The Homer Laughlin Building , at 317 South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles , is a landmark building best known for its ground floor tenant the Grand Central Market , the city's largest and oldest public market that sees 2 million visitors a year.
29-571: Built by retired Ohio entrepreneur Homer Laughlin (founder of the Homer Laughlin China Company), the Homer Laughlin Building was Los Angeles's first fireproofed, steel-reinforced structure. The original six-story building was designed in 1896 by architect John B. Parkinson . Smith & Carr were the building contractors. In August 1898 Coulter's Dry Goods (later department store) opened here. In 1905
58-457: A number of new colors offered before the entire line was phased out in 1973. Fiesta was re-introduced by the company in 1986 and remains in production. The new Fiesta line contains a number of shapes produced from the original molds, although with the change to a fully vitrified (harder) clay body, some modifications to the molds were required which resulted in slight changes to the shape from the original design. Where no modifications were required,
87-533: A pottery in East Liverpool, Ohio , which they ran as Laughlin Brothers until 1879, when Homer bought out Shakespeare. Their crockery became so popular that the company was accused of counterfeiting English trademarks by British manufacturers. In response to this accusation, Laughlin devised an anti-English trademark of a lion supine mounted by a rampant eagle standing on the lion's belly. The company became
116-495: A scientist, author, and educator, who oversaw the conversion of HLCC from bottle kilns to more efficient tunnel kilns. In 1927, the company hired English ceramist Frederick Hurten Rhead, who focused on the design of the company's products and experimented with shapes and glazes. In 1935, this work culminated in his designs for the Fiesta line. The company reached its production peak in 1948, manufacturing 10,129,449 items. In 2010,
145-753: A short dinnerware china set made by the Homer Laughlin China Company in association with the Taylor, Smith and Taylor Pottery Company and Quaker Oats Company. Modern Star is not a shape but a short dinnerware set with an “atomic style” starburst pattern prominent on each piece of the dinnerware. The dinnerware line was produced for the Quaker Oats Company as a way for the company to drive sales of its flagship breakfast product. Back then, companies like Quaker Oats would offer dinnerware and household items by marketing to their customers
174-533: Is a sought after collectible, but it was not well received when introduced and was dropped only one year after its debut. Golden Wheat Line, Homer-Laughlin Company produced the Golden Wheat line between 1949 and 1966. These pieces were added to Duz Detergent boxes as an enticement to buyers. These dishes feature a center picture of wheat bending in the wind, with a trim on the edge in 22k gold. Modern Star,
203-711: Is interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery . Homer Laughlin China Company The Fiesta Tableware Company (formerly The Homer Laughlin China Company ) is a ceramics manufacturer located in Newell, West Virginia , United States. Established in 1871, it is widely known for its Art Deco glazed dinnerware line, Fiesta . In 2002, The New York Times called Fiesta "the most collected brand of china in
232-650: The Homer Laughlin Building on Broadway , the first fire-proof office building in Southern California . It was also the first reinforced concrete building erected in Southern California. Laughlin was an intimate friend of President William McKinley for over thirty years and presided over the reception committee when McKinley visited Los Angeles. Laughlin was president of the U.S. Potters' Association for many years. He
261-421: The 1930s. Harlequin was introduced in 1938 as a less expensive alternative to Fiesta and was commissioned by and sold exclusively at Woolworth's stores. The third line of bright solid color ware produced by Homer Laughlin during that era was Riviera dinnerware [1938], which is distinctive for its triple-scalloped corners on a square shape. Riviera was available in red, yellow, light green, mauve blue, ivory [during
290-603: The 1960s which hid the second-story windows. Along with the adjacent Million Dollar Theater Building and the Bradbury Building , the Homer Laughlin Building and the Grand Central Market underwent a major renovation in the 1990s under the direction of developer Ira Yellin and architect Brenda Levin . As part of the rehabilitation residential units were added, creating downtown Los Angeles's first true mixed-use developments in decades. In 2013, under
319-580: The United States". In March 2020, the storied Homer Laughlin China Company sold its food services divisions and the Homer Laughlin name to Steelite International , a British-based international tableware manufacturer. The company retained its retail division, including the prominent Fiesta line as well as the manufacturing and marketing operations in Newell, West Virginia — rebranding
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#1732781090090348-478: The Wells family, sold its food service divisions along with the Homer Laughlin name to Steelite International , a British-based, international tableware manufacturer. HLCC retained its retail division, including the prominent Fiestaware line along with the manufacturing operations and headquarters — rebranding as The Fiesta Tableware Company . For some time, the food services division had been unprofitable and
377-478: The ability to collect box tops from their products, which consumers could then send in to Quaker Oats with a reduced price per piece or set of the desired pieces of dinnerware the customer wanted to purchase. Customers could purchase small sets or a complete set of dinnerware for up to 6 people. Modern Star was one of the last dinnerware lines the Homer Laughlin China Company manufactured in partnership with Taylor, Smith & Taylor Pottery Company. The Modern Star Line
406-500: The age of 10 when her parents retired there. They bought a large mansion, now demolished, at 666 West Adams Boulevard. At one time Gwendolyn was on the board of directors of Children's Hospital Los Angeles . Homer Laughlin Jr. attended Stanford University , where he married Ada Edwards, a physical culture instructor, in the university chapel. Homer Laughlin died of pneumonia on January 10, 1913, after an operation for appendicitis . He
