Bullocks Wilshire

Coordinates: 34°03′42″N 118°17′18″W / 34.06161°N 118.28827°W / 34.06161; -118.28827
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bullocks Wilshire
John and Donald Parkinson
Architectural styleArt Deco
NRHP reference No.78000685
LAHCM No.56
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 25, 1978
Designated LAHCM1968-06-15[1]

Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050

Los Angeles, California, is a 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2) Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Downtown Los Angeles).[2] Bullocks Wilshire was also the name of the department store chain of which the Los Angeles store was the flagship; it had seven stores total; Macy's incorporated them into and rebranded them as I. Magnin in 1989, before closing I. Magnin entirely in 1994. The building is currently owned by Southwestern Law School
.

History

Design

Bullocks Wilshire, c. 1936

The building was designed by Los Angeles architects

John and Donald Parkinson;[3] the interior design was by Eleanor Lemaire and Jock Peters of the Feil & Paradise Company;[3] the ceiling mural of the porte-cochère was painted by Herman Sachs.[3]

Exterior

Bullocks Wilshire from the northeast.

The exterior is notable for its 241-foot (73 m) tower whose top is sheathed in copper, tarnished green. At one time, the tower peak had a light that could be seen for miles around. The stylized relief, above the Wilshire Boulevard entrance, was designed by

Oscar. Among the workers laboring on the project may have been Sam Rodia, builder of the Watts Towers.[5]

Bullocks Wilshire's innovation was that it was one of the first department stores in Los Angeles to cater to the burgeoning automobile culture. It was located in a then-mostly residential district, its objective to attract shoppers who wanted a closer place to shop than Downtown Los Angeles.[6] Traditional display windows faced the sidewalk, but they were decorated to catch the eyes of motorists. Since most customers would arrive by vehicle, the most appealing entrance was placed in the rear. Under the city's first department store porte cochere, valets in livery welcomed patrons and parked their cars.[6]

Interior

Shoppers entered the

foyer which had travertine floors and elevators finished in nickel, brass, and gunmetal
.

Lobby elevator door

On the first floor was the

atelier. The Saddle Shop featured vermillion floor tiles, wall cases of deep red oak, and a life-size plaster likeness of a horse, Bullock's Barney.[6]

Recessed ceiling and light fixture

For refreshment, there was a top-floor desert-themed

hors d'oeuvres as sales associates modeled potential gifts.[8]

Clientele and notable employees

The department store served the upper crust of Los Angeles society. In its heyday, Bullocks Wilshire patrons included celebrities

First Lady Patricia Nixon also served a stint on the floor.[8] From his studio, next to the Chanel department, Neil Gittings
photographed many celebrities who frequented Bullocks Wilshire.

Bullocks Wilshire south façade

Decline

In the early 1970s, this sub-division of Bullock's dropped its apostrophe and began opening separate branch locations so as to separate its decidedly luxury identity from its larger yet more upper-moderate/better parent. Branches were located in

Federated Department Stores
in January 1995 upon its acquisition of Macy's.

Current use of building

In 1994, the building was acquired by

City of Los Angeles, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
May 25, 1978.

The Southwestern Law School Office of Administrative Services is responsible for all arrangements pertaining to commercial photography and filming on Southwestern's campus and works with Unreel Locations.

Bullocks Wilshire chain

Bullocks Wilshire was one of the more important divisions of Bullock's, Inc. until it was consolidated into I. Magnin by Macy's in 1989. The division could be traced to the opening of a single luxury branch store of Bullock's in 1929.[11] In 1968, The Bullock's store in Palm Springs (built in 1947) was transferred to the control of Bullock's Wilshire to be its first branch store.[12] Four years later, in 1972, Bullock's Wilshire store was separated from Bullock's as a separate division with its own, president, chairman, buyers and staff with Walter Bergquist, former president of Bullock's, assigned as the division's first president.[13]

Bullocks Wilshire locations

Source: Bullock's Department Store by Devin T. Frick

  • Wilshire (freestanding), opened September 24, 1929 – now occupied by Southwestern Law School
  • Palm Springs (freestanding), opened October 18, 1947
  • Woodland Hills Promenade
    , opened August 20, 1973
  • Newport Beach (Fashion Island), opened August 1, 1977 – razed, now site of Nordstrom
  • La Jolla Village Square, San Diego, opened August 20, 1979
  • Palos Verdes (Rolling Hills Estates), (The Courtyard, now Promenade on the Peninsula), opened September 28, 1981 – now individual retail stores and cinema
  • Palm Desert Town Center
    , opened February 7, 1987
  • Bullocks Lakewood Center- razed- Now a Home Depot

See also

References

  1. ^ "Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments | Office of Historic Resources, City of Los Angeles". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
  2. ^ "PCAD - Bullock's Wilshire Department Store, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA".
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-394-72388-0
    .
  4. ^ Kaplan, Sam Hall (1987-09-05). "Music, Architecture Blend in Harmony". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  5. ^ Landler, Edward and Brad Byer (2006). "I Build the Tower". Los Angeles: Bench Movies.
  6. ^
    ISBN 1-883318-55-6
    .
  7. ^ Roderick, p. 71
  8. ^ a b c d Roderick, p. 75
  9. ISBN 0-7868-6027-8
  10. ^ a b Roderick, p. 76
  11. ^ Whitaker, Alma (September 26, 1929). "Bullock's In Debut Today: New Wilshire Store, Marking Daring Experiment in Merchandising, Ready to Open Doors". Los Angeles Times. pp. A1–A2. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2019. Bullock's Wilshire is a temple to women. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  12. ^ "Features: Palm Springs Now 'Wilshire'". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 116, no. 38. February 23, 1968. p. 7. Bullock's has confirmed it has changed the name of its Palm Springs operation to Bullock's Wilshire," but company president Walter Bergquist said there are no present plans to change other stores to that name. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  13. ^ "Bullock's Wilshire Now A Separate Business". Women's Wear Daily. Vol. 124, no. 23. February 2, 1972. p. 50. Bullock's Inc., has taken the wraps off an expansion program which has long been the subject of speculation along the retail front. It includes development of Bullock's Wilshire as a separate business, with its own growth program, and addition of new Bullock's units. Word of these developments came from Weston P. Figgins, chairman. and Howard Goldfeder, president. Both declined to expand on a terse bulletin. Bullock's Wilshire, which has long operated as an autonomous entity under the Bullock's management wing, now will function on its own with additional units carrying Bullock's Wilshire merchandise. Goldfeder succeeded Walter Bergquist as Bullock's president. Bergquist was shifted to the new post of president, Bullock's Wilshire, a step which tended to substantiate speculation relative to possible growth of the autonomous store which also operates Bullock's unit in Palm Springs. Bullock's. Inc., operates 10 stores. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.

Further reading

  • Davis, Margaret Leslie. A History of the Bullocks Wilshire.
    ISBN 0-9643119-3-3
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bullocks Wilshire.
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