historic find lends curb appeal to broadway exchange lofts
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On the northeast corner of 7th and Broadway, the Broadway Exchange Building is undergoing a residential conversion that has seen extensive interior construction but little hint of change on the ground level.
The building, previously known as the Haas Building and the Bank of Italy Building, was thought to have lost all historic facade detailing in a poorly designed 1970s remodel. That saw the replacement of an ornate Beaux Arts exterior with the current unattractive metallic face.
As it turns out, the cosmetic surgery may have only gone skin-deep.
Crews working on the residential lobby entrance have uncovered a plaster crest above the doorway bearing the original name of the structure.
According to reader Boris Mayzels who is involved in the project’s redevelopment, the entryway is mostly intact and will be restored, possibly prompting a name change for the loft project.
Though the plaster work just beneath the surface of those brown panels is indisputably damaged, the find brings forth hope that the building’s historic facade may be restorable, at least partially. Will this find spark enough curiosity from the developer to continue peeling back the brown shell?
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10 comments
Wow, that would be really awesome to see it back to its original facade, but it’s probably not financially feasible.
Very true. Although sometimes we see people like Steve Needleman and Michael Delijani who do things that aren’t financial feasible b/c they love restoring history.
The entryway was really butchered when the cladding was installed, and will need lots of TLC.
I really appreciate all the bits and pieces of downtown’s ongoing transformation that you’re reporting on. While other web sites like downtownnews.com cover the bigger, general stories, you folks are covering the finer details. And if you weren’t doing that, who else would?
I imagine this blog is a hobby (a labor of love) for its owners, and if there comes a time when you folks don’t have the time to manage it as well as you’re doing right now, I sure hope you’ll get some back-up assistance to keep it going.
As for the Broadway Exchange Building, it boggles the mind that a lot of money was spent to supposedly “improve” it several decades ago.
Incidentally, a similar makeover was done to a building that once sat at the northeast corner of 5th & Olive Streets, known as the former Philarmonic Auditorium with an adjoining mid-rise office tower. Old photos indicate it originally had a very elaborate, fanciful Victorian facade, facing Pershing Square, which was stripped off and replaced with something quite blah, perhaps as long ago as the 1930s.
Thanks for the compliment. You’re right, this blog is a labor of love. We’re figuring out ways to make it a career =)
More on that later.
The best things in life are labors of love. Fortunately, the gentlemen’s talent matches their ambition.
In my opinion, the only thing positive one could say about this remuddling was that at least when it was done it was new. Nice and shiny.
Now, 30 years later, what are we left with? One 30 year old facade covering the original, 90 year old facade. At this point, no matter which one you like better, both of them are old. Perhaps not equally old, but both are not new. This is why remodeling of this type is pointless. Once the new style is not fashionable anymore, it looks stupid. Perhaps just as stupid (if not more so) as the “old” facade looked to your eyes when you covered it up with metal panels.
And, it’s now old, and doesn’t even have the advantage anymore of being shiny and new.
Okay, rant over.
yeah thanks angelenic blog team for your awesome work. it has been fun watching the progress of your site go from relatively unknown to a top tier blog.
i love seeing the 70’s paneling get peeled off these buildings. Art Beaux and Art Deco is timeless, sure it’s 90 years old, but they will never be out of style.
Once the new style is not fashionable anymore, it looks stupid.
But there are certain styles that are more desireable or more timeless than others. For example, the famous Parliament and Big Ben structures in London are designed in a very old-fashioned, old-world style, yet I don’t think anyone with an ounce of wisdom would ever recommend (or ever have recommended) they be modernized. The Empire State and Chrysler Buildings in New York City have a look that is typical, or more in keeping, with their era. But I don’t think anyone with a speck of respect for clearly historic and thoughtful architecture ever would suggest they be modernized.
Of course, the building in downtown Los Angeles on Broadway is not a landmark, and its history is obscure. Yet, from a purely design standpoint, its original architecture represented a far more elaborate and carefully crafted degree of work than anything evident in the remodeling from the 1960s.
Those brown panels look like they could have been designed, manufactured and applied by first-year students enrolled at a trade-technical college.
Exactly my point.
When the metal panels were placed over the original (Beaux arts) facade, the original facade looked old and dorky.
In 2008, the metal panels look old and dorky.
So why not just leave the original facade, and just maintain it as it was originally. “Updating” the look of a building is a fool’s errand, because you have to redo it every 20 years to keep it looking “current.”
Having said that, I would give the edge to the Beaux Arts style having a leg up in the long run in remaining relevant, because even when it was built, the point of the style is that it looks back toward the past. So the building was trying to purposely look 100 years old even when it was brand new. That takes it outside of current fashion trends right from the start.
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