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40-610: What is now the Financial District was originally agricultural land, then a residential area of single family homes, then around 1900 started attracting businesses as Victorian-era Downtown L.A. expanded south along Broadway past 3rd Street and "around the corner", west along Seventh Street. Around 1915, 7th Street between Broadway (on which corner stood Bullock's ) and Figueroa Street , became downtown's upscale shopping district. This began with J. W. Robinson's deciding to build their flagship store in 1915 on Seventh far to

80-471: A full build out around city hall by the year 2032, specifically the east facing front. The CCMP schedules for a full tear down of Parker Center (torn down in 2019), L.A. City Hall's "south" building, and the Los Angeles Mall . The CCMP is to connect City Hall in a pedestrian-friendly way with its surrounding neighborhood and Little Tokyo . The CCMP calls for active ground-floor uses, to stimulate

120-815: A key role in the retail history of Los Angeles , as it was the first home to several upscale retailers who would become big names in the city: Desmond's (1870–1882) and Jacoby Bros. (1879–1891). It was also home to the Odd Fellows , the Fashion Saloon, the Temple and Workman Bank, Slotterbeck's gun shop, the Wells Fargo office. The northeast corner was home to Adolph Portugal' s dry goods store (1874-1879?), Jacoby Bros. (1879–1891) and Cohn Bros. (1892–1897), in succession. In 1925-7 this block and other surrounding areas were demolished to make way for

160-425: A later, expanded Temple Block in 1871, and then demolished. George P. McLain wrote that upon his arrival in the town in 1868, Temple Block had been the undisputed center of commerce and social life in the town. Even into the early 1880s, it was considered the city's most stately building. It housed many law offices, including those of Stephen M. White , Will D. Gould and Glassell , Chapman and Smith . The block had

200-530: A north-south orientation, parallel with Broadway, instead of running more northeasterly and meeting Main Street at Temple Street. As a result the Poundcake Hill buildings faced the newly aligned Spring Street until they were demolished. Adjacent to the south, mid-block, is a portion of Grand Park . The southwest corner, during Victorian times the site of unremarkable retail and office buildings,

240-669: Is located on the site of the former business district of the city during the 1880s and 1890s , since mostly-demolished. The Civic Center is located in the northern part of Downtown Los Angeles , bordering Bunker Hill , Little Tokyo , Chinatown , and the Historic Core of the old Downtown. Depending on various district definitions, either the Civic Center or Bunker Hill also contains the Music Center and adjacent Walt Disney Concert Hall ; some maps, for example, place

280-490: Is now the Civic Center occupies what was the central business district (CBD) of the 1880s and 1890s , which was first centered at the southern end of the Los Angeles Plaza and grew to the south and west along Main Street , Spring Street and Broadway , with Third & Broadway forming its southwestern anchor by the mid-1890s. As upscale businesses moved further south into the Historic Core around 1900–1910,

320-716: The Los Angeles Times newspaper. As part of the Grand Avenue Project , Grand Park was created in 2012, encompassing the former Civic Center Mall and additional areas such that it now stretches from the Los Angeles Music Center complex to City Hall . Now, the city looks to bring pedestrian life into the area. In March 2017, the Los Angeles City Council approved a new Civic Center Master Plan (CCMP). It details

360-712: The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in the Civic Center but the Disney Concert Hall in Bunker Hill. The Civic Center has the distinction of containing the largest concentration of government employees in the United States outside of Washington, D.C. The reason for the high concentration is simple: Los Angeles is the most populous county in the United States and its second largest city, and houses several state and federal functions for

400-525: The Los Angeles Police Department until 2009, opened on the east side of Los Angeles Street, pushing the civic district's eastern boundary to Alameda Street, establishing the current Civic Center footprint such that now nearly the entire area between Hope and Los Angeles streets, US-101 , and Second Street, consists of civic buildings - the single large exception being the city block called Times Mirror Square , former headquarters of

