Barker Bros.

Barker Bros.

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1880
Founder	Obadiah Truax Barker, Otto Müller
Defunct	1992
Headquarters	Los Angeles , United States
Products	Furniture, home décor, household goods
Number of employees	1444 (1931)

Barker Bros. was a Los Angeles-based retailer specializing in furniture, home décor, and household goods. Established in 1880 under the name Barker and Mueller, the company operated under several titles until ceasing operations in 1992.

History

Obadiah Truax Barker previously managed upholstery and mattress businesses in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as Grand Rapids, Michigan.

During a journey from Colorado Springs to San Jose in 1880, Barker happened to overhear Otto Müller at a horticultural event expressing frustration over the steep prices at Los Angeles' sole major furniture outlet. Seizing the opportunity, Barker partnered with Müller to open a furniture store located at 112–114 N. Spring Street near the Los Angeles Plaza, initially named Barker and Mueller.

At that time, Los Angeles had a population of just 11,183; however, it would experience a tenfold increase over the following two decades and then multiply tenfold again within the subsequent 25 years, surpassing one million residents.

By 1883, Barker had acquired Müller's share and formed a new partnership with W. S. Allen under the name Barker & Allen. The business relocated to the Merced Theatre Building at 8–10 Main Street (using pre-1890 street numbering), still close to the Los Angeles Plaza. Later that same year, Barker purchased Allen’s interest and rebranded the company as O. T. Barker & Sons.

The store subsequently moved to the Stimson Building at 3rd and Spring streets—Los Angeles' first steel-frame structure—where their rent rose to $1,500 monthly, a tenfold increase compared to their previous Main Street location, reflecting the city's rapid expansion during that era.

In November 1909, Barker Bros. executed a widely publicized overnight relocation to 722 S. Broadway, situated in what is now recognized as the Historic Core district. This section of Broadway served as Los Angeles' primary commercial avenue from approximately 1910 until World War II. The new flagship store occupied seven floors measuring roughly 150 by 110 feet (about 46 by 34 meters), plus basement and mezzanine levels, totaling around 150,000 square feet (approximately 13,935 square meters). Besides residential furniture, the store offered office and bank furnishings, floor coverings such as carpets and rugs, draperies, mattresses produced in their own manufacturing facilities, upholstery services, stoves, and gas water heaters.

1926 flagship store

On January 25, 1926, the company inaugurated and relocated to an eleven-story edifice located at 818 W. 7th Street, occupying the entire south side block between Flower and Figueroa streets, encompassing approximately 23 acres (1,000,000 sq ft) of retail space. According to a 1931 report, the workforce numbered 1,444 employees, including 432 women.

Branches

By 1955, the company had established 15 branch locations throughout Greater Los Angeles and Bakersfield. The Hollywood branch opened in 1927, followed by Long Beach in 1929. Additional branches included Glendale, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Santa Monica, Alhambra, Pasadena, Crenshaw, Westwood, Pomona, Van Nuys, Burbank, Santa Ana, Whittier, and Bakersfield, as well as a decorator outlet in Beverly Hills. At that time, annual sales reached $30 million, with the downtown flagship accounting for two-thirds of revenue.

Epilogue

The flagship store downtown ceased operations on September 24, 1984. Following a leveraged buyout by Prisma Capital that burdened the company with excessive debt, Barker Bros. ultimately declared bankruptcy and shuttered all locations in 1992.

Gallery

• Display of floor coverings inside the entryway of the 7th Street building.
  Display of floor coverings inside the entryway of the 7th Street building.
• Fine furniture exhibit within the entrance hall of the 7th Street building.
  Fine furniture exhibit within the entrance hall of the 7th Street building.

External links

• Los Angeles store directory from 1926