Spring Street Financial District
Encyclopedia
The Spring Street Financial District, sometimes referred to as the Wall Street of the West, is a historic district in Downtown Los Angeles
. The historic district includes 23 financial structures, including the city's first skyscraper, and three hotels all located along a stretch of South Spring Street from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Streets. In the first half of the 20th Century, this stretch of Spring Street was the financial center of Los Angeles, with the important banks and financial institutions being concentrated there. At least ten of the buildings in the district were designed in whole or in part by John Parkinson
, who designed many of the city's landmark buildings in the early 20th Century, including the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
, Los Angeles City Hall
, Bullocks Wilshire
, and Union Station
. Ten of the buildings in the district have been designated as Historical Cultural Monuments by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.
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filmed a 60-second film titled "South Spring Street Los Angeles California", mounting a giant camera on a wagon to film the bustling action along South Spring Street. Edison's movie with scenes of streetcars, bicycles and horse-drawn wagons traveling down Spring Street can be viewed http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:1:./temp/~ammem_ox8c::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calbkbib,consrvbib,bdsbib,dag,fsaall,gmd,pan,vv,presp,varstg,suffrg,nawbib,horyd,wtc,toddbib,mgw,ncr,ngp,musdibib,hlaw,papr,lhbumbib,rbpebib,lbcoll,alad,hh,aaodyssey,magbell,bbc,dcm,raelbib,runyon,dukesm,lomaxbib,mtj,gottlieb,aep,qlt,coolbib,fpnas,aasm,denn,relpet,amss,aaeo,mff,afc911bib,mjm,mnwp,rbcmillerbib,molden,ww2map,mfdipbib,afcnyebib,klpmap,hawp,omhbib,rbaapcbib,mal,ncpsbib,ncpm,lhbprbib,ftvbib,afcreed,aipn,cwband,flwpabib,wpapos,cmns,psbib,pin,coplandbib,cola,tccc,curt,mharendt,lhbcbbib,eaa,haybib,mesnbib,fine,cwnyhs,svybib,mmorse,afcwwgbib,mymhiwebib,uncall,afcwip,mtaft,manz,llstbib,fawbib,berl,fmuever,cdn,upboverbib,mussm,cic,afcpearl,awh,awhbib,sgp,wright,lhbtnbib,afcesnbib,hurstonbib,mreynoldsbib,spaldingbib,sgproto,scsmbib,afccalbibhere].
being considered the city's first skyscraper. In 1911, the Los Angeles Times boasted about the building boom on Spring Street:
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In the 1960s, many of the banks and financial institutions began moving to the western part of the downtown area, along Figueroa Street and Wilshire Boulevard. By the early 1980s, South Spring Street had become known for "transients who sleep in doorways and urinate on sidewalks." In 1982, the Los Angeles Times commented on the district's decline from "Wall Street of the West" to a blighted area with empty office buildings lining both sides of the street:
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The strength of the district remains its period architecture. Many of the Beaux Arts facades along Spring Street remain virtually intact, making the district a popular shooting location for motion picture and television productions seeking authentic period cityscapes. In 1985, noted Los Angeles Times
columnist Jack Smith
pointed to the Spring Street Financial District as proof that "Los Angeles was never the cultural wasteland it was alleged to be." He hailed the district's "financial palaces" as "a solid architectural achievement" which give the street "beauty, strength, unity and dignity."
The Hellman Building: NE corner of 4th and Spring – Built in 1902, the Hellman and Continental Buildings were the first major structures to anchor the Spring Street Financial District. The Hellman Building, now known as Banco Popular, is an eight-story brick and concrete structure designed by Alfred Rosenheim. In 1998, Gilmore Associates announced plans to convert the Hellman Building, the Continental Building, and the San Fernando Building
into 230 lofts. The converted buildings consisted of large, open lofts with high ceilings and no interior walls except for the bathrooms. The conversion was designed by architect Wade Killefer, who noted: "What lends these buildings to residential use is lots of windows and high ceilings, offering wonderful light." The combined project became known as the Old Bank District lofts. The Hellman Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #729) in 2002.
The Continental Building
: 408 S. Spring Street – Built in 1902, the Continental Building was originally known as the Braly Building. The 12-story building was designed by John Parkinson
and is considered the first "skyscraper" in Los Angeles. It was the tallest building in Los Angeles until 1907. It is known for its highly ornamental cornice and bands. The Continental Building was converted into lofts as part of Tom Gilmore's Old Bank District lofts project. It was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #730) in 2002.