440-677: The Pan American Lofts . The architect was Sumner Hunt . It was built in a hybrid Spanish Colonial Revival/Beaux-Arts style. The building was home to the renowned I. Magnin clothing store that opened here on January 2, 1899; on June 19, 1904, I. Magnin announced that the Los Angeles store would henceforth be known as Myer Siegel . After a fire at the Irvine Byrne Building destroyed its store on February 16, 1911, Myer Siegel moved further south on Broadway. It

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480-630: The Seventh Market Place mall, now FIGat7th, opened, bringing a smaller retail cluster back to Seventh such as the 7th Street/Metro Center station opening in 1991. The Financial District was created by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency to provide an alternative to the old Spring Street Financial District , which fell into decline in the second half of the 20th century. Demand for apartments in downtown Los Angeles surged in 2010 and

520-636: The Western Shoe Co. (through 1922), later known as the Western Department Store (1922–1928). Lettering covered the face of the building from top to bottom through the end of the 1950s: "THE LARGEST SHOE DEPT. IN THE WEST". The southeast corner of 2nd and Broadway was the site of Mid-block were: The corner is home to one of the oldest buildings outside the Plaza area, the 1895 Irvine Byrne Block or Byrne Block; now called

560-554: The Mason Theatre, it showed Spanish-language films. Demolished 1955. 145 S. Broadway, site of the C. H. Frost Building , later known as the Haig M. Prince Building . Built 1898, architect John Parkinson , Now the location of the new United States Courthouse built in 2016, taking up the entire block between Broadway, Hill, First and Second. One of several Hellman Buildings across Downtown L.A. — not to be confused with

600-458: The Plaza, 3rd St., Los Angeles St., and Broadway, during the period 1880 through the period of demolition (1920s–1950s). At the time (1880–1900s), the area was referred to as the business center, business section or business district. By 1910, it was referred to as the "North End" of the business district which by then had expanded south to what is today called the Historic Core , along Broadway, Spring and Main roughly from 3rd to 9th streets. By

640-528: The Potomac Block, and combined it with the Bicknell block to create its new store that opened in 1905. After Coulter's moved: The building was demolished in 1953 and is still the site of a parking lot. The Bicknell Block (or Bicknell Building) at 225–229 S. Broadway, with back entrances at 224–228 S. Hill Street. was part of Coulter's from 1905 from 1917. After Coulter's moved in 1917, it housed

680-535: The Rocha Adobe, then the Phillips Block. The site now lies under the current course of Spring Street, which was straightened, i.e. realigned to run further west, in the 1920s. At the southwest corner of Franklin Street from 1894–1905 was Harris & Frank 's London Clothing Co. with its landmark clock. Harris & Frank went on to become a chain of junior department stores for men's clothing across

720-788: The Victorian-era blocks became the "north end" of the business district and became increasingly neglected. There were numerous grand plans for a coherent, modern civic center. Charles Mulford Robinson 's 1909 plan focused on only a few major buildings between Main, Broadway, First and Temple. Lyman Farewell, Cook and Hall, the Allied Architects Association, the Regional Planning Commission, Frank Lloyd Wright , William Lee Woollett , Stanton & Stockwell , and landscape architect Ralph Cornell all contributed plans or partial plans, through

760-449: The city's main commercial and entertainment area in the first half of the 20th century. On this corner: Along the west side of Spring Street were the following buildings. Spring was realigned in the 1920s and now runs west of these sites, and the sites where these buildings once stood are now part of the full city block on which City Hall stands: At the northwest corner of Franklin and Spring stood two buildings in succession,

800-484: The current Los Angeles City Hall . Along the south side of Temple Block was Market Street , a small street running between Spring and Main. Civic Center, Los Angeles The Civic Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California , is the administrative core of the City of Los Angeles , County of Los Angeles, and a complex of city , county, state , and federal government offices, buildings, and courthouses. It

840-491: The district include, from west to east and north to south: Fifth Street: Sixth Street: Seventh Street : Eighth Street: Other: Landmarks are shown on the following street grid of the Financial District of Downtown Los Angeles . Victorian Downtown Los Angeles The late- Victorian-era Downtown of Los Angeles in 1880 was centered at the southern end of the Los Angeles Plaza area , and over

