Reinventing Broadway Street

By Marques Vickers

This edition is a celebratory pictorial compilation recounting the evolution and transformation of one of downtown Los Angeles’ primary arteries. Over 200 photographs showcase architectural structures and details that line the blocks of North and South Broadway Street in the center of downtown Los Angeles. The book traces colorful legends, anecdotes and landmarks that preceded current standing constructions.

Broadway Street was originally identified as Fort Street in the initial 1849 city tract created by U.S. Army map surveyor Lieutenant Edward Ord. The Fort referenced Fort Moore Hill, a prominent and strategic incline that overlooked the early settlement. The Fort Moore district served as one of the city’s first burial grounds and was later leveled to construct the Hollywood Freeway. In 1890, Broadway Street was permanently renamed.

The Los Angeles El Pueblo settlement was established in the mid-18th century along the then fertile banks of the Los Angeles River. The colony’s terrain was agriculturally cultivated for vineyards, cattle ranching and later citrus groves before an encroaching urban environment altered the complexion of city towards the close of the 19th century.

Drawing from varied archival documentation and narratives, Vickers traces the evolutionary stages of Broadway Street into the city’s commercial and entertainment center. Broadway’s reputation extended throughout the first half of the twentieth century but was followed by a prolonged period of four-decade stagnation. The most current reinvention has introduced retail, office and residential mixed-use developments. Existing retail lease commitments contracted during the street’s lean years of decline, however, has slowed this synergy of change.

Reinventing Broadway Street documents numerous colorful and influential contributors to the local history. Among the profiled personalities include Oliver Morosco, John Temple, William Wolfskill, Jean-Luis Vignes, Abel and Arcadia Sterns, Isaias Hellman, Joaquin Murrieta, John C. Fremont, John Parkinson, Prudent Beaudry, Sarah Bernhardt, Harris Newmark, and many others.

Structures photographed include the Times Mirror Square, Bradbury, Irvine-Byrne, Hosfield, Zobel, Trustee, O. T. Johnson #1 and #2, Junipero Serra, Metropolitan, Judson Rives, Bumiller, Chester Williams, Remick and Grayson, Schulte United, J. W. Gold, Story, Desmond, Jewelry Trade, Mercantile Arcade, Norton, Hass, Merritt, Clifton’s Brookside and Schaber’s Cafeterias, Yorkshire Hotel, Garland, Charles C. Chapman, Eastern Columbia, Wurlitzer, Brown-Israel, Broadway Leasehold, Platt, Western Pacific, Howard Huntington, Case Hotel and Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Theatres include The Million Dollar, Roxie, Cameo, Los Angeles, Palace, Globe, Tower, Rialto, Orpheum, Arcade and United Artists. Former department store buildings includes The May Company, Bullock’s, Swelldom’s, F. W. Woolworth’s, National Dollar Store, S. H. Kress, Broadway, Silverwood’s, Hartfield’s, and Barker Brothers. Notable government constructions include the LA County Hall of Record, Justice Building, Foltz Criminal Justice Center and the nearly completed Federal Courthouse Building.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marques Vickers
• Release date: Aug 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215109618

Marques Vickers

Visual Artist, Writer and Photographer Marques Vickers is a California native presently living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington regions. He was born in 1957 and raised in Vallejo, California. He is a 1979 Business Administration graduate from Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Following graduation, he became the Public Relations and ultimately Executive Director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce between 1979-84. He subsequently became the Vice President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel in Westwood between 1984-86. Following a one-year residence in Dijon, France where he studied at the University of Bourgogne, he began Marquis Enterprises in 1987. His company operations have included sports apparel exporting, travel and tour operations, wine brokering, publishing, rare book and collectibles reselling. He has established numerous e-commerce, barter exchange and art websites including MarquesV.com, ArtsInAmerica.com, InsiderSeriesBooks.com, DiscountVintages.com and WineScalper.com. Between 2005-2009, he relocated to the Languedoc region of southern France. He concentrated on his painting and sculptural work while restoring two 19th century stone village residences. His figurative painting, photography and sculptural works have been sold and exhibited internationally since 1986. He re-established his Pacific Coast residence in 2009 and has focused his creative productivity on writing and photography. His published works span a diverse variety of subjects including true crime, international travel, California wines, architecture, history, Southern France, Pacific Coast attractions, fiction, auctions, fine art marketing, poetry, fiction and photojournalism. He has two daughters, Charline and Caroline who presently reside in Europe.

