Bullocks Wilshire
Encyclopedia
Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard
in Los Angeles, California
, is a 230,000-square foot (21 400 m²) Art Deco
building.
; the interior design
was by Eleanor Lemaire and Jock Peters of the Feil & Paradise Company; the ceiling mural
of the porte cochere was painted by Herman Sachs
.
for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's
in Downtown Los Angeles
). The exterior is notable for its 241-foot (73 m) tower whose top is sheathed in copper, tarnished green. At one time, the tower peak had a light that could be seen for miles around. Bullocks Wilshire's innovation was that it was one of the first department stores in Los Angeles to cater to the burgeoning automobile culture. It was located in a then-mostly residential district, its objective to attract shoppers who wanted a closer place to shop than Downtown Los Angeles. Traditional display windows faced the sidewalk, but they were decorated to catch the eyes of motorists. Since most customers would arrive by vehicle, the most appealing entrance was placed in the rear. Under the city's first department store porte cochere, valets in livery
welcomed patrons and parked their cars.
with travertine
floors and elevators finished in nickel
, brass
, and gunmetal
. Ahead on the first floor was the vaulted
Perfume Hall, awash in natural light muted by walls of St. Genevieve marble
. Other floors displayed clothes and accessories in low glass cases on rosewood
stands or on live mannequins, to prevent hanging racks from cluttering sight lines. Upstairs showrooms and salons functioned almost as discrete boutiques. The Louis XVI Room sold designer dresses, the Directoire formal wear and later furs. Later still came the couture
Chanel Room and the Irene Salon, enclave of future Hollywood costume designer Irene Lentz
, reputed to be the first boutique devoted to a single designer inside a major U.S. department store. Lentz designed custom wardrobe for celebrities, leading to a career in design
at major film studios, including MGM
. Other departments included toys, a mezzanine
Doggery for canine
accessories, and the city's first leisurewear merchandise on the Playdeck. The women's shoe salon was paneled with the wood from a single Central American tree. Cork in exotic shades lined the walls in the furs atelier. The Saddle Shop featured vermillion
floor tiles, wall cases of deep red oak, and a life-size plaster likeness of a horse, Bullock's Barney.
For refreshment, there was the top-floor desert-themed tearoom and the adjoining lounge where society women gathered for luncheon fashion show
s. Truly elite service was reserved for the selected men invited to shop in the privacy of J.G. Bullock's wood-paneled private suite on the fifth floor. Titans of business and politics relaxed over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as sales associates modeled potential gifts.
, John Wayne
, Marlene Dietrich
, Alfred Hitchcock
, Greta Garbo
, ZaSu Pitts
, Walt Disney
and Clark Gable
. While struggling to become an actress, a teen-aged Angela Lansbury
worked as a sales clerk. Future First Lady
Patricia Nixon
also served a stint on the floor. From his studio, next to the Chanel
department, Neil Gittings
photographed many celebrities who frequented Bullocks Wilshire.
, Woodland Hills
, Newport Beach
, La Jolla
, Palos Verdes
, and Palm Desert
(formerly Bonwit Teller
). Over the years, a shift by other luxury stores and boutiques to the west side of the city/county resulted in the primary Bullocks Wilshire trading area's fall, yet the main store held on as a destination until 1988, when it began its own precipitous decline, hastened under operation by its final owners, Macy's
, who had acquired the chain from the Campeau Corporation
. The Wilshire Boulevard store suffered severe damage during the Los Angeles riots of 1992; looters broke in and shattered every display case on the first floor. The upper floors were not damaged because fleeing staffers shut off the elevators; the original decision to build the store without escalators may have actually saved the landmark from ruin. At least three fires were set by arsonists, but they did not spread. Bullocks Wilshire finally closed in 1993 with legal battles ensuing as Macy's stripped the store of its historic artifacts, furnishings and fixtures for other locations (bowing to pressure, almost all the 1929 fixtures were returned). Its locations had been converted around 1990 to I. Magnin
, a San Francisco-based luxury chain which in turn was shuttered by Federated Department Stores
in January 1995 upon its acquisition of Macy's.
). A historic-cultural monument of the City of Los Angeles
, on May 25, 1978 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
as No.78000685.
The Southwestern Law School Office of Administrative Services is responsible for all arrangements pertaining to commercial photography and filming on Southwestern's campus, and works with Unreel Locations. Scenes filmed at the building include:
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, is a 230,000-square foot (21 400 m²) Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building.
