street, Austin and Pennell (1913). Originally the Brack Shops, independent shops grouped together as a sort of department store.
  • Brock and Company Building (Mas Malo/ Seven Grand), 515 W. Seventh Street, Dodd and Richards (1922), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #358
  • Bank of Italy (Giannini Place), 505 W. Seventh Street, Morgan, Walls and Morgan (1922), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #354
  • Coulter Dry Goods Company (later Myer Siegel, Dohrmann's, now The Mandel), 500 W. Seventh Street, Dodd and Richards (1917)

Olive to Hill
Ville de Paris (department store) under construction 1916
  • Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 W. Seventh Street, Parkinson and Bergstrom (1912), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
  • Ville de Paris (department store), now L.A. Jewelry Mart, 420 W. Seventh Street, Dodd and Richards (1917)
  • Huntsberger-Mennell Building (International Jewelry Mart), 412 W. Seventh Street, Dodd and Richards (1917)
  • Warner Brothers Theatre (a.k.a. Pantages Theatre, now "Jewelry Theater Center") 401 W. Seventh Street, B. Marcus Priteca (1920)
  • Foreman & Clark Building (Jewelry Design Center), 400 W. Seventh Street, Curlett and Beelman (1928), Gothic Revival-style structure
  • Sun Drug Building (later Great Western Savings, now Great Western Jewelry Plaza) 700 S. Hill Street (corner 7th), Curlett and Beelman (1922)

7th & Broadway
Loew’s State Theatre
Bullock's department store, 1917
  • Loew's State Theatre, 300 W. Seventh Street (SW corner of Broadway), Weeks and Day (1921), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #522/ National Register of Historic Places (Broadway Historic Theatre and Commercial District)
  • Bullock’s Building (St. Vincent Jewelry Center), 319 W. Seventh Street (NW corner of Broadway), Parkinson and Bergstrom (1906), National Register of Historic Places, Broadway Historic Theatre and Commercial District
  • St. Vincent's Court, small alley running through the center of the former Bullock's complex, built in the 1860s as the main entrance to St. Vincent’s College (now Loyola Marymount University) which then occupied the site. In 1956, a city boosters remodeled it as a faux European village square.
  • Western Terminus of Route 66, Seventh Street at Broadway

Broadway to Spring
A.G. Bartlett Building
  • Haas Building, 219 W. Seventh Street, Morgan, Walls and Morgan (1915), offices, 12 stories, Beaux Arts with terra cotta ornamentation, metal skin added in the 1970s. Now apartments.
  • A.G. Bartlett Building a.k.a. Union Oil Building, The Bartlett, 215 W. Seventh Street, Parkinson and Bergstrom (1911), National Register of Historic Places (Spring Street Financial District), Beaux Arts, offices.
  • I. N. Van Nuys Building (Van Nuys Apartments, 210 W. Seventh Street, Morgan, Walls and Morgan (1911), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #898/ National Register of Historic Places (Spring Street Financial District), since 1982 apartments, Beaux Arts.

Spring to Main
  • Hellman Commercial Trust and Savings Bank, 650 S. Spring Street (corner of 7th), Schultze and Weaver (1925) National Register of Historic Places (Spring Street Financial District), Spanish Revival style. Since 2009, apartments. Former banking lobby serves as event space and filming location.
  • Financial Center Building, 140 W. Seventh Street, Norton and Wallis, (1924), National Register of Historic Places (Spring Street Financial District)

7th & Main
Los Angeles Board of Trade Building
  • Los Angeles Board of Trade Building / California Stock Exchange (SW corner 7th/Main), 111 W. Seventh Street, Curlett and Beelman (1926), since 2009, apartments. Winged creatures adorn the building.
  • Santee Court, 714, 716, 720, and 724 S. Los Angeles Street, Arthur W. Angel (1911), Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #710. Block of industrial buildings converted (203) to mixed-use (residential, commercial, retail, and arts), facing a courtyard.
  • Heywood Bros. & Wakefield / Dearden's Home Furnishings buildings: 700-710 S. Main Street, 1899, Architect unknown (ca. 1899); John Parkinson remodel (ca. 1902); 712-718 S. Main Street, R. B. Young (1901): Now closed, the last incarnation of Dearden's was especially patronized by Latino Angelenos familiar with its Spanish-language advertising, and comprised three buildings, all of which previously housed furniture stores: Heywood Bros. & Wakefield Company (circa 1899) on the corner, which become Overell’s in 1906; Hulse, Bradford & Company (1901) just to the south; and a third industrial structure to the rear.