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880-744: The entire block between Broadway, Hill, First and Second. Just south of the southwest corner was the Mason Theatre , 127 S. Broadway. Opened in 1903 as the Mason Opera House , 1,600 seats. Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago firm Marshall & Wilson designed the building in association with John Parkinson . Marshall is known for designing the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago. Remodeled in 1924 by Meyer & Holler . Later, as

920-419: The late 1950s. There was a "Mulholland Committee" to adopt one, and the location was put to the public for a vote in the late 1920s. The public voted overwhelmingly to confirm the location, but the city and county differed on which plan to adopt. There was later a Civic Center Advisory Committee and then in 1945, a Los Angeles Civic Center Authority. But never was a single plan adopted. Nonetheless, construction of

960-509: The mid-1890s, First and Spring was the center of the business district, and the Bradbury Building , opened in 1893 at Third and Broadway and still standing today, By 1910, the area north of Fourth Street was considered the "North End" of the business district and there were already concerns about its deterioration, as the center of commerce moved to what is now known as the Historic Core , from Third to Ninth streets. The map shows

1000-523: The most exclusive, center of retail and office space throughout the 1950s, but started a slow decline throughout the 1980s due to suburbanization. It was also the concentration of Downtown financial activity on Bunker Hill , a few blocks north. The flagship department stores like Bullock's (1983), Barker Brothers (1984) and Robinson's (1993) had closed and only the Broadway/Macy's at The Bloc, previously named Broadway Plaza remained. However, in 1986,

1040-530: The next two decades, it extended south and west along Main Street , Spring Street , and Broadway towards Third Street. Most of the 19th-century buildings no longer exist, surviving only in the Plaza area or south of Second Street. The rest were demolished to make way for the Civic Center district with City Hall , numerous courthouses, and other municipal, county, state and federal buildings, and Times Mirror Square . This article covers that area, between

1080-637: The northern section of that neighborhood (from Temple south to Second St.). The plan also conceived two County buildings: Stanley Mosk Courthouse completed in 1958, the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration opening in 1960, designed by Stanton, Stockwell, Williams and Wilson in Late Moderne style, flanking either side of a new pedestrian mall , Civic Center Mall, now part of Grand Park . A new Los Angeles County Hall of Records arose nearby in 1962. The 1955, Parker Center , headquarters for

1120-676: The pedestrian traffic that the Civic Center currently lacks. Four new government and office towers are described in the plan as well as the planned Park 101 recreational area. A design approach idea to cover U.S. Highway 101 as a trench with green space above. Connecting with Union Station and Olvera Street . West side of Figueroa between Temple and First: Between Figueroa and Hope: Between Hope and Grand: Between Grand and Hill: Between Hill and Broadway: Between Broadway and Spring: Between Spring and Main: Between Main and Los Angeles St.: Between Los Angeles St. and Alameda: The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates

1160-467: The region. The triangular space where Spring and Main Streets came together at the south side of Temple Street was the site of Temple Block : actually a collection of different structures that occupied the block bounded by Spring, Main and Temple. The first or Old Temple Block built by Francisco (F. P. F.) Temple in 1856, was of adobe, two stories, facing north to Temple. This was incorporated into

1200-892: The region. Los Angeles' 1949 master plan called for branch administrative centers throughout the rapidly expanding city. In addition to the main civic center downtown, there is the West Los Angeles Civic Center in the Westside (built between 1957 and 1965) and the Van Nuys Civic Center in the San Fernando Valley , as well as a neighborhood city hall in San Pedro . The Regional Connector that opened on June 16, 2023, serves this area with two stations at Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill station and Historic Broadway . Part of what

1240-414: The site are: The Poundcake Hill buildings originally backed up to Broadway to their west, and faced New High Street to their east. New High Street (see Sanborn map above) was a north-south street that ran parallel to Broadway, and to Spring Street to its east. As part of the construction of City Hall in the early 1920s, New High Street was removed south of Temple, and Spring Street was realigned more towards