Design
The building was designed by Los Angeles architects John and Donald ParkinsonThe Parkinsons
John B. and Donald D. Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural team operating in Los Angeles in the early 20th century.-Early years:...
; the interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
was by Eleanor Lemaire and Jock Peters of the Feil & Paradise Company; the ceiling mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
of the porte cochere was painted by Herman Sachs
Herman Sachs
Herman Sachs was an artist and art educator, active in Germany and the United States during the first half of the 20th century.- Biography :...
.
Exterior
The building was completed in 1929 as a luxury department storeDepartment store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's
Bullock's
Bullock's was a department store based in Los Angeles, California. The company operated full-line department stores all across California, with some stores in Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated the more upscale Bullocks Wilshire in parts of Southern California.- History :Bullock's was...
in Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
). The exterior is notable for its 241-foot (73 m) tower whose top is sheathed in copper, tarnished green. At one time, the tower peak had a light that could be seen for miles around. Bullocks Wilshire's innovation was that it was one of the first department stores in Los Angeles to cater to the burgeoning automobile culture. It was located in a then-mostly residential district, its objective to attract shoppers who wanted a closer place to shop than Downtown Los Angeles. Traditional display windows faced the sidewalk, but they were decorated to catch the eyes of motorists. Since most customers would arrive by vehicle, the most appealing entrance was placed in the rear. Under the city's first department store porte cochere, valets in livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
welcomed patrons and parked their cars.
Interior
Shoppers entered a foyerFoyer
A foyer or lobby is a large, vast room or complex of rooms adjacent to the auditorium...
with travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
floors and elevators finished in nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, and gunmetal
Gunmetal
Gunmetal, also known as yellow brass in the United States, is a type of bronze – an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc. Originally used chiefly for making guns, gunmetal was eventually superseded by steel...
. Ahead on the first floor was the vaulted
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
Perfume Hall, awash in natural light muted by walls of St. Genevieve marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. Other floors displayed clothes and accessories in low glass cases on rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
stands or on live mannequins, to prevent hanging racks from cluttering sight lines. Upstairs showrooms and salons functioned almost as discrete boutiques. The Louis XVI Room sold designer dresses, the Directoire formal wear and later furs. Later still came the couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
Chanel Room and the Irene Salon, enclave of future Hollywood costume designer Irene Lentz
Irene Lentz
Irene Lentz , also known as Irene, was an American costume designer. Her work as a clothing designer in Los Angeles led to her career as a costume designer for films in the 1930s...
, reputed to be the first boutique devoted to a single designer inside a major U.S. department store. Lentz designed custom wardrobe for celebrities, leading to a career in design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
at major film studios, including MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. Other departments included toys, a mezzanine
Mezzanine
Mezzanine may refer to:* Mezzanine , an intermediate floor between main floors of a building* Mezzanine, in technology, can refer to a thin sheet of plastic insulating different parts of circuitry from each other in cramped environments, such as laptop interiors* Mezzanine board, or daughterboard,...
Doggery for canine
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
accessories, and the city's first leisurewear merchandise on the Playdeck. The women's shoe salon was paneled with the wood from a single Central American tree. Cork in exotic shades lined the walls in the furs atelier. The Saddle Shop featured vermillion
Vermillion
Vermillion is an alternative spelling for Vermilion, a red pigment and color. It may also refer to:-Locations:*Vermillion, Kansas*Vermillion, Minnesota*Vermillion, South Dakota*Vermillion County, Indiana*Vermillion River...
floor tiles, wall cases of deep red oak, and a life-size plaster likeness of a horse, Bullock's Barney.
For refreshment, there was the top-floor desert-themed tearoom and the adjoining lounge where society women gathered for luncheon fashion show
Fashion show
A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
s. Truly elite service was reserved for the selected men invited to shop in the privacy of J.G. Bullock's wood-paneled private suite on the fifth floor. Titans of business and politics relaxed over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as sales associates modeled potential gifts.
Clientele and notable employees
The department store served the upper crust of Los Angeles society. In its heyday, Bullocks Wilshire patrons included Mae WestMae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
, Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
. While struggling to become an actress, a teen-aged Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
worked as a sales clerk. Future First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Patricia Nixon
Pat Nixon
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. She was commonly known as Patricia or Pat Nixon.Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California...
also served a stint on the floor. From his studio, next to the Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
department, Neil Gittings
Gittings Studios
Gittings Studios is a photographic studio founded in 1928 by Paul Gittings, Sr.. Mr. Gittings bought the Bachrach Studios in the southern region of the United States during the Great Depression. The Gittings laboratory was a pioneer of color die transfer prints...
photographed many celebrities who frequented Bullocks Wilshire.