Deaprtment stores on 7th Street and on Broadway

This is a table of the openings of department stores along the 7th Street and Broadway corridors:

Opened Closed Store Floor area (gross) Location Architects Current use
1893 1898 moved to 317 B’way A. Fusenot Co. “Ville de Paris”[3] Potomac Block: 221-3 Broadway added to Coulter's late 1907, demolished 1958, now site of parking lot
1895 1915 moved to 7th St. Boston Dry Goods, later J.W. Robinsons 239 S. Broadway (2nd/3rd) Parking lot
1896 1973 The Broadway Dept. Store[4] 1924, 577,000 sq ft (53,600 m2)[5] SW corner 4th & Broadway, later through to Hill Junipero Serra State Office Building
1898 1905/1917 moved Coulter's (1898–1905),Ville de Paris (1905-1917) 96,000 sq ft (8,900 m2)[6] 317–325 S. Broadway through to 314–322 Hill Street[6]
Homer Laughlin Building		 Grand Central Market
1899[7] 1935-6 moved to 605 B'way[8][9] Jacoby Bros. 331-333-335 S. Broadway Was "Boston Store" in late 1930s.[10] Currently independent retail.
1899 Myer Siegel 251 S. Broadway (later 455 S. Broadway then 617 S. Broadway)
1904 Silverwoods 1920: 115,420 sq ft (10,723 m2)[11] 556 S. Broadway (NE corner of 6th) Broadway Jewelry Mart
1905 1917 moved to 7th St. Coulter's 157,000 sq ft (14,600 m2)[12] Potomac Block: 225-7-9 S. Broadway through to 224-6-8 S. Hill St. Late 1907 added 219-221-223 S. Broadway to store. demolished, site of parking lot
1905 1917 moved to 7th St. J. J. Haggarty Co. “New York Store’ 337-9 S. Broadway Independent retail. Only 2 stories remain.
1905 Fifth Street Store (Steele, Faris, & Walker Co.) 1917: 278,640 sq ft (25,887 m2)[13] SW corner 5th & Broadway Replaced existing store with new building in 1917[13]
1906 Hamburger's, later May Company 1906: 482,475 sq ft (44,823.4 m2)[14][15]
1930, >1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2)[16]		 SW corner 8th & Broadway
by 1930, entire block 8th/9th/Broadway/Hill
1907 1983 Bullock's 1907: 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2)
1934: 806,000 square feet (74,900 m2)[17]		 NW corner 7th & Broadway
by 1934, most of the block 6th/7th/Broadway/Hill		 St. Vincents Jewelry Mart
1909 J. M. Hale (Hale’s) 341-343-345 S. Broadway[18] retail, top floors were removed
1910 1960s Mullen & Bluett 610 S. Broadway
(Walter P. Story Bldg.)[19]		 Morgan, Walls & Clements Mixed-use
1915 1993 J. W. Robinson's 1915: 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2)[20]
1923: 623,700 sq ft (57,940 m2)[21]		 7th, Hope & Grand Noonan & Richards (1915), Edgar Mayberry/Allison & Allison (1934 remodel) Mixed-use
1917 1933 Ville de Paris, from 1919 B. H. Dyas 420 W. 7th (SE corner Olive) Dodd and Richards L.A. Jewelry Mart
1917 1938 moved to Miracle Mile Coulter's 500 W. 7th (SW corner Olive) Dodd and Richards Mixed-use
1917 Haggarty's 7th & Grand[22][23][24][25]
Brockman Building
1917 became "The Famous" Blackstone's 118,800 sq ft (11,040 m2)[26] 901 S. Broadway (SE corner 9th) John Parkinson Residential and ground floor retail
1924 1972[27] Desmond's 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2)[28] 616 S. Broadway A. C. Martin[29] Renovated 2019 as office space, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.[28]
1926 1984[30] Barker Bros. 23 acres (1,000,000 sq ft; 93,000 m2)[31] 818 W. 7th (Flower to Figueroa) Curlett and Beelman Offices
1930 1957[32] Eastern Columbia 1930: 275,650 square feet (25,609 m2)[33] (expanded through to Hill St. in 1950)[34] 849 S. Broadway through to Hill Claud Beelman luxury condos
1936[9] 1938[35] Jacoby Bros. 605 S. Broadway[9] became a branch of Zukor's (1940),[36] now mixed-use
1947 1980[37] Harris & Frank 2nd downtown location 644 S. Broadway
(Joseph E. Carr Bldg.)		 Robert Brown Young[38]
1973 open* The Broadway 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2)[39] Broadway Plaza 750 W. 7th (Hope to Flower) Charles Luckman Macy's
1986 1996 Bullock's Seventh Market Place now FIGat7th Jon Jerde[40] Gold's Gym (level M1), Target (M2), Zara (M3)
1986 2009a May Company Nordstrom Rack (level M1), Target (M2), H&M (M3)

aas Macy's

Flower Street shopping district

For a time in the 1920s, Flower Street one block north and south of 7th, was an upscale shopping district. It began with the establishment of Chappell's at 645 S. Flower, which moved there from 7th Street in 1921 into a two-story, Spanish-style building, which exuded intimacy and tranquility compared to busy 7th Street or Broadway. It was innovative in offering parking in the rear.[41]

Barker Brothers opened their huge furniture emporium at 7th and Flower in 1926, two blocks west of J. W. Robinson's, which was already considered far west of the main Broadway shopping district. Myer Siegel followed a half block south, on Flower, that same year, as did Parmelee-Dohrmann, a large purveyor of china, crystal and silver. Other stores were Ashley & Evers, Ranschoff's, and Wetherby-Kayser shoes.

