Broadway Mart Center, also known as Broadway Department Store[2], Junipero Serra Building,[3], and Junipero Serra State Office Building,[4] is a historic ten-story highrise located at 401-423 S. Broadway and 501 W. 4th Street in the Broadway Theater District in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. It is best known for its almost sixty years as the flagship location of The Broadway.[3]
Broadway Mart Center | |
 The building in 2014 | |
  Location of building in Los Angeles County | |
| Location | 401-423 S. Broadway and 501 W. 4th Street, Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°02′59″N 118°14′59″W / 34.0496°N 118.2496°W |
| Built | 1913 |
| Architect | Parkinson and Bergstrom |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts with Italian Renaissance Revival ornamentation |
| Part of | Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID79000484) |
| Designated CP | May 9, 1979[1] |
History
editPrecursor
editPrior to Broadway Mart Center, the SW corner of Broadway and 4th Street was the site of the three-story Hallett & Pirtle Building, designed by Frederick Rice Dorn and built in 1895. The following year, Arthur Letts bought The Broadway, located in one of the building's storefronts. By 1904, The Broadway occupied the entire ground floor, and in 1905, it acquired the upper floors as well.[5][6][7]
Broadway Mart Center
editIn 1912, The Broadway announced plans for a new nine-story building to replace the Hallett & Pirtle Building. This building, the Broadway Mart Center, was designed by Parkinson and Bergstrom, the architectural duo responsible for numerous buildings in the area, including Trustee Building, Yorkshire Hotel, Bullock's Building, and Metropolitan Building, and was built in 1913-1915.[1][8] The company claimed they "ransacked the earth for merchandise" to fill their new building, which when completed contained five entrances (three on Broadway, one on Fourth Street, and one on Hill Street), eleven passenger and four freight elevators, and 460,000 square feet (43,000 m2) of space.[3][9]
Broadway Mart Center's first phase of construction involved acquiring 71,000 square feet (6,600 m2) of space in the Clark Hotel, which backed up to The Broadway. Then, the departments in Hallett & Pirtle Building's southern half were transferred here.[10][11]
For the second phase of construction, Hallett & Pirtle Building's now-empty southern half was demolished, then the southern half of the Broadway Mart Center was built in its place. This half, which measured 96,600 square feet (8,970 m2), opened on August 10, 1914 and carried the departments previously located the northern half of the original store.[12][13]
For the third and final stage of construction, the northern half of the Hallett & Pirtle Building was demolished, then the northern half of the Broadway Mart Center was built in its place. This half opened on June 25, 1915,[8][14] although its formal inauguration occurred September 16, 1915, during Fashion Week.[15]
The Broadway occupied the Broadway Mart Center in its entirety from its construction to November 1973.[16]
Vacancy
editAfter The Broadway vacated Broadway Mart Center in 1973, the building was extensively vandalized and damaged by unsuccessful remodel attempts.[3] Despite this, in 1979, the Broadway Theater and Commercial District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Broadway Mart Center listed as a contributing property in the district.[1]
In 1984, the building was bought by developer Roger Luby, whose renovation plans fell apart after his partners defaulted during the savings and loan crisis. The renovation, budgeted at $56 million ($164 million in 2023), was half complete when it defaulted in September 1986.[17][18]
Junipero Serra Building
editThe State of California bought the building in 1995 and reopened it four years later as the Junipero Serra Building, the lowest-cost state office building in California in the previous thirty years. The State received a Conservancy Preservation Award in 2000 for their work on this building.[3] In 2009, the state looked into selling this and sixteen other buildings to bridge a $21 billion ($29.8 billion in 2023) deficit. If sold, this building would have been leased back to the state for twenty years.[19]
As of 2020,[update] this building is one of 56 managed by the California Department of General Services and one of two (the other being the Ronald Reagan State Building) located in Los Angeles.[20]
Architecture and design
editBroadway Mart Center, made of steel, brick, and hollow tile with reinforced concrete floors and a brick and terra cotta facade.[1][2] The building features a Beaux Arts design with Italian Renaissance Revival ornamentation[3] that include pressed metal cornice with dentils, and egg-and-dart molding, carved modillions and a fillet band at the top.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. May 9, 1979.
- ^ a b Sitton, Tom (2008). "GC 1323 - Historic Sites Surveys" (PDF). Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
- ^ a b c d e f "Early Los Angeles Historical Buildings (1900 - 1925)". Water and Power Associates. p. 2. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "Junipero Serra State Office Building". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- ^ Michelson, Alan. "Hallett and Pirtle Building, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA". University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ "Hallett & Pirtle Block". Los Angeles Herald. August 4, 1895. p. 6.
- ^ Groves, Martha (February 12, 1991). "The Broadway: Bright History, Uncertain Future". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b "Store Doubled in Few Hours: Expansion of The Broadway Seems Feat of Magic". Los Angeles Times. June 17, 1915.
- ^ "Plans Out for Mammoth Store". Los Angeles Times. December 29, 1912.
- ^ "Flits without Hour's Loss: Big Department Store Moves between Days". Los Angeles Times. November 2, 1913.
- ^ "Advertisement for The Broadway". Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1913.
- ^ Gray, Olive (August 11, 1914). "Broadway's First Unit Attracts Thousands". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Small Army Moves Store Contents: Broadway Department to Open in its New Quarters Tomorrow". Los Angeles Times. August 9, 1914.
- ^ "Greater Broadway Department Store to Throw Open Doors Monday: Structure is Model of Safety and Possesses Conveniences of Special Merit". Los Angeles Times. June 16, 1915.
- ^ "New Store to Greet Guests: Indoor Inspection Plans for the "Broadway"". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 1915.
- ^ "Broadway Department Store Opens In New Site Saturday". Los Angeles Times. November 16, 1973. p. 139.
- ^ Carlton, Jim (October 5, 1988). "John Wayne's Daughter, Friend Attacked". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Davidson, Jean & Carlton, Jim (October 7, 1988). "Luby--a Success Story Plagued With Problems". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Vaillancourt, Ryan (December 18, 2009). "State Selling Two Downtown Buildings". Los Angeles Downtown News.
- ^ "List of DGS-Managed Office Buildings". California Department of General Services.