Eastern Columbia
Art Deco architecture is one of Los Angeles' touchstones to a glamorous past. Once you start looking for deco buildings, you start seeing them everywhere -- mid-Wilshire, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills. One of the best places to see these rare animals is downtown. Generally, they're not in great shape, but the density of them makes you feel the past even in the gritty present. One building that's pretty hard to miss is the Eastern Columbia.Built in just nine months in 1929 by architect Claude Beelman, the outiside is fronted in green terra cotta. It may seem like an unusual choice, but it was more common in the twenties because there was a lack of local marble and other strong soon. Few terra cotta buildings persist. Even the sidewalks around the building are decorated with terrazo designs and the opening vestibule has a fantastic starburst ceiling.
Originally built as retail space for the Eastern and Columbia Outfitting companies, the Eastern Columbia building fell, as much of downtown had, into disrepair. To date, the clock still doesn't work, and the neon feature only shows up during the day. Now, with the rejuvenation of downtown, it's been turned into loft style condos, replete with a pool and a number of modern conviniences.
The Eastern Columbia Building, 849 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA
posted by kuaptic. @ 9:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home