Fire Gives a Glimpse of Old Architecture

By Eric Richardson
Published: Monday, February 05, 2007, at 03:40PM

Eric Richardson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — This morning's fire at 4th and Broadway gutted a building that from the outside looked absolutely unremarkable. It was two stories with an ugly wood-shingle facade. In the aftermath we get to see a different building, though, a classic brick structure designed by John Parkinson and erected in 1902.

As has happened so many times on Broadway, sometime over the last four decades they took the classic brick and covered it. Oh, and they also chopped at least four floors off, but who's really counting?

Next door they did the same thing, taking an ornate stone building and fronting it with the same wood shingles.

Every time this topic comes up, I'm perplexed and amazed at how someone once thought these changes were for the better. Tastes have changed over the decades, but how could it have ever been considered a positive to take a building with windows and cover them up with wood shingles?

It will be very interesting to see what happens with this corner going forward. The worst-case scenario would be to see it languish as rubble or a parking lot as the owner wrestles out some insurance case. Hopefully that outcome can be avoided and we can use this newly available site to add some off-hour life back into Broadway.

Update (4:15pm): Jen Mapes found this shot of the O.T. Johnson Building in the USC Digital Archives. You can see how the windows match up with those revealed in this shot.

Update (Tuesday): The LA Times wrote this same story today. I was a little more detailed in my history, though.

Update (Tuesday): I had identified the structure to the north of the O.T. Johnson building as Parkinson's Trustee Company Building. Either that's not correct or the Parkinson Archives has an incorrect picture. Either one's possible. The Trustee Company building was built in 1906 on the east side of the block between 3rd and 4th.

Comments

Denise Bernard writes:

Pathetic, if not outright disgusting, what property owners through the years have done to buildings like that. Maybe it's for the better that a place turned into such a ratty shell of its former self went up in smoke.

# on Feb.05.2007 AT 07:25 PM

Whitman Lam writes:

Does anyone know the reason a 7 story building was reduced to 2 stories, thus reducing it's value by more than half ?

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 11:53 AM

David Kennedy writes:

I believe there was a time when property owners eliminated floors in their buildings to reduce their tax bill. But, I'm not absolutely sure on this point.

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 01:56 PM

Eric Richardson writes:

In the comments on the other post earthquake damage was suggested as a possibility.

In general, though, I think the idea that the upper floors were worth anything is just flawed. Broadway is a one-story street value-wise.

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 02:06 PM

Ed Fuentes writes:

You also have to consider potential vunerablity to earthquake and fire.

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 02:30 PM

Tim Quinn writes:

It would be an expensive proposition to take down upper floors by choice. Is there any indication in your readings about when this happened?

Man, it will be good to have those stupid shingles gone. A contemporary building on that corner would make an interesting addition to the neighborhood. I hope the current owner sells. He obviously is not a man of vision.

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 03:03 PM

LAPD HQ Watch writes:

Another cool pic of what the building use to look like in 1954. Much taller then(on the left). http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics48/00043540.jpg

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 04:09 PM

lastraphanger writes:

The building directly across the street, formerly known as the Grant Block, also had its upper floors removed. See my blog posting of October 13, 2006.

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 05:53 PM

Tim Quinn writes:

The Whittier Narrows quake of 1987 did a lot of damage Downtown. The Arts District lost one of its favorite and original loft buildings at the corner of Rose and Third, the spot now being re-built as the Mura. Many buildings lost their parapet walls, some lost huge sections of wall and a few lost entire walls, later replaced by cinder block.

Straphanger's story ends with the news that the Grant Block was partially demolished in the mid 80s for earthquake safety. This would fit with the Whittier Narrows quake.

# on Feb.06.2007 AT 08:34 PM

Fire Gives a Glimpse of Old Architecture

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