downtown old vs. new: the judson rives building
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When several high-profile adaptive reuse projects are transforming a district, it’s sometimes easy to lose track of the smaller developments quietly happening under the radar. But it’s because of these more modest buildings that real neighborhoods are formed. Such is the case with the Judson C. Rives Building.
Pre-adaptive reuse photo of the Judson Rives Building pictured, above, by Martin Schall of you-are-here.com.
Just south of 4th Street on Broadway, the Judson Rives Building has a long history in Downtown Los Angeles. Designed by Charles Aldrich and built in 1906 as the Broadway Central Building, its original use was “fire-proof” office space with basic ground-level retail including shoe stores, a sewing machine shop, piano store and Boos Bros. Cafeteria.
In 1924 the building came to house the New Broadway Theatre, which operated until earlier this decade as the Teatro Broadway.
2005 view of the Judson Rives Building’s ground-floor retail, below left, by Jim Winstead. November 2007 view pictured, below right.
The building’s redevelopment is being handled by Flatiron Development (in conjunction with David Gray Architects) and is marketing the project as simply “The Judson.” The redeveloped structure will include 60 rental workforce housing units with newly installed street-side and interior courtyard balconies and upgraded retail.
Crews are currently working to restore the historic lobby, glass atrium and interior spaces. Some units will even feature historic painted advertisements on their interior walls from the adjacent building.
Though not as high-profile as the Eastern Columbia or Chapman buildings, this smaller-scale conversion project creates much-needed residential density on Broadway while encouraging architectural preservation of the neighborhood. The developers have even applied for historic-cultural monument status with the city (PDF file).
-More Old vs. New coverage
-Two more historic photos here and here.
3 comments
this is great. i wonder when it will be viable for more of the smaller buildings along broadway to get upper-floor residential conversions. the sun drug co. building and the zukor’s department store building are two buildings i would love to see revived.
What is the income threshold for “workforce housing.” I am not sure that non-artist types will appreciate “historic painted advertisements on their interior walls”.
You don’t need to be an artist to appreciate history and character. If it’s anything like the interior painted signs at Santee Court, these are historic and cannot be painted over.
As far as the income threshold goes, I’m not exactly sure. Pick a range between SRO and luxury.