El Dorado Hotel: 416 S. Spring Street – Originally known as the Hotel Stowell, the 12-story hotel was built in 1913 and designed by Frederick Noonan with a highly stylized and brightly colored facade, enameled brick and terra cotta. Batchelder
tiles are used extensively in the hotel and lobby. Shortly after the hotel opened, Charlie Chaplin
lived at the Stowell, which he described as "a middle-rate place but new and comfortable." Chaplin later told a story about receiving a telephone call while there concerning an appearance for which he was to be paid $25,000. Chaplin recalled: "My bedroom window opened out on the well of the hotel, so that the voice of anyone talking resounded through the rooms. The telephone connection was bad, 'I don't intend to pass up twenty-five thousand dollars for two weeks’ work!' I had to shout several times. A window opened above and a voice shouted back: 'Cut out that bull and go to sleep, you big dope!'" In 2008, the building was converted into lofts under the name "El Dorado Lofts."
Title Insurance Building: 433 S. Spring Street – Built in 1928, the Title Insurance Building is a ten-story building designed by John and Donald Parkinson
in the Zig-Zag Moderne
style. The marble lobby includes a mural by Hugo Ballin
. The Title Insurance Building was the subject of the district's first major redevelopment project. Architect-developer Ragnar C. Qvale acquired the building in 1979. He took the impressive Art Deco shell and converted the building into the Design Center of Los Angeles, which he leased to wholesale household furniture showrooms. Early 2011, the ground floor of the building became an art gallery and coffee shop, and took the logical name of Groundfloor Gallery & Café. The Title Insurance Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #772) in 2003.
Crocker Bank: 453 S. Spring Street – Built in 1914, the 10-story building was designed by Parkinson and Bergstrom
. The building was once the Los Angeles headquarters of Crocker Citizens National Bank. Now known as the Spring Arts Tower, the building is part of a movement to convert the old financial district into the city's "Gallery Row." The building's interior features original Art Deco designs, Art Nouveau details, sculptured brass, Italian marble, Batchelder tile, California alder and tiger oak. The building's tenants include artists, designers, architects, film production companies, and law firms. A nightclub called the "Crocker Club" is scheduled to open on the vault floor in 2008.
Rowan Building: 131 W. 5th Street – Built in 1910, the 11-story Rowan Building was originally known as the Chester Building, designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom in a mix of Beaux Arts and Classical styles. Ornate cast iron rosettes hang from the building's cornice, and elegant glazed terra cotta panels cover the facade. During its construction, the Times described it as a "mammoth" structure being built with the most massive steel girders and beams ever used on the West CoaStreet The building, built from 3000 tons of steel, was the largest office in Los Angeles in 1911. During its construction, hundreds of people lined the street "to see the huge crane swinging these titanic metal units of the structural plan into place for the workmen with the air riveters." Built by developer Robert A. Rowan, the Rowan Building once housed many of the city’s prominent law offices and stock brokerage firms. It has been known over the years as the Central Fire Proof Building Company and the Chester Building and has been converted into 206 live/work condominium units with retail space on the ground floor. Many interior features including Carrara marble corridor walls and floors, mahogany windows, and detailed Art Deco elevator doors have been preserved.
Alexandria Hotel: 210 W. 5th Street – Built in 1906, the eight-story Alexandria Hotel is another building designed by John Parkinson
. With 500 rooms, an elaborate wood lobby, and the glamorous Palm Court with its stained glass dome, the Alexandria was the most luxurious hotel in Los Angeles from the time it opened until the Biltmore opened in the mid-1920s. Movie stars and other celebrities, including Mae West
, Humphrey Bogart
, Rudolph Valentino
, Clark Gable
, Greta Garbo
, Sarah Bernhardt
, Enrico Caruso and Jack Dempsey
were guests. Charlie Chaplin
kept a suite at the Alexandria and did improvisations in the lobby where Tom Mix
reportedly rode his horse. The carpet in the lobby was called the "million-dollar carpet", because there was purportedly a $1 million worth of business done there every day. It was there that D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford
and Douglas Fairbanks
met in 1919 to form United Artists
. U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
, William Howard Taft
and Woodrow Wilson
, and many foreign dignitaries, including King Edward VIII
, also stayed at the hotel while visiting Los Angeles. The hotel declined after the Biltmore opened and closed in 1934, with its chandelier and gold leaf covering of the mezzanine lobby being stripped and sold. It reopened in 1937 but declined again in the 1950s, become a transient hotel with the Grand Ballroom being used as a training ring for boxers. Today, the Alexandria has been converted to apartments. The Palm Court in the Alexandria was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #80) in 1971.