Book preview

Reinventing Broadway Street

Published by Marques Vickers at Smashwords

Copyright 2016-2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

The Early Settlement and Later Development of Downtown Los Angeles

Chinatown, Sonoratown and The Los Angeles State Historic Park

301 North Broadway Street: County of Los Angeles Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant

227 North Broadway Street: Los Angeles County Hall of Records

211 West Temple Street: Los Angeles Hall of Justice Building

210 West Temple Street: Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center

Historic 200-100 North Broadway Street Eastside

301 West First Street: LA Law Library

Historic 200-100 North Broadway Street Westside

Historic 100-200 South Broadway Street Westside

Historic 100-200 South Broadway Street Eastside

125 South Broadway Street: United States Federal Courthouse Building

202 West First Street: Los Angeles Times Mirror Square

Second Street and Broadway Metro Station

Historic 200-300 South Broadway: Prudent Beaudry’s Landholdings

Historic 200-300 South Broadway Street Eastside

249-253 South Broadway Street: Irvine-Byrne and Pan American Building

Historic 200-300 South Broadway Street Westside

242 South Broadway Street: Hosfield Building

301-311 South Broadway Street: The Million Dollar Theatre

315-317 South Broadway Street: Grand Central Market

351-353 South Broadway Street: Zobel Building

359 South Broadway Street: Perla on Broadway Building

304 South Broadway Street: Bradbury Building

340-344 South Broadway Street: Trustee Building

356-364 South Broadway Street: O. T. Johnson Building

401-423 South Broadway Street: Broadway Department Store and Junipero Serra Building

431 South Broadway Street: Woolworth and W. T. Grant Building

443-449 South Broadway Street: J. J. Newberry Department Store and Metropolitan Building

400-500 South Broadway Street Westside

424 South Broadway Street: Judson Rives Building

430 South Broadway Street: Bumiller Building

452-460 South Broadway Street: Chester Williams Building

501-511 South Broadway Street: Fifth Street Store

517 South Broadway Street: Remick and Grayson Building

529 South Broadway Street: Schulte United Building

537-541 South Broadway Street: J. W. Gold Building

551-553 South Broadway Street: Metropolitan Annex and National Dollar Store

559 South Broadway Street: Swelldom Department Store and Sun Drug Store Building

500-508 South Broadway Street: Jewelry Trade Building

510 South Broadway Street: O.T. Johnson #2 Building

516-522 South Broadway Street: Roxie Theatre

526-530 South Broadway Street: Cameo Theatre

534 South Broadway Street: Spring and Broadway Mercantile Arcade Building

556-558 South Broadway Street: Silverwood’s Building

601-605 South Broadway Street:  Norton Building

615 South Broadway Street: Los Angeles Theatre

617 South Broadway Street: S. H. Kress Building

635-659 South Broadway Street: Bullock’s Department Store and Saint Vincent’s Jewelry Center

