Department Store Windows Were Downtown's Christmas Draw
Los Angeles Examiner / 11-21-1951
Shoppers check out Christmas window displays in Downtown's department store windows on November 21, 1951.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — In the heyday of Los Angeles' department store history, shoppers would descend on Downtown each holiday season to gaze at intricate displays set up in the windows of stores such as May Company, Bullocks and Robinsons. The displays were "Downtown's unique Christmas attraction," according to the Downtown Business Men's Association (the group that would later become the Central City Association).
Today, of course, the stores are gone, both in name and from the massive buildings they used to occupy. All three of the above department stores eventually became part of Macy's, which now has just the store inside Macy's Plaza Downtown.
In 1951, though, the stores were still at their peak and extravagant displays were all unveiled on November 21, officially starting the Christmas season.
There was only one problem. With so many displays, Santa Claus was everywhere. That created some confusion for one little boy that the L.A. Times quoted in the following day's paper.
"But, mommie, we just saw him up the street and he was sowing up that great big sock, bigger than Santa himself. And then we saw him again and he was getting a haircut, ready to go out. And then we saw him flying in the air like a helicopter. And then we saw the reindeer and him sailing over the houses. And now here he is and he's already come down the chimney."
"Mommie," he said, "he's everywhere we go."
Brady Westwater on December 23, 2009, at 07:01PM – #1
Even in the very late 1950's when I was a little kid, people still came Downtown to see the Broadway store windows and the other Downtown Christmas decorations. And the lights and decorations along Fourth Street put up by Tom Gilmore between Main & Spring would have also been on Main if the economy hadn't take a turn for the worse.
Still, many of the stores along Main Street have already started investing in holiday decorations and once the economy begins to rebound, every year more of these types of seasonal decorations will be added throughout Historic Downtown - including Broadwway.
Whitman Lam on December 23, 2009, at 09:54PM – #2
I think when the Red car system shut down, it made Downtown much less pedestrian friendly, and less shoppers came.
Kay B on December 24, 2009, at 10:57AM – #3
I vaguely recall TV ads sponsored by Bullock's as late as perhaps 1960 or 1961 promoting the Christmas window displays of their downtown store. So that tradition, before finally petering out, must have been clinging to life even after the late 1950s.
The charms of big-city life wouldn't have vanished so easily if downtown Los Angeles had been a more attractive place from the beginning, or well before World War II. The community's marginalization was set into motion well before the demise of the Red Cars and the arrival of freeways.
When I see old photos of downtown, the thing that stands out to me is just how shabby or even rather poor much of it was. As one example, almost everything south of 8th Street looked depressing even by the early 1900s. The area's livelihood was dependent on fragments of streets like Spring, Hill or Broadway, and those just weren't enough to make up for the deficiencies elsewhere.
That's in sharp contrast to New York City, whose mighty and attractive properties encompassed not just a few streets or a few patches of land here and there, but hundreds, or thousands, of acres. No surprise, therefore, that even today the big department stores of New York still invest a lot of time and money into annual holiday window displays.
Matthew Jackson Cooper on December 24, 2009, at 06:32PM – #4
Nice bit of nostalgia, even though I wasn't alive or living here back then. Thanks for the pics
Admir on December 25, 2009, at 11:27AM – #5
I think "Kay B" got it right. My mother would shop downtown in the late 40's, early 50s, because "there wasn't much else". She said it was kind of shabby then. I wonder why LA never put much energy into it's core? How did Beverly Hills and its environs become the glitz of LA? was it PPP?
nor on December 25, 2009, at 01:49PM – #6
The comparison cannot be made. It's apples and oranges. In contrast to Manhattan, Downtown L.A. is not constrained, is unbounded. There is no ocean, no harbor.
However, it is the historic and transportation nucleus of the metropolis. Add in all of it's cultural complexity and it is the most promising point on the compass in America's southwest.
Now if Washington would just stop spending money on Af-Pak-Iraq, we could have a subway to Santa Moncia in short order.
Yeah, I just loved the part of 'Avatar' where the bad guy gets his due. I yelled out: Sayonora George Bush!" and everyone howled.
Natalie DeJohn on December 26, 2009, at 03:29PM – #7
What a great photo! Makes me think of "A Christmas Story."
