The Broadway Hollywood Building (sometimes Broadway Building or Broadway Department Store Building) is a building in Los Angeles' Hollywood district. The building is situated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame monument area on the southwest corner of the intersection referred to as Hollywood and Vine, marking the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. It was originally built as the B. H. Dyas Building in 1927.[1] The Broadway Hollywood Building is referred to by both its main address of 6300 Hollywood Boulevard and its side address of 1645 Vine Street.
The Broadway Hollywood Building is a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic District-listed Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District. It has been listed as both a historic district contributing property and individually registered historic property by the city of Los Angeles and the state of California. The building has a neon sign above it that is considered notable and historic.
The Broadway Hollywood Building was built as a department store, but has been refurbished as both commercial office space and residential condominiums. For several decades it hosted The Broadway. The building had an annex built to the west in 1939 and is also associated with the address 6316 Hollywood Boulevard. As a residential building, the building's units have had numerous famous owners.
Although several sources describe the building as a ten-story building,[1] the building is described as a nine-story building in the Hollywood Boulevard 1985 National Register of Historic Places nomination form.[2] Atop the ten-story building is a two-story penthouse that serves as the base for the metal neon sign that says "The Broadway Hollywood".[3] The original department store was designed by Frederick Rice Dorn in 1927 and its annex was designed by local architects John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson in 1938.[3] It was originally built in the neoclassical architecture style from reinforced concrete with brick upper stories that, along with the street level, include the bulk of the detailing. Notable details include a classical entablature surmounts pilasters with Corinthian capitals, which result in what is described as a colonnade effect, which is repeated in the upper stories.[2] The building is capped with a heavy cornice.[1] The structure's highly ornamented facade includes decorative cornices and terra cotta pilasters. The top two stories has Corinthian-styled columns situated upon a projecting beltcourse.[3]
Although sources describe the annex as eight storeys,[1] the nomination calls it a "six story International Style addition".[2] It is noted for banded windows and simple exterior. By the time of the nomination several showcase windows had been altered.[2] According to the City of Los Angeles Office of Economic Development, the annex used "Streamline Moderne Style, characterized by the absence of ornamentation and an emphasis on smooth wall surfaces, rounded corners, flat roofs and linear elements that give a horizontal emphasis."[3] The unifying exterior element between the original structure and its annex are the ground level colonnades.[3]
Recognition
At the base of the building is a historical designation plaque for the Hollywood and Vine intersection
The building is included in the National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic District-listed Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, which covers from 6200–7000 Hollywood Boulevard, that was designated April 4, 1985.[2] Both of the building's streetscapes—Hollywood Boulevard & Vine Street—are located within the City of Los Angeles Monument area LA-194 designated as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was designated July 5, 1978.[4] The building and its neon sign were individually designated as a City monument (LA-664) on September 29, 1999.[4] On April 4, 1985, the building and the entire Hollywood Blvd Commercial & Entertainment District were recognized by the California Office of Historic Preservation with status code 1D in designations 0053-4680-0054 and 0053-4680-9999, respectively.[5] The building is covered by the Mills Act (Contract Number: 53175873 and Case Number: CHC-2005-5690-MA).
History
Broadway Hollywood Building from the north along Vine Street
In 1922,[6] as Hollywood Boulevard regional shopping district, second only to Downtown Los Angeles, was taking form, stock was sold to finance construction of a four-story building at Hollywood and Vine to house a branch of Boadway Bros., a small Pasadena-based department store chain. Boadway’s went out of business in 1923, and B. H. Dyas agreed to open in the building instead.[7]
In 1927, the Classical Revival Style building was built by local businessman Frank R. Strong as a B. H. Dyas Company Department Store.[1][3] The construction, which continued into 1928, marked the first department store branch outside of the main Downtown Los Angelescentral business district and led to similar large-scale commercial developments outside downtown.[3] Due to the Great Depression, B. H. Dyas had to consolidate its operation back to its original store and The Broadway purchased the 30-year lease for this prime location for $2 million (US$40.1 million in 2023 dollars[8]) in 1931.[3] The Broadway Hollywood Building quickly found its niche by serving the Hollywood's film and finance industries demand for high end products.[3]
With the store's profits, it was able to expand in 1938 with 52,000 square feet (4,800m2) of retail space.[3] In 1939, an eight-story modern annex designed by Parkinson and Parkinson was built immediately to the west.[1][3] The Broadway Department Store served as a tenant until 1982,[9] after which building was reconfigured for office use.[3]
In 2005 and after having been vacant for many years, a renovation began to convert the 10-story building into 96 loft condominiums, while adding two floors to the annex.[1] In July 2008, the residents sued the bar on the first floor of the building for its noise pollution, resulting in the relocation of the bar in February 2009.[10] Among the current and past owners of the building's loft condominiums are Dave Navarro,[11][12][13]Jason Statham,[14]Danny Masterson, and Charlize Theron.[15]
Hollywood and Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, a district of Los Angeles, became known in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersection.
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollywood Hills and its eastern terminus is at Sunset Boulevard in Los Feliz. Hollywood Boulevard is famous for running through the tourist areas in central Hollywood, including attractions such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Ovation Hollywood shopping and entertainment complex.
