Eastern Columbia Building
Eastern Columbia Building
The Eastern Columbia Building, also known as the Eastern Columbia Lofts, is a thirteen-story Art Deco building designed by Claud Beelman located at 849 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles. It opened on September 12, 1930, after just nine months of construction.[2] It was built at a cost of $1.25 million as the new headquarters and 39th store for the Eastern-Columbia Department Store, whose component Eastern and Columbia stores were founded by Adolph Sieroty and family.[3][4] At the time of construction, the City of Los Angeles enforced a height limit of 150 feet (46 m), however the decorative clock tower was granted an exemption, allowing the clock a total height of 264 feet (80 m).[5][6][7] J. V. McNeil Company was the general contractor.[8]
The edifice is easily spotted from the Interstate 10 - Santa Monica Freeway, as well as many other sections of downtown,[9] due to its bright "melting turquoise"[10] terra cotta tiles[11] and trademark four-sided clock tower, emblazoned with the word "EASTERN" in bright white neon on each face of the clock.[12][13][14]
The building is widely considered the greatest surviving example of Art Deco architecture in the city. It is one of the city's most photographed structures[15] and a world-renowned Art Deco landmark.[16]
History[edit]
20th century[edit]
The building was created to house the then-separate Eastern (furniture and homeware) and Columbia (apparel) department stores both owned and managed by Adolph Sieroty, who had founded his Los Angeles retail concern as a clock shop at 556 S. Spring St. in 1892.[18][3]
At opening in 1930, the building had 275,650 sq. ft. of floor space. The first four floors and mezzanine were shared by Columbia and Eastern stores, with Columbia on the 9th & Broadway corner. From the 7th floor and up the floors were all Eastern. It was arranged as follows:[19]
Impact[edit]
Accolades[edit]
The building has been characterized as the "benchmark of deco buildings in Los Angeles"[38][39] and as one of the "grand dames of Art Deco Streamline Moderne in Los Angeles".[40] Historian Robert Winter called the building "a shining example of Southern California's golden age of architecture".[10] Los Angeles Times critic Christopher Hawthorne declared it "one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the city".[10] Past president of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, Rory Cunningham, referred to the building as "one of the premier Deco buildings in the country".[10] Ken Bernstein, director of the Office of Historic Resources for the City Planning Department, has stated that "The Eastern Columbia Building is unquestionably one of the signature Art Deco buildings in all of Los Angeles"[40] and he selected it as one of the city's most beautiful buildings.[41] The Eastern Columbia is lovingly referred to as the "Jewel of Downtown" and the "Art Deco Jewel of the West".[42][43]
Monument status[edit]
The Eastern Columbia was listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 294 in 1985.[1][13][44] "The property meets the criteria for HCM designation because it reflects the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, state, or community. It has become a visual landmark and is representative of the vitality of Los Angeles' retail and commercial core."[3]
The building sits in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, which is rich in historic architecture, and which has largely maintained its historic integrity, due in large part to hard fought preservation efforts,[45][46][47] the 1999 Adaptive Re-Use Ordinance,[48] and Councilmember Jose Huizar's "Bringing Back Broadway" initiative.[49]