By 1931 Flower's heyday had petered out due to the depression, the opening of Bullock's Wilshire (1929)[42] and I. Magnin (1939)[43] much further west on Wilshire Blvd., as Myer Siegel's 1934 move to 7th Street.

References
  1. Google Maps
  2. Strolling along Seventh Street (PDF). Los Angeles Conservancy. 2010.
  3. "Ville de Paris 1901". Calisphere, University of California Library. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 Sep 2018.
  4. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18950804.2.28&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1
  5. "Framework is now finished: Construction Started Late Last Fall: Additional Will Be Completed During July: Department Store Growth Is Consistent". Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1924. p. 91. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  6. "Advertisement for Ville de Paris". Los Angeles Herald. August 15, 1907. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. "Los Angeles Herald 22 August 1899 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
  8. "Advertisement for Jacoby Bros./May Co". Los Angeles Times. May 19, 1935.
  9. "Pioneers' Modern Home: Jacoby Bros.Will Open New Store Soon". Los Angeles Times. January 31, 1936. p. 11.
  10. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56348763/boston-store-los-angeles-1939-331-s/
  11. "Magnificent Pile That Now Graces Broadway Corner". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1920. p. 9.
  12. "Great Store for Coulter". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1904. p. 13.
  13. "Broadway Buildings: To Cost Million". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 1917. p. part V p. 13. Eight stories…plus basement and sub-basement…172 feet on Broadway by 162 feet on Fifth
  14. "Great Store's First Drill: Hamburger Army Through Paces for Opening; Get Familiar With "Lay" of New Establishment; Many Delights for Shoppers Are in Prospect". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1908. p. V13. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
  15. "Hamburger's Big Store Celebrates: Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Sale To Mark Event; Started in Small Room on Main Street, Now Occupies Building with Thirteen Acres of Floor Space---History of the Great Emporium's Growth and Success". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 1916. p. III_A15. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  16. "Advertisement for May Company". Los Angeles Times. March 25, 1930. p. 10.
  17. "Bullock's Department Store #1, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA (1906-1907)", PCAD
  18. "Moving to Broadway: J. M. Hale Co. Go to Petticoat Lane". Los Angeles Evening Express. January 23, 1909. p. 4.
  19. "Walter P. Story Building". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  20. "Steam Shovels Scooping Out Dirt At Site Of Big Store", Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1914
  21. "Department Store Addition Now Rising Into Space", Los Angeles Times, 11 January 1923
  22. "J.J. Haggarty Growth Laid to Enterprise". Los Angeles Times. 10 November 1940. p. 67 (Part IV Society, p.9).
  23. Auerbach, Alexander (27 May 1970). "J.J. Haggarty Dress Chain Forced Out of Business by Debt". Los Angeles Times. p. 56 (part III Business & Finance, p.1). Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  24. "New York Store's Life Dream Comes True: J. J. Haggarty Ready to Open New Emporium at Seventh and Grand Tomorrow". Los Angeles Evening Express. September 19, 1917.
  25. "The "New York" to Start Building". Los Angeles Times. November 19, 1916. p. 27.
  26. "Material Progress: Millions Going into Broadway Buildings: New Blackstones". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 1917. 90 feet of frontage on Broadway and 165 feet on 9th Street…with 6 stories plus two basement levels
  27. "Ad for Desmond's Downtown LA Removal Sale". Los Angeles Times. February 10, 1972. p. 7.
  28. Vincent, Roger. "Historic home of clothier Desmond's is ready for its comeback on Broadway". latimes.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2019.
  29. Gray, Olive (September 16, 1924). "New Desmond Store Opened". Los Angeles Times.
  30. "Ad for Barker Bros". Los Angeles Times. September 24, 1984. p. 6.
  31. Whitaker, Alma (July 13, 1931). "Furniture Has Its Romance: Fascinating Tale Found in Barker Brothers: Enormous Business Started by Outraged Man: Fourth Generation Working at Present Time". Los Angeles Times. p. 23. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  32. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31500749/easterncolumbia_closes_down_1957/
  33. "Concern Occupies New Home Tomorrow". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 1930. p. 8.
  34. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31499801/easterncolumbia_expansion_1950/
  35. "Advertisement for liquidation of Jacoby Bros". Los Angeles Times. September 30, 1938. p. 45.
  36. "Downtown Broadway Store Leased in $1,000,000 Deal: Business Prepares to Expend $150,000 in Converting Property to Its Uses". Los Angeles Times. February 11, 1940. p. 63.
  37. "Harris & Frank advertisement". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1980. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  38. "Los Angeles Union Station Run-through Tracks Project", p. RA6-PP8
  39. "Broadway Plaza", Pacific Coast Architecture Database
  40. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-04-06-re-24817-story.html
  41. Longstreth, Richard (1997). City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920–1950. MIT Press. p. 41–43. ISBN 0262122006.
  42. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  43. "Wilshire Galleria", Los Angeles Conservancy
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.