Bubba on December 28, 2009, at 12:32PM – #8
Wow. I wonder if we aren't losing an opportunity to get this back. As I see it, there are hundreds of little apparel stores down here already. Places like beverly hills and melrose develop organically and naturally over time, you cant' manufacture it. At least thats what I think. Why not create a demand whereby the people who live downtown actually shop (not just drink sometimes) at their local stores and request higher quality products. Then those stores selling merchandise that we don't want will upgrade because they know the customers are there. Or they can sell to boutiques. If we are waiting for someone to simply build a shopping district we're in trouble. You need a row of 4 or 5 boutiques that eventually and organically grow to more to create a new shopping district. Otherwise you'll have premier stores sitting empty waiting for downtown shoppers that dont contribute to their local economy (unless you sell 24oz cans of malt liquor and pabst blue ribbon for $2) like all the restaurants at LA Live and the South Park/Financial Districts are learning.
Mary Ann St.Charles on December 30, 2009, at 04:51PM – #9
It was wonderful and so enjoyed sharing the experience with my parents and brother. Each Christmas in the l940's, we walked and viewed each window. I also was given a new pair of Mary Jane shoes. These are the memories that will forever be the greatest. I loved Bullocks and Robinsons. Shopped the stores until they closed.
Robert on December 31, 2009, at 05:46AM – #10
Bubba has some good points (never thought I would make a comment like that). Downtown started to change with the lofts..then the bars and restaurants followed...now we are seeing the boutiques and shops. I sincerely hope that 2010 will be the year of retail downtown. Storefronts on Main and Spring seem to be evolving. Broadway needs a better mix of stores that will stay open in the evening. Payless Shoes just closed on 9th and Broadway. The building is historic but could should return the facade to its original beauty. So much potential for that corner.
The holiday lights on Fourth Street that Tom Gilmore installed should be a template for Downtown next year. They are simply beautiful. Let's hope other property owners start planning now for the 2010 holiday season.
Guest on March 23, 2010, at 03:27PM – #11
These are some of my fondest memories. Dad had an office at 7th and Spring above what used to be called the Warner's theater and is now a jewelry center. Mom would dress herself and me up in hats and gloves and we would shop at the Bullocks down the street and stop for a hot chocolate in the wonderful alley between the two stores. THen we would meet dad and go to dinner at one of the many wonderful restaurants in the area. It wasn't shabby at all...it was beautiful.
Janet on December 21, 2010, at 11:16AM – #12
I think Kay B had a slight memory laspe. My family has been in Los Angeles since 1895.
I remember going downtown and Huntington Park in the 50's and the 60's.
Both locations didn't start going down until the 1969 and the early 70s. I saw the Sound of Music at the Pantages Theater which was located on 5th and Broadway. There was a display where you could purchase a souvenir picture book and soundtrack.
I took my son to Clifton's cafeteria in the early 70's and it was still beautiful and the food the great.
Robinsons had two parts. There was the part on Broadway and there was the part on Hill. You could get to it from a walkway on the second floor. This is where the high end merchandise like furs and designer clothes were sold.
In downtown there was May Company, Robinsons, Bullock's, Broadway, Graysons, Lerners, Hartfields, Mandel's Shoes, Baker's Shoes, Leeds, Florsheim, House of Nine, See's Candy, Woolworths, Kress, Newberry's and many other stores and shops that I can't recall. These stores remained in downtown Los Angeles until the early 70's.
Again, maybe Kay B got her years mixed up because I have dated photos.
Matthew H. Davidson on February 18, 2011, at 10:09AM – #13
http://blogdowntown.com/2009/12/4963-department-store-windows-were-downtowns-christmas "FULL SCREEN" control below photos does >>>NOT<<< work Clicking on "Full Screen" link leads to BLACK screen with BDTWN icon "Loading Photo" BUT PHOTO NEVER LOADS IT JUST NEVER APPEARS Returning to original page, hit "reload", tried AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN and PHOTOS NEVER APPEARED.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on February 18, 2011, at 10:50AM – #14
Matthew: You found a bug in how our gallery viewer handles old galleries. I've fixed it, but unfortunately these photos were loaded into the system before we truly supported larger sizes and you aren't going to get any more resolution at full screen.