Security Building: 510 S. Spring Street – Built in 1906, the 11-story steel-frame Security Building was designed in an Italianate style
by Parkinson and Bergstrom
. When it was built, it was the tallest building in Los Angeles, surpassing the Continental Building
. It remained the city's tallest building until 1911. The Security Building has been converted to lofts operated under the name "The Lofts at the Security Building." The Security Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #741) in 2003.
Los Angeles Theater Center: 514 S. Spring Street – Built in 1916, the one-story building was designed by John Parkinson
in a Greek-Revival
style with Ionic columns. In addition to the columns, the building is known for its lobby with a large 50 by 100 feet (30.5 m) stained glass ceiling supported by heavy ornamental bronze cornices and marble walls. It been known over the years as the Security Trust & Savings Building, the Security National Bank Building and the President Trading Company. In 1985, the building reopened as the Los Angeles Theater Center, a venue with multiple theaters offering live theatrical productions. The converted building has preserved the bank lobby with its stained glass ceiling. The Theater Center met with financial trouble and was forced to close. However, it was later re-opened by the City.
Spring Arcade Building: 541 S. Spring Street – Built in 1924, the 12-story, double-wing Arcade Building, designed by architects Kenneth MacDonald and Maurice Couchot, includes a cavernous midblock arcade connecting Spring Street with Broadway. Originally known as the "Mercantile Arcade Building," it was modeled on the Burlington Arcade
in London, England. Is three-level, skylighted arcade has been called a space "as regal as almost any other interior space in the city." The tower on top of the building once supported the antenna of the radio station KRKD ("RKD" = Arcade), from which Aimee Semple McPherson
preached her message. The ups and downs of the district were reflected in the sales of the Arcade Building. As the area fell into decline, it sold in 1977 for $300,000. Five years later, as redevelopment projects fueled speculation in Spring Street properties, it sold for $4.5 million—15 times its 1977 sale price.
Lloyd's Bank: 548 S. Spring Street – Built in 1913, the 12-story Lloyd's Bank was designed in the Commercial style by William Curlett & Son. The building has been converted into lofts and is now known as SB Lofts.
Pacific Southwest Bank: NW corner of 6th and Spring – Built in 1910, the 11-story Pacific Southwest Bank was designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom
in the Classical style with fluted columns. The building has been converted into lofts and is now known as SB Manhattan.
United California Bank: 600 S. Spring Street – Built in 1961 and designed by Claud Beelman
& Associates, this contemporary glass and concrete building is one of the few nonconforming intrusions in the Spring Street Financial District. It was the first skyscraper to be built after the city's building height limit was lifted. City planners hoped it would solidify Spring Street as the city's financial center, but an exodus of banks and financial institutions began in the 1960s.
Hotel Hayward: 601 S. Spring Street – Built in 1905, the nine-story Hotel Hayward was designed by Charles Whittlesey. There is a 14-story addition on the western side that was added in 1925 and designed by John and Donald Parkinson
. The Hotel Hayward plays a part in the 2007 movie "Transformers," as the climactic battle between "Megatron" and "Optimus Prime
" takes place on the street in front of The Hotel Hayward.
Los Angeles Stock Exchange: 618 S. Spring Street – Built in 1929, the five-story exchange building was designed by Samuel Lunden in the Moderne
style. Ground was broken in October 1929, just as the Great Depression hit, and when the Los Angeles Stock Exchange opened its doors there in 1931, the country was deep into the Depression. There are three bas-relief panels carved by Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta into the granite above the building's entrance. The panels portray the elements of a capitalist economy. The large central panel, "Finance", displays capitalists. The "Production" panel shows an aircraft engine, a steel worker pouring molten metal and a worker stirring it. The "Research and Discovery" panel shows oil derricks, factories, a chemist conducting an experiment and a man kneeling in a library reading a book. In 1986, the exchange (by then part of the Pacific Stock Exchange) moved out of the building. In the late 1980s, the Community Redevelopment Agency helped fund a night club that opened in the Exchange Building—called the Stock Exchange. The night club did not survive the 1980s, and as of July 2008, the building was undergoing extensive renovation work. The Stock Exchange Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #205) in 1979.
E.F. Hutton Building: 623 S. Spring Street – Built in 1931, the 12-story Zig-Zag Moderne
E.F. Hutton Building once housed E.F. Hutton's big board. The Hutton and California Canadian Bank were the first office buildings to be converted into residences. In 1984, the Community Redevelopment Agency converted the adjacent towers into 121 condominiums in a project called Premiere Towers. However, when most of the units failed to sell, the agency sold the project to a developer who offered the units for rental—in the process destroying property values for those who had purchased units.