Decline
In the early 70's, this sub-division of Bullock's dropped its apostrophe and began opening separate branch locations so as to separate its decidedly luxury identity from its larger yet more upper-moderate/better parent. Branches were located in Palm SpringsPalm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...
, Newport Beach
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
, La Jolla
La Jolla, San Diego, California
La Jolla is an affluent, hilly seaside resort community, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California within the northern city limits of San Diego. La Jolla had the highest home prices in the nation in 2008 and 2009; the average price of a standardized...
, Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes is a name often used to refer to a group of coastal cities in the Palos Verdes Hills on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S...
, and Palm Desert
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
(formerly Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
). Over the years, a shift by other luxury stores and boutiques to the west side of the city/county resulted in the primary Bullocks Wilshire trading area's fall, yet the main store held on as a destination until 1988, when it began its own precipitous decline, hastened under operation by its final owners, Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, who had acquired the chain from the Campeau Corporation
Campeau Corporation
Campeau Corporation was a Canadian real estate development and investment company founded by entrepreneur Robert Campeau. It was infamous from its ultimately unsuccessful acquisitions of American department store holding companies Allied Stores in 1986 and Federated Department Stores in 1988...
. The Wilshire Boulevard store suffered severe damage during the Los Angeles riots of 1992; looters broke in and shattered every display case on the first floor. The upper floors were not damaged because fleeing staffers shut off the elevators; the original decision to build the store without escalators may have actually saved the landmark from ruin. At least three fires were set by arsonists, but they did not spread. Bullocks Wilshire finally closed in 1993 with legal battles ensuing as Macy's stripped the store of its historic artifacts, furnishings and fixtures for other locations (bowing to pressure, almost all the 1929 fixtures were returned). Its locations had been converted around 1990 to I. Magnin
I. Magnin
I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington...
, a San Francisco-based luxury chain which in turn was shuttered by Federated Department Stores
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
in January 1995 upon its acquisition of Macy's.
Current use of building
In 1994, the building was acquired by Southwestern Law School - its long-time neighbor. The school restored the building to its original 1929 state, adapting the building for use as an integral part of the school (adaptive reuseAdaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
). A historic-cultural monument of the City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, on May 25, 1978 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as No.78000685.
The Southwestern Law School Office of Administrative Services is responsible for all arrangements pertaining to commercial photography and filming on Southwestern's campus, and works with Unreel Locations. Scenes filmed at the building include:
- A scene in The Aviator, a 2004 film with Leonard DiCaprio, was filmed near the Bullocks Wilshire entrance
- Featured in the 1996 film Dunston Checks InDunston Checks InDunston Checks In is a 1996 film starring Jason Alexander, Eric Lloyd, Faye Dunaway, Rupert Everett, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and introducing Sam the Orangutan as Dunston...
- The final scene in the 1984 film GhostbustersGhostbustersGhostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
was filmed on top of the building - Featured setting in TopperTopper (film)Topper is a 1937 American comedy film which tells the story of a stuffy, stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple. It was adapted by Eric Hatch, Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran from the novel by Thorne Smith. The film was directed by Norman Z. McLeod, produced by...
, a 1937 film starring Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship... - Featured in AerosmithAerosmithAerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's 1989 "Love in an ElevatorLove in an Elevator"Love in an Elevator" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith, written by Steven Tyler and guitarist/backing vocalist Joe Perry. It was released in August 1989 as the lead single from their third album with Geffen Records, Pump, released in September...
" video - Public Enemy's video for "By the Time I Get to PhoenixBy the Time I Get to Phoenix"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is the title of a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was made famous by American country music singer Glen Campbell, appearing as the opening track on the latter's 1967 album of the same name. Campbell's version reached #2 on...
" was filmed in front of the school - Part of the background on the set of Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Wilshire and Westlake areas
Further reading
- Davis, Margaret Leslie. A History of the Bullocks Wilshire. ISBN 0-9643119-3-3.
External links
- Southwestern's Official page about the Bullocks Wilshire building, complete with virtual tour and historic pictures
- National Register of Historic Places listing