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1280-704: The still-existing Hellman Building at Fourth and Spring — was located here (#138) from 1897 to 1959. The site is now a parking structure, part of the Times Mirror Square complex. The west side of the 200 block of South Broadway had a key place in the retail history of Los Angeles from the 1893 through 1917, as it was home to several prominent early department stores such as the Ville de Paris , Coulter's department store from 1905–1917, and J. W. Robinson's "Boston Dry Goods" store from 1895–1915. All three stores would move to Seventh Street when it became

1320-544: The street grid in 1910, and shows in blue three important road alignment changes that came in the 1920s–1950s: Cable cars of the Temple Street Cable Railway ran along Temple Street starting in 1886 and were replaced with Pacific Electric streetcars in 1902. This location was at the time known as Pound Cake Hill. The buildings located here faced New High Street to their east and Broadway to their west. They were as follows: Currently on

1360-551: The upscale shopping street between 1915 and 1917. Further south on the west side of Broadway, was 207–211, location of the: The YMCA Building was demolished to make way for the: The adjacent Potomac Block and Bicknell Block originally housed prominent retailers of the day, then were joined together in 1906 by Coulter's department store to form a complex, opening it as a new, 157,000 sq ft (14,600 m ) store in June, 1905. The Potomac Block , 213–223 S. Broadway,

1400-627: The various buildings proceeded one by one, starting with the City Hall and the Hall of Justice in the 1920s, and the California State Building (already demolished) in 1931. One of these plans which was not adopted in its entirety, the 1947 Civic Center Master Plan, nonetheless envisioned the demolition of the once-tony residential area Bunker Hill , which happened in the 1950s and allowed the Civic Center to expand westward across

1440-780: The west of the existing Broadway shopping district, between Hope and Grand streets. The Ville de Paris and Coulter's as well as numerous specialty shops came and rounded out the district. The area lost its exclusivity when the upscale downtown stores opened branches in Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, Westwood and Pasadena in the late 1920s through the 1940s, notably the establishment of Bullock's upscale landmark branch Bullocks Wilshire in Mid-Wilshire in 1929. Thirteen large office buildings opened between 1920 and 1928. By 1929, every plot on 7th between Figueroa and Los Angeles Streets had been developed. The area remained an important, if not

1480-662: The years following. In 2015, thousands of apartments were under construction or proposed for the area around 8th Street. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority ( Metro Rail & Metro Busway ), and LADOT (DASH & Commuter Express) provide heavy rail (subway), light rail, and local bus services throughout the Financial Core and to the Greater Los Angeles Area . 7th St/Metro Center station provides primary access to Metro B Line , D Line , A Line , and E Line . Landmarks in

1520-555: Was from 1905 to 1917 known as the B. F. Coulter Building . It was originally developed by lumberyard and mill owner J. M. Griffith. It was designed in 1888 by Block, Curlett and Eisen in Romanesque architectural style and opened on July 17, 1890. Tenants included: It was the first time major retail stores opened on South Broadway, in what would be a shift of the upmarket shopping district from 1890 to 1905 from around First and Spring to South Broadway. In 1904, Coulter's bought

1560-615: Was from 1958 the location of the State Office Building, (1958-60, architect Anson C. Boyd, razed 2006). It was named the Junipero Serra State Office Building , and this moniker would be transferred to the former Broadway Department Store building at 4th and Broadway when it was opened to replace this building in 1998. It is now the location of the New U.S. Courthouse built in 2016, taking up

1600-406: Was modernized and converted to lofts in 2007 and given its present name. The halls and staircase have appeared in many of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, Brad Pitt's Se7en , Fight Club , Blade Runner , and other TV shows and commercials. From Third Street south to Olympic Blvd. (originally Tenth St.), and from Hill Street east to Los Angeles Street, including Broadway, is the Historic Core district,

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