The NoHo Arts District is a community in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that is home to contemporary theaters, art galleries, cafes, and shops. The community is generally bounded by Hatteras Street to the north, Cahuenga Blvd to the east, Tujunga Ave to the west, and Camarillo Street to the south. The area features more than twenty professional theaters, producing new work and classics, diverse art galleries, public art, and professional dance studios. The district also features the largest concentration of music recording venues west of the Mississippi. A Metro Rail station is located here, the North Hollywood station of the B Line and serves as the terminus of the Metro G Line busway.
The Historic Core is a district within Downtown Los Angeles that includes the world's largest concentration of movie palaces, former large department stores, and office towers, all built chiefly between 1907 and 1931. Within it lie the Broadway Theater District and the Spring Street historic financial district, and in its west it overlaps with the Jewelry District and in its east with Skid Row.
Broadway, until 1890 Fort Street, is a thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The portion of Broadway from 3rd to 9th streets, in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, was the city's main commercial street from the 1910s until World War II, and is the location of the Broadway Theater and Commercial District, the first and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). With twelve movie palaces located along a six-block stretch of Broadway, it is the only large concentration of movie palaces left in the United States.
The Financial District is the central business district of Los Angeles along Olive, Grand, Hope, Flower and Figueroa streets from 4th Street to 8th Street. It is south of the Bunker Hill district, west of the Historic Core, north of South Park and east of the Harbor Freeway and Central City West. Like Bunker Hill, the Financial District is home to corporate office skyscrapers, hotels and related services as well as banks, law firms, and real estate companies. However, unlike Bunker Hill which was razed and now consists of buildings constructed since the 1960s, it contains large buildings from the early 20th century, particularly along Seventh Street, once the city's upscale shopping street; the area also attracts visitors as the 7th and Flower area is at the center of the regional Metro rail system and is replete with restaurants, bars, and shopping at two urban malls.
John and Donald Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural firm operating in the Los Angeles area in the early 20th century. They designed and built many of the city's iconic buildings, including Grand Central Market, the Memorial Coliseum and the City Hall.
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. 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. 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). J. V. McNeil Company was the general contractor.
The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant retailer in Southern California and the Southwest. Its fortunes eventually declined, and Federated Department Stores bought the chain in 1995. In 1996, Broadway stores were either closed or converted into Macy's and Bloomingdales.
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.
Spring Street in Los Angeles is one of the oldest streets in the city. Along Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Street is the NRHP-listed Spring Street Financial District, nicknamed Wall Street of the West, lined with Beaux Arts buildings and currently experiencing gentrification. This section forms part of the Historic Core district of Downtown, together with portions of Hill, Broadway, Main and Los Angeles streets.
The Metropolitan Building, in Los Angeles, California, was completed in 1913 and is one of a number of buildings built along Broadway in the early decades of the twentieth century for commercial and retail uses in what had then become the busiest and largest shopping district of the city. Located at the intersection of W. 5th Street and S. Broadway, the Metropolitan Building replaced a two-story, Romanesque Revival style building with storefronts on S. Broadway and W. 5th Street. This building was called the Mueller Building for its owner, Michail Mueller. The date of the building's construction is not known, nor has any additional information about it been located.
The Brockman Building is a 12-story Beaux-Arts, Classical, and Romanesque Revival style building located on 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles.
Brookside is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. It is an enclave of eight tree-lined streets and 400 homes. The neighborhood consists primarily of one-story and two-story, predominantly single-family residences in various Period Revival styles including Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Mediterranean Revival, and French Revival; later buildings were constructed in the Minimal Traditional and Ranch styles.
B. H. Dyas Co. was a Los Angeles sporting goods retailer that turned into a department store and went out of business in the 1930s, owned by Bernal Hubert Dyas (1882–1959).
7th Street is a street in Los Angeles, California running from S. Norton Ave in Mid-Wilshire through Downtown Los Angeles. It goes all the way to the eastern city limits at Indiana Ave., and the border between Boyle Heights, Los Angeles and East Los Angeles.
Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District consists of twelve blocks between the 6200 and 7000 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. This strip of commercial and retail businesses is recognized for its historical significance and was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Boadway Bros. or Boadway's was a chain of upscale department stores in Southern California and New Mexico during the 1910s and 1920s, which started with a single store in Pasadena carrying furniture.
Robertson Company also known as Robertson's department store and originally C.R.S. was the first department store in Hollywood, opened as Hollywood Boulevard became a major regional shopping district starting in the 1920s, second only to Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles.
Retail in Southern California dates back to its first dry goods store that Jonathan Temple opened in 1827 on Calle Principal, when Los Angeles was still a Mexican village. After the American conquest, as the pueblo grew into a small town surpassing 4,000 population in 1860, dry goods stores continued to open, including the forerunners of what would be local chains. Larger retailers moved progressively further south to the 1880s-1890s Central Business District, which was later razed to become the Civic Center. Starting in the mid-1890s, major stores moved ever southward, first onto Broadway around 3rd, then starting in 1905 to Broadway between 4th and 9th, then starting in 1915 westward onto West Seventh Street up to Figueroa. For half a century Broadway and Seventh streets together formed one of America's largest and busiest downtown shopping districts.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