California Canadian Bank: 625 S. Spring Street – Built in 1923, the 12-story Neo-Classical building includes terra cotta ornamentation on the top two levels. The building is now part of the Premiere Towers project with the E.F. Hutton Building.
Mortgage Guaranty Building: 626 S. Spring Street – Built in 1913, the six-story Mortgage Guaranty Building (also known as the Sassony Building) has a decorative cornice and fluted columns. In 2004, the structure was converted into 36 apartments called "City Lofts" by developer Izek Shomof.
Banks & Huntley Building: 632 S. Spring Street – Built in 1930, the Banks & Huntley Building was designed by John and Donald Parkinson
in the Moderne
style. It is now known as The Nonprofit Center, housing the national and regional offices for MALDEF, a Latino civil rights organization. The building also rents space to other nonprofit organizations providing assistance to minority and underserved communities. The building has been restored to its original Art Deco design. The Banks & Huntley Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #631) in 1999.
Barclays Bank: 639 S. Spring Street – Built in 1919, the 13-story Barclays Bank was designed by Morgan, Walls & Morgan. The Barclays Bank building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #671) in 1999.
A.G. Bartlett Building: 651 S. Spring Street – Built in 1911, the Bartlett Building was originally known as the Union Oil Building and served as the headquarters of Union Oil Company until 1923. The building was designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom. It was also the place where Southwestern Law School got its start in 1911 with a few young men meeting three nights a week to study law with a tutor.
Bank of America Building: 117 W. 7th Street – Built in 1912, the 12-story Bank of America Building was designed by Schultze & Weaver. Its facade has Indian limestone and terra cotta in a style reminiscent of Louis Sullivan
.
Financial Center Building: 704 S. Spring Street – Built in 1923, the 13-story Financial Center Building was designed by S. Tilden Norton and Frederick Wallis. The facade has pressed brick and terra cotta.
I.N. Van Nuys Building: 210 W. 7th Street – Built in 1911 by the Isaac Newton Van Nuys
(a noted banker and owner of much of the San Fernando Valley
), the Van Nuys Building is an 11-story building in Classical style with Italianate
details. The Times reported in 1911 that the magnificent new building would be "the city's most expensive office building" at $1,250,000. In the early 1980s, City redevelopment agencies spent $24.3 million to convert the Van Nuys Building into 299 units of housing for senior citizens and the handicapped. The Van Nuys Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #898) in 2007.
in 1979. The Los Angeles Conservancy
offers walking tours of the Spring Street Financial District on the fourth Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.; the tour lasts approximately 2-1/2 hours and costs $10 for the general public (reduced rate for Conservancy members).
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 historic district includes 23 financial structures, including the city's first skyscraper, and three hotels all located along a stretch of South Spring Street from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Streets. In the first half of the 20th Century, this stretch of Spring Street was the financial center of Los Angeles, with the important banks and financial institutions being concentrated there. At least ten of the buildings in the district were designed in whole or in part by 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:...
, who designed many of the city's landmark buildings in the early 20th Century, including the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
, Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
, Bullocks Wilshire
Bullocks Wilshire
Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a 230,000-square foot Art Deco building.-Design:...
, and Union Station
Union Station (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California. The station has rail services by Amtrak and Amtrak California and Metrolink; light rail/subways are the Metro Rail Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line...
. Ten of the buildings in the district have been designated as Historical Cultural Monuments by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.
History
Early days of Spring Street and the City's First Motion Picture
In the 1890s, the city's business center was further north near South Spring and Temple Streets. The street can claim credit as the birthplace of the motion picture business in Los Angeles. In 1898, Thomas EdisonThomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
filmed a 60-second film titled "South Spring Street Los Angeles California", mounting a giant camera on a wagon to film the bustling action along South Spring Street. Edison's movie with scenes of streetcars, bicycles and horse-drawn wagons traveling down Spring Street can be viewed http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:1:./temp/~ammem_ox8c::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calbkbib,consrvbib,bdsbib,dag,fsaall,gmd,pan,vv,presp,varstg,suffrg,nawbib,horyd,wtc,toddbib,mgw,ncr,ngp,musdibib,hlaw,papr,lhbumbib,rbpebib,lbcoll,alad,hh,aaodyssey,magbell,bbc,dcm,raelbib,runyon,dukesm,lomaxbib,mtj,gottlieb,aep,qlt,coolbib,fpnas,aasm,denn,relpet,amss,aaeo,mff,afc911bib,mjm,mnwp,rbcmillerbib,molden,ww2map,mfdipbib,afcnyebib,klpmap,hawp,omhbib,rbaapcbib,mal,ncpsbib,ncpm,lhbprbib,ftvbib,afcreed,aipn,cwband,flwpabib,wpapos,cmns,psbib,pin,coplandbib,cola,tccc,curt,mharendt,lhbcbbib,eaa,haybib,mesnbib,fine,cwnyhs,svybib,mmorse,afcwwgbib,mymhiwebib,uncall,afcwip,mtaft,manz,llstbib,fawbib,berl,fmuever,cdn,upboverbib,mussm,cic,afcpearl,awh,awhbib,sgp,wright,lhbtnbib,afcesnbib,hurstonbib,mreynoldsbib,spaldingbib,sgproto,scsmbib,afccalbibhere].