600-610 South Broadway Street: Story Building

612-616 South Broadway Street: Desmond Building

618-622 South Broadway Street: Schaber's, Forum and Broadway Cafeteria

626-636 South Broadway Street: Palace Theatre

644-648 South Broadway Street: Clifton’s Brookside Cafeteria

660 South Broadway Street: Hass Building

701-713 South Broadway Street: The State Theatre

719 South Broadway Street: F. W. Woolworth Company Building

737-747 South Broadway Street: Issacs Building

749 South Broadway Street: Hartfield’s Department Store

759 South Broadway Street: Merritt Building

Historic 700 South Broadway Street Eastside

712 South Broadway Street: Yorkshire Hotel and Apartments

722 South Broadway Street: Barker Brothers Building and Whelan Drug Store

740 South Broadway Street: Garland Building and Globe Theatre

756 South Broadway Street: Charles C. Chapman Building

801-829 South Broadway Street: The May Company

Historic 845-849 South Broadway Street

849 South Broadway Street: Eastern Columbia Building

800 South Broadway Street: Tower Theatre

812 South Broadway Street: Rialto Theatre

818 South Broadway Street: Wurlitzer Building

820-824 South Broadway: Brown-Israel Building

834 South Broadway Street: Platt Building

842 South Broadway Street: Orpheum Theatre

850 South Broadway Street: Broadway Building

927-937 South Broadway Street: United Artists Theatre Building

939 South Broadway Street: Western Costume Building

908-910 South Broadway Street: Broadway Leasehold Building

950 South Broadway Street: Southern California Gas Company Headquarters

956 South Broadway Street: Broadway Plaza Apartment Complex

1023 South Broadway Street: Broadway Palace Apartment Complex

1031 South Broadway Street: Western Pacific Building

1064 South Broadway Street: Howard Huntington Building

1106 South Broadway Street: Case Hotel Building

1111 South Broadway Street: Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building

About The Author

Preface

This Broadway Street edition is the second in a series of major Los Angeles downtown arteries following my initial work on Spring Street. The specific sector of Broadway that I have concentrated upon is the present Chinatown to the intersection of Broadway and West Eleventh Streets and the former Herald Examiner Building.

The series of preeminent Los Angeles historical streets began with an ambitious research project launched by my good friend Marshall during the 1990s. His intention was to capsulate a history of downtown Los Angeles. Marshall’s editorial format consisted of a chronological patchwork of diversely unfocused anecdotes.

With my own edition, I preferred a completely fresh and different editorial and photographic emphasis. Capturing the entire history of downtown Los Angeles became impractical. Portraying the architecture of first Spring and then Broadway Street became a prudent starting point. The two avenues feature examples of stunningly beautiful crafted late nineteenth and early twentieth century architecture in the world.

Downtown Los Angeles boasts an opulent and diverse history. It is often unappreciated due to the city’s historical emphasis on novelty and modernization. The significant monolithic architecture of Spring, Main and Broadway Streets have transcended multiple eras of evolution as classical treasures, impervious to age and fashion.

Piecing and shifting together a continuous narrative behind each property has proven as challenging as any scattered ruin reclamation project. Conflicting, absent and obscure references make the project daunting. Unidentifiable and undocumented photographic images litter Internet research. Attributing proper building names, placement and chronologies can become flawed. Mistakes and misidentifications are inevitable, but hopefully each will be correctible in subsequent editions.

Documenting history remains an imperfect science. Credible and living participants during Broadway and Spring Street’s prominence (1880s, Silent Film era and Post World War I) no longer are available for corroboration. Their passing has silenced each confirming voice. In their place remains biased and often unsustainable commentary, flawed photographic images, archival display and classified advertising, map surveys and phone directories as the sole research resources.

Among the varied and principle outlets I consulted and researched were the archived stories, display and classified advertising from the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Herald Examiner and other period newspapers, the Jewish Museum of the American West website, Wikipedia, conversations and excursions with Marshall to downtown Los Angeles, postal card images posted by Brent C. Dickerson, Google historical reference websites involving Downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Conservancy Organization website, Los Angeles Downtown News, the University of Southern California Digital Library archives, Department of Water and Power photography archives, City of Los Angeles Public Art, LA Law Library website, Historical and Cultural Art reference materials, author John Bengtston’s online photo reenactment of shooting the film Safety Last!, the Los Angeles Athletic Club website and other Los Angeles related postings to obtain comparative corroborations.

My thanks and appreciation is directed towards each precedent effort designed to document and provide cohesive understanding about the past.

The Early Settlement and Later Development of Downtown Los Angeles

The history of Broadway Street, similar to Spring Street is a narrative about change, resilience and adaptation. Unlike Spring Street, Broadway has not completely exhibited a completed aesthetic rehabilitation. The process has become more piecemeal, attributed significantly to the obsolete landmarks that defined the street: colossal department stores, theatre houses and cinemas.

Its renewal has been slowed by prior short-term financial remedies and decisions rendered during decades of decline. The fall was much steeper from atop its perch as the recognized center of Los Angeles. Despite running parallel to Spring Street throughout downtown, the historical nature of each street was different. Broadway is a much longer boulevard and its unique history, rise, decline and rebirth has been influenced by different factors.

Yet long before there was a Broadway Street noted for its flamboyant neon signage and bright lighting of the early and mid-twentieth century, Los Angeles was a very different location.

The Agricultural Era That Defined Downtown

Imagine a horizon of vineyard acreage punctuated by uniform apple and citrus groves. Visualize expansive herds of cattle grazing amongst lush hillsides, which once formed the Aliso trail (now the 101 Hollywood Freeway). The downtown Los Angeles of the 1830s was an agricultural oasis nourished by its proximity to a flourishing river, the Rio Porciuncula, later renamed the Los Angeles River.

The shores