435-488: The company — then known as the Homer Laughlin China Company (HLCC), purchased The Hall China Company in East Liverpool, and under the new name were the two potteries in the area. As of 2015 the company continued to manufacture all of its products in the United States. A visitor center, museum, and factory outlet are maintained at its headquarters. In March 2020, Homer Laughlin China Company (HLCC), owned by
464-640: The company as the Fiesta Tableware Company. The Fiesta Tableware Company originated as Laughlin Pottery, a two-kiln pottery on the banks of the Ohio River in East Liverpool, Ohio — started in 1871 by brothers Shakespeare and Homer Laughlin . Shakespeare left the company in 1879. In 1889 William Edwin Wells joined Laughlin, and seven years later they incorporated. Laughlin sold his interest to Wells shortly thereafter. The company
493-405: The company's widely celebrated American retail brand. In the 1920s the firm advertised itself as the largest pottery company in the world . Estimates of production range from 25,000 to 35,000 different patterns since production started. Homer Laughlin began producing the popular and colorful Fiesta line of dinnerware in 1936. Fiesta dinnerware continued to be produced through the late 1960s, with
522-649: The engagements around Murfreesboro . After he was mustered out of the army, he worked in retail in Pittsburgh for a while, and later he worked in petroleum development in Pennsylvania for a year, boring twelve oil wells. He then became a travelling salesman of Rockingham style crockery throughout the Midwest . Homer then moved to New York where he worked with his brother Shakespeare Moore Laughlin as an importer of English earthenware . In 1873, they built
551-488: The greater shrinkage of the contemporary clay during firing results in the final object being of slightly smaller size then when directly compared to an example of original vintage production. As well many completely new shapes designed for modern day use have been created. Like the original line, the current day production features an evolving number of glaze colors. In addition to Fiesta, two other lines of colorful dinnerware in bright, solid-colored glazes were introduced in
580-536: The largest manufacturer of crockery in the country. Laughlin Pottery then became the Homer Laughlin China Company . In 1889, William Edwin Wells joined Homer Laughlin, and seven years later the two incorporated the company. Laughlin sold his interest to Wells shortly thereafter. The company moved operations across the Ohio River to West Virginia land purchased from the Newell family. Laughlin moved to Los Angeles in 1897, where he developed
609-501: The leadership of Ira Yellin's widow, Adele Yellin, the Market began welcoming a new wave of vendors who are transforming the nearly century-old food arcade into a major culinary destination. The ongoing revitalization of the iconic food arcade has garnered numerous media accolades including being named one of the “Hot 10” restaurants nationwide by Bon Appetit magazine in 2014. In 1979, Los Angeles's Broadway Theater and Commercial District
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#1732781090090638-640: The structure was expanded through to Hill Street, called either the Laughlin Annex or the Lyon Building. This design by architect Harrison Albright was the first reinforced concrete building in Los Angeles. The first post-expansion tenant was the Ville de Paris department store , replaced in 1917 by the Grand Central Market, which still occupies the ground floor of the building. The location
667-534: The war] and occasionally cobalt blue. Production of Riviera ended circa 1948–49. Harlequin was produced until 1964 and was briefly reintroduced in 1979 for the Woolworth company's 100 year anniversary. Epicure, a line based on popular colors and shapes of the 1950s was introduced in 1955, and was designed by a student of Russel Wright . Wright's own dinnerware lines were made by Homer Laughlin rival, Steubenville Pottery in nearby Steubenville, Ohio . Epicure today
696-919: Was a member of the Republican Club of New York, the California Club , Los Angeles, the Allegheny Commandery No. 35, Knights Templar , and an honorary life member of the Girvan Encampment of Glasgow, Knights Templar of Scotland . The Homer Laughlin China Co. moved all operations to Newell, West Virginia , in 1907. Operations continue in that location today. On June 18, 1875, Laughlin married Cornelia Battenberg (1846-1907) at Wellsville, Ohio . They had three children, Homer, Jr., Nanette (1883-1891) and Gwendolyn (1886-May 19, 1942). Gwendolyn lived in Los Angeles from
725-672: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places , with Grand Central Market listed as a contributing property in the district. In 2019, the building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1183. Homer Laughlin Homer Laughlin (March 23, 1843 – January 10, 1913) was an American businessman and potter who, with his brother Shakespeare, formed the Laughlin Pottery Company in 1871 in Newell, West Virginia . Homer Laughlin
754-537: Was awarded a prize at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, for the best white-ware. The firm experienced rapid growth and opened a new 30-kiln plant in Newell, West Virginia , in 1903 — the company’s present manufacturing and headquarters location. By the late 1920s all production was centered at the West Virginia factory and the Ohio site was abandoned. The company hired Albert V. Bleininger in 1920,
783-542: Was born in Little Beaver Creek, Columbiana, Ohio on March 23, 1843, the son of a miller, merchant and postmaster, Matthew Laughlin (1799–1876), of Scotch-Irish descent, and Maria ( née Moore; 1814–1888), Homer Laughlin was educated at public schools and later at Neville Institute (now defunct). He did Civil War service from 1862 to 1865. A large part of his service was on detached duty as expert recorder of important military tribunals and he participated in
812-585: Was chosen because of its proximity to the Angels Flight Railway allowing for easy access to the well-to-do citizens of Bunker Hill. In the 1920s the building served as an office for the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright . The original building was built in the Beaux Arts style, but subsequent modifications drastically changed its appearance including the addition of a tile façade in
841-409: Was unable to compete with inexpensive imported tableware. Because HLCC had been using the Homer Laughlin brand name in its foodservice business, and they were selling that division, the storied name was sold also. At the time, Elizabeth Wells McIlvain, president of The Homer Laughlin China Company, said the Wells family entered into the sale of the foodservice division to focus exclusively on Fiesta,
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