Wall Street of the West
In the early 1900s, the city center began spreading south, and the city's banks and financial institutions began concentrating along South Spring Street. The first two important buildings to make the move south were the Hellman and Continental Buildings, with the Continental BuildingContinental Building
The Continental Building is a 151 ft , 13-storey high-rise residential building at 408 South Spring Street in the Historic Core of Los Angeles, California. When completed in 1903, it was the city's first high-rise building, and remained the tallest for three years...
being considered the city's first skyscraper. In 1911, the Los Angeles Times boasted about the building boom on Spring Street:
"The visitor to this city can at this moment observe skyscrapers in all stages of construction. It is a study which will provide the most comprehensible kind of answer to the query as to why Los Angeles is leading San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Detroit, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Boston, Buffalo and all other cities of anything near her in building activity as revealed by the monthly expenditures for construction work."The building boom along South Spring Street continued into the 1920s as the population and economy of Los Angeles boomed. South Spring Street remained the city's financial center even after World War II.
Decline of the district in the 1970s and 1980s
"When the banks and law firms moved to the 'Gold Coast' typified by Arco Towers, six blocks to the west, Spring Street plummeted to become a neighborhood of hoodlums, derelicts and winos—a neighborhood of echoing buildings full of absolutely nothing above the ground floor."
Redevelopment projects and regentrification
Since the early 1980s, South Spring Street has been the subject of numerous redevelopment projects. In recent years, numerous art galleries have moved into the old financial district, which is now known as Gallery Row. Many of the old bank buildings have also been converted into upscale lofts. As wealthier residents have moved into the district's lofts, older residents and artists have complained about the increased rents. One artist who had lived in the district for years said:"The real problem with downtown lately, Gronk and his friends half-jokingly agreed is 'those people.' Westsiders. Trust-fund babies. New tenants who demand their bohemian pleasures be liberally sweetened with suburban amenities. Landlords who previously recruited artists to help make downtown 'safe' for gentrification, then jacked up their rents so only lawyers and screenwriters could afford it."
Beaux Arts architecture as the district's enduring strength
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
columnist Jack Smith
Jack Smith (columnist)
Jack Clifford Smith was a journalist, author, and newspaper columnist who wrote about Los Angeles during its period of greatest growth and increasing influence...
pointed to the Spring Street Financial District as proof that "Los Angeles was never the cultural wasteland it was alleged to be." He hailed the district's "financial palaces" as "a solid architectural achievement" which give the street "beauty, strength, unity and dignity."
Buildings in the district
Notable buildings in the district (from north to south) include:The Hellman Building: NE corner of 4th and Spring – Built in 1902, the Hellman and Continental Buildings were the first major structures to anchor the Spring Street Financial District. The Hellman Building, now known as Banco Popular, is an eight-story brick and concrete structure designed by Alfred Rosenheim. In 1998, Gilmore Associates announced plans to convert the Hellman Building, the Continental Building, and the San Fernando Building
San Fernando Building
The San Fernando Building is an Italian Renaissance Revival style building built in 1906 in downtown Los Angeles, California. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, converted into lofts in 2000, and declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002.-Architecture and...
into 230 lofts. The converted buildings consisted of large, open lofts with high ceilings and no interior walls except for the bathrooms. The conversion was designed by architect Wade Killefer, who noted: "What lends these buildings to residential use is lots of windows and high ceilings, offering wonderful light." The combined project became known as the Old Bank District lofts. The Hellman Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #729) in 2002.
The Continental Building
Continental Building
The Continental Building is a 151 ft , 13-storey high-rise residential building at 408 South Spring Street in the Historic Core of Los Angeles, California. When completed in 1903, it was the city's first high-rise building, and remained the tallest for three years...
