Blackstone's Department Store

Blackstone's Department Store

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail (department store)
Founded	1895
Founder	Nathaniel Blackstone
Defunct	1939
Fate	Acquired by Famous Department Store
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California , United States
Products	Department store goods

Blackstone's Department Store, also referred to as Blackstone Apartments or simply The Blackstone, is a notable six-story structure situated at 901 South Broadway within the Broadway Theater District of downtown Los Angeles' historic core.

Background of Blackstone's

In 1895, Nathaniel Blackstone, who was related by marriage to the department store pioneer J. W. Robinson, established Blackstone's Dry Goods after J.W. Robinson Co., then popularly known as the "Boston Store," vacated its premises at 171–173 Spring Street. By 1898, Blackstone's relocated to the Douglas Building, previously called the "New" Stimson Block, positioned at the northwest corner of 3rd and Spring streets. There, it occupied the entire basement and approximately 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m²) of the ground floor.

Between 1906 and 1907, N. B. Blackstone Co. transitioned to the A. P. Johnson Building at 318–322 South Broadway. This edifice, also identified as the Blackstone Building, was designated a non-contributing property within the Broadway Theater and Commercial District, which was included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The flagship location for Blackstone's Department Store was established in 1917, where it operated until its acquisition by Famous Department Store in 1939.

Blackstone's Department Store Building

In 1916, developer Arthur H. Fleming commissioned John B. Parkinson to create a contemporary department store for his new occupant, Blackstone. Situated at the southwest intersection of 9th and Broadway, this location was intended to act as the flagship for the company. The construction cost was $500,000 Template:USDCY, and the structure comprised six floors above ground along with two basement levels. The grand opening took place on September 20, 1917.

By 1939, Blackstone's had vacated the premises, after which Famous Department Store undertook renovations and expanded the space to approximately 90,000 square feet (8,400 m²). The building then housed a department store, a lunch counter, and a beauty salon operated by Famous Department Store.

Initially excluded from the National Register of Historic Places listing of the Broadway Theater and Commercial District in 1979, the building was incorporated when the district boundaries were extended in 2002. Furthermore, it earned designation as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #765 in 2003.

In 2010, the Blackstone's Department Store underwent conversion to accommodate 82 residential units alongside retail spaces on the ground floor and an underground parking facility.

Architecture and design

The Blackstone's Department Store, designed by John B. Parkinson, presents a rectangular footprint with approximately 90 feet (27 m) of frontage along Broadway and 165 feet (50 m) along 9th Street. The structure employs a steel frame enveloped by brick and stone materials. Its exterior is adorned with terra cotta cladding and exhibits a Beaux Arts style, incorporating several distinctive architectural features:

• Five architectural bays along the eastern facade and seven bays facing north
• Large windows framed by multi-paned sidelights and transoms located in the central bays on the second floor
• Single one-over-one sash windows positioned in the eastern end bays and triple one-over-one sash windows in the northern end bays
• A denticulated cornice resting atop paneled piers with a plain frieze encircling above the second story; these elements are accentuated by fluted corbels flanking both sides of the end bays
• Each bay from the third through sixth floors contains three windows, except for single windows in the eastern end bays
• Fluted panels beneath third-story windows that visually support floors three through six
• Uninterrupted piers rising between central bays up to the cornice
• Paneled spandrels marking central bays contrasted with raised swags embellishing end bay spandrels
• Additional swagged spandrels crowning sixth-story bays accompanied by paired trebled brackets supporting the bracketed cornice
• A series of antefixes ornamenting the upper cornice edges

In 1939, original detailing on the first-floor facade was removed, replaced with a redesign in the Streamline Moderne aesthetic executed by Stiles O. Clements from Morgan, Walls and Clements. This firm also managed multiple other alterations to the building.

As of 2002, evaluations deemed the building's condition and historical integrity to be well preserved.

In popular culture

File:Broadway Department Store in the background of Safety Last!.png

Scene from Safety Last! featuring Blackstone's Department Store in the backdrop

In the 1923 silent movie Safety Last!, Blackstone's Department Store is clearly visible behind Harold Lloyd as he ascends a different structure.

See also

• List of contributing properties in the Broadway Theater and Commercial District
• List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Downtown Los Angeles