Homer Laughlin Building
Encyclopedia
The Homer Laughlin Building, at 317 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, is a landmark building best known for its ground floor tenant, the Grand Central Market, the City's largest and oldest open air market.
Built by retired Ohio entrepreneur Homer Laughlin
(founder of the Homer Laughlin China Company), the Homer Laughlin Building was the Los Angeles's first fireproofed, steel-reinforced structure. The original six-story building was designed in 1896 by architect John Parkinson
.
In 1905 the structure was expanded through to Hill Street, called either the Laughlin Annex or the Lyon Building. This design by architect Harrison Albright
was the first reinforced concrete
building in Los Angeles. The first tenant was the Ville de Paris Department Store, replaced in 1917 by the Grand Central Market, which still occupies the ground floor of the building. The location was chosen because of its proximity to the Angels Flight
Railway allowing for easy access to the well to do citizens of Bunker Hill.
In the 1920s the building served as an office for the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright
.
The original building was built in the Beaux Arts style, but subsequent modifications drastically changed its appearance including the addition of a tile façade in the 1960s which hid the second story windows. Along with the attached Million Dollar Theater
Building, the Homer Laughlin Building and the Grand Central Market underwent a major renovation in the 1990s under the direction of developer Ira Yellin and architect Brenda Levin. As part of the restoration residential units were added, creating downtown Los Angeles's first true mixed use developments in decades.
Grand Central Market General Manager Filomena Eriman adds, "Ethnicity has changed. The population and the merchants have changed also. It’s now, we have more Hispanic merchants and customers are eighty to ninety percent Spanish."
Homer Laughlin
Homer Laughlin born 23 March, 1843 in Little Beaver, Ohio, was an American businessman and potter who, with his brother Shakespeare, formed the Laughlin Pottery Company in 1871 in East Liverpool, Ohio....
(founder of the Homer Laughlin China Company), the Homer Laughlin Building was the Los Angeles's first fireproofed, steel-reinforced structure. The original six-story building was designed in 1896 by architect John Parkinson
The 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:...
.
In 1905 the structure was expanded through to Hill Street, called either the Laughlin Annex or the Lyon Building. This design by architect Harrison Albright
Harrison Albright
Harrison Albright was an American architect best known for his innovative design of the West Baden Springs Hotel in Orange County, Indiana, which boasted the largest free-spanning dome in the world at the time of its construction.- Biography :Born in the Ogontz neighborhood of North Philadelphia,...
was the first reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
building in Los Angeles. The first tenant was the Ville de Paris Department Store, replaced in 1917 by the Grand Central Market, which still occupies the ground floor of the building. The location was chosen because of its proximity to the Angels Flight
Angels Flight
Angels Flight is a landmark funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, Sinai and Olivet ....
Railway allowing for easy access to the well to do citizens of Bunker Hill.
In the 1920s the building served as an office for the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
.
The original building was built in the Beaux Arts style, but subsequent modifications drastically changed its appearance including the addition of a tile façade in the 1960s which hid the second story windows. Along with the attached Million Dollar Theater
Million Dollar Theater
The Million Dollar Theater at 307 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles is one of the first movie palaces built in the United States. It opened in February 1918...
Building, the Homer Laughlin Building and the Grand Central Market underwent a major renovation in the 1990s under the direction of developer Ira Yellin and architect Brenda Levin. As part of the restoration residential units were added, creating downtown Los Angeles's first true mixed use developments in decades.
Grand Central Market General Manager Filomena Eriman adds, "Ethnicity has changed. The population and the merchants have changed also. It’s now, we have more Hispanic merchants and customers are eighty to ninety percent Spanish."