: 408 S. Spring Street – Built in 1902, the Continental Building was originally known as the Braly Building. The 12-story building was designed by 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:...
and is considered the first "skyscraper" in Los Angeles. It was the tallest building in Los Angeles until 1907. It is known for its highly ornamental cornice and bands. The Continental Building was converted into lofts as part of Tom Gilmore's Old Bank District lofts project. It was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #730) in 2002.
El Dorado Hotel: 416 S. Spring Street – Originally known as the Hotel Stowell, the 12-story hotel was built in 1913 and designed by Frederick Noonan with a highly stylized and brightly colored facade, enameled brick and terra cotta. Batchelder
Ernest A. Batchelder
Ernest A. Batchelder was an artist and educator who made Southern California his home in the early 20th century. He is famous as a maker of art tiles and as a leader in the American Arts and Crafts Movement....
tiles are used extensively in the hotel and lobby. Shortly after the hotel opened, Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
lived at the Stowell, which he described as "a middle-rate place but new and comfortable." Chaplin later told a story about receiving a telephone call while there concerning an appearance for which he was to be paid $25,000. Chaplin recalled: "My bedroom window opened out on the well of the hotel, so that the voice of anyone talking resounded through the rooms. The telephone connection was bad, 'I don't intend to pass up twenty-five thousand dollars for two weeks’ work!' I had to shout several times. A window opened above and a voice shouted back: 'Cut out that bull and go to sleep, you big dope!'" In 2008, the building was converted into lofts under the name "El Dorado Lofts."
Title Insurance Building: 433 S. Spring Street – Built in 1928, the Title Insurance Building is a ten-story building designed by John and Donald 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 the Zig-Zag Moderne
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...
style. The marble lobby includes a mural by Hugo Ballin
Hugo Ballin
Hugo Ballin was born in New York City and studied at the Art Students League of New York. When the Wisconsin State Capital was built in the early 20th Century, Ballin created 26 murals for its interior...
. The Title Insurance Building was the subject of the district's first major redevelopment project. Architect-developer Ragnar C. Qvale acquired the building in 1979. He took the impressive Art Deco shell and converted the building into the Design Center of Los Angeles, which he leased to wholesale household furniture showrooms. Early 2011, the ground floor of the building became an art gallery and coffee shop, and took the logical name of Groundfloor Gallery & Café. The Title Insurance Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #772) in 2003.
Crocker Bank: 453 S. Spring Street – Built in 1914, the 10-story building was designed by Parkinson and Bergstrom
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:...
. The building was once the Los Angeles headquarters of Crocker Citizens National Bank. Now known as the Spring Arts Tower, the building is part of a movement to convert the old financial district into the city's "Gallery Row." The building's interior features original Art Deco designs, Art Nouveau details, sculptured brass, Italian marble, Batchelder tile, California alder and tiger oak. The building's tenants include artists, designers, architects, film production companies, and law firms. A nightclub called the "Crocker Club" is scheduled to open on the vault floor in 2008.
Rowan Building: 131 W. 5th Street – Built in 1910, the 11-story Rowan Building was originally known as the Chester Building, designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom in a mix of Beaux Arts and Classical styles. Ornate cast iron rosettes hang from the building's cornice, and elegant glazed terra cotta panels cover the facade. During its construction, the Times described it as a "mammoth" structure being built with the most massive steel girders and beams ever used on the West CoaStreet The building, built from 3000 tons of steel, was the largest office in Los Angeles in 1911. During its construction, hundreds of people lined the street "to see the huge crane swinging these titanic metal units of the structural plan into place for the workmen with the air riveters." Built by developer Robert A. Rowan, the Rowan Building once housed many of the city’s prominent law offices and stock brokerage firms. It has been known over the years as the Central Fire Proof Building Company and the Chester Building and has been converted into 206 live/work condominium units with retail space on the ground floor. Many interior features including Carrara marble corridor walls and floors, mahogany windows, and detailed Art Deco elevator doors have been preserved.
Alexandria Hotel: 210 W. 5th Street – Built in 1906, the eight-story Alexandria Hotel is another building designed by 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:...
. With 500 rooms, an elaborate wood lobby, and the glamorous Palm Court with its stained glass dome, the Alexandria was the most luxurious hotel in Los Angeles from the time it opened until the Biltmore opened in the mid-1920s. Movie stars and other celebrities, including Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, 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...
, 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...
, Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
, Enrico Caruso and Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
were guests. Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
kept a suite at the Alexandria and did improvisations in the lobby where Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
reportedly rode his horse. The carpet in the lobby was called the "million-dollar carpet", because there was purportedly a $1 million worth of business done there every day. It was there that D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
met in 1919 to form United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, and many foreign dignitaries, including King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, also stayed at the hotel while visiting Los Angeles. The hotel declined after the Biltmore opened and closed in 1934, with its chandelier and gold leaf covering of the mezzanine lobby being stripped and sold. It reopened in 1937 but declined again in the 1950s, become a transient hotel with the Grand Ballroom being used as a training ring for boxers. Today, the Alexandria has been converted to apartments. The Palm Court in the Alexandria was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #80) in 1971.
Security Building: 510 S. Spring Street – Built in 1906, the 11-story steel-frame Security Building was designed in an Italianate style
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
by Parkinson and Bergstrom
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:...
. When it was built, it was the tallest building in Los Angeles, surpassing the Continental Building
Continental Building
The Continental Building is a 151 ft , 13-storey high-rise residential building at 408 South Spring Street in the Historic Core of Los Angeles, California. When completed in 1903, it was the city's first high-rise building, and remained the tallest for three years...
. It remained the city's tallest building until 1911. The Security Building has been converted to lofts operated under the name "The Lofts at the Security Building." The Security Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #741) in 2003.
Los Angeles Theater Center: 514 S. Spring Street – Built in 1916, the one-story building was designed by 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 a Greek-Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style with Ionic columns. In addition to the columns, the building is known for its lobby with a large 50 by 100 feet (30.5 m) stained glass ceiling supported by heavy ornamental bronze cornices and marble walls. It been known over the years as the Security Trust & Savings Building, the Security National Bank Building and the President Trading Company. In 1985, the building reopened as the Los Angeles Theater Center, a venue with multiple theaters offering live theatrical productions. The converted building has preserved the bank lobby with its stained glass ceiling. The Theater Center met with financial trouble and was forced to close. However, it was later re-opened by the City.
Spring Arcade Building: 541 S. Spring Street – Built in 1924, the 12-story, double-wing Arcade Building, designed by architects Kenneth MacDonald and Maurice Couchot, includes a cavernous midblock arcade connecting Spring Street with Broadway. Originally known as the "Mercantile Arcade Building," it was modeled on the Burlington Arcade
Burlington Arcade
The Burlington Arcade is a covered shopping arcade in London that runs behind Bond Street from Piccadilly through to Burlington Gardens. It is one of the precursors of the mid-19th century European shopping gallery and the modern shopping centre...
in London, England. Is three-level, skylighted arcade has been called a space "as regal as almost any other interior space in the city." The tower on top of the building once supported the antenna of the radio station KRKD ("RKD" = Arcade), from which Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...
preached her message. The ups and downs of the district were reflected in the sales of the Arcade Building. As the area fell into decline, it sold in 1977 for $300,000. Five years later, as redevelopment projects fueled speculation in Spring Street properties, it sold for $4.5 million—15 times its 1977 sale price.
Lloyd's Bank: 548 S. Spring Street – Built in 1913, the 12-story Lloyd's Bank was designed in the Commercial style by William Curlett & Son. The building has been converted into lofts and is now known as SB Lofts.
Pacific Southwest Bank: NW corner of 6th and Spring – Built in 1910, the 11-story Pacific Southwest Bank was designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom
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 the Classical style with fluted columns. The building has been converted into lofts and is now known as SB Manhattan.
United California Bank: 600 S. Spring Street – Built in 1961 and designed by Claud Beelman
Claud Beelman
Claud W. Beelman , sometimes known as Claude Beelman, was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Beelman was married to Lourene Taft Beelman...
& Associates, this contemporary glass and concrete building is one of the few nonconforming intrusions in the Spring Street Financial District. It was the first skyscraper to be built after the city's building height limit was lifted. City planners hoped it would solidify Spring Street as the city's financial center, but an exodus of banks and financial institutions began in the 1960s.
Hotel Hayward: 601 S. Spring Street – Built in 1905, the nine-story Hotel Hayward was designed by Charles Whittlesey. There is a 14-story addition on the western side that was added in 1925 and designed by John and Donald 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:...
. The Hotel Hayward plays a part in the 2007 movie "Transformers," as the climactic battle between "Megatron" and "Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
" takes place on the street in front of The Hotel Hayward.
Los Angeles Stock Exchange: 618 S. Spring Street – Built in 1929, the five-story exchange building was designed by Samuel Lunden in the Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
style. Ground was broken in October 1929, just as the Great Depression hit, and when the Los Angeles Stock Exchange opened its doors there in 1931, the country was deep into the Depression. There are three bas-relief panels carved by Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta into the granite above the building's entrance. The panels portray the elements of a capitalist economy. The large central panel, "Finance", displays capitalists. The "Production" panel shows an aircraft engine, a steel worker pouring molten metal and a worker stirring it. The "Research and Discovery" panel shows oil derricks, factories, a chemist conducting an experiment and a man kneeling in a library reading a book. In 1986, the exchange (by then part of the Pacific Stock Exchange) moved out of the building. In the late 1980s, the Community Redevelopment Agency helped fund a night club that opened in the Exchange Building—called the Stock Exchange. The night club did not survive the 1980s, and as of July 2008, the building was undergoing extensive renovation work. The Stock Exchange Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #205) in 1979.
E.F. Hutton Building: 623 S. Spring Street – Built in 1931, the 12-story Zig-Zag Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
E.F. Hutton Building once housed E.F. Hutton's big board. The Hutton and California Canadian Bank were the first office buildings to be converted into residences. In 1984, the Community Redevelopment Agency converted the adjacent towers into 121 condominiums in a project called Premiere Towers. However, when most of the units failed to sell, the agency sold the project to a developer who offered the units for rental—in the process destroying property values for those who had purchased units.
California Canadian Bank: 625 S. Spring Street – Built in 1923, the 12-story Neo-Classical building includes terra cotta ornamentation on the top two levels. The building is now part of the Premiere Towers project with the E.F. Hutton Building.
Mortgage Guaranty Building: 626 S. Spring Street – Built in 1913, the six-story Mortgage Guaranty Building (also known as the Sassony Building) has a decorative cornice and fluted columns. In 2004, the structure was converted into 36 apartments called "City Lofts" by developer Izek Shomof.
Banks & Huntley Building: 632 S. Spring Street – Built in 1930, the Banks & Huntley Building was designed by John and Donald 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 the Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
style. It is now known as The Nonprofit Center, housing the national and regional offices for MALDEF, a Latino civil rights organization. The building also rents space to other nonprofit organizations providing assistance to minority and underserved communities. The building has been restored to its original Art Deco design. The Banks & Huntley Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #631) in 1999.
Barclays Bank: 639 S. Spring Street – Built in 1919, the 13-story Barclays Bank was designed by Morgan, Walls & Morgan. The Barclays Bank building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #671) in 1999.
A.G. Bartlett Building: 651 S. Spring Street – Built in 1911, the Bartlett Building was originally known as the Union Oil Building and served as the headquarters of Union Oil Company until 1923. The building was designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom. It was also the place where Southwestern Law School got its start in 1911 with a few young men meeting three nights a week to study law with a tutor.
Bank of America Building: 117 W. 7th Street – Built in 1912, the 12-story Bank of America Building was designed by Schultze & Weaver. Its facade has Indian limestone and terra cotta in a style reminiscent of Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
.
Financial Center Building: 704 S. Spring Street – Built in 1923, the 13-story Financial Center Building was designed by S. Tilden Norton and Frederick Wallis. The facade has pressed brick and terra cotta.
I.N. Van Nuys Building: 210 W. 7th Street – Built in 1911 by the Isaac Newton Van Nuys
Isaac Newton Van Nuys
Isaac Newton Van Nuys was an American businessman, real estate developer, banker, and agricultural entrepreneur. He founded the community of Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California in 1911...
(a noted banker and owner of much of the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
), the Van Nuys Building is an 11-story building in Classical style with Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
details. The Times reported in 1911 that the magnificent new building would be "the city's most expensive office building" at $1,250,000. In the early 1980s, City redevelopment agencies spent $24.3 million to convert the Van Nuys Building into 299 units of housing for senior citizens and the handicapped. The Van Nuys Building was designated a Historic Cultural Landmark (HCM #898) in 2007.
Historic designation and walking tours
Due to the large percentage of historic bank and financial buildings that remain intact in the district, the area was listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational 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...
in 1979. The Los Angeles Conservancy
Los Angeles Conservancy
The Los Angeles Conservancy is an historic preservation organization in Los Angeles, California. It works to document, rescue and revitalize historic buildings, places and neighborhoods in the city. The Conservancy is the largest membership based historic preservation organization in the country...
offers walking tours of the Spring Street Financial District on the fourth Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.; the tour lasts approximately 2-1/2 hours and costs $10 for the general public (reduced rate for Conservancy members).
See also
- List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
- International Savings & Exchange Bank BuildingInternational Savings & Exchange Bank BuildingThe International Savings & Exchange Bank Building , was built in the Spring Street Financial District of Los Angeles in 1907. Standing ten floors, it was designed in the Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles by architect H...
, (1907) at 227 N. Spring Street (now demolished)