Le Sage Brothers Co.

Bumiller Building

Company type	Building
Industry	Real estate, residential property
Founded	1906
Headquarters	Los Angeles , United States
Products	Residential rental units (Broadway Lofts)

The Bumiller Building is a residential property situated within the historic Broadway Theater District of Los Angeles. Erected in 1906, this edifice was designed by the architectural firm Morgan & Walls. Constructed using reinforced concrete, it exemplifies the Renaissance Revival architectural style. Throughout its history, the building has served various functions including operating as a department store and a theater.

Initial Use

When it opened in 1906, the Bumiller Building housed the Bon Marché department store, which was operated by the Le Sage Brothers. The retail establishment occupied the basement and first three floors of the building. At the rear, two freight elevators provided service from the basement up to the third floor to facilitate store operations. In September 1907, Bon Marché sold off its inventory to J. M. Hale’s department store (commonly known as Hale's) and subsequently ceased operations. Following this closure, the freight elevators were taken out of service and removed. The lobby contained two passenger elevators manufactured by Otis, which connected the basement to the sixth floor.

The subsequent month, ownership transitioned as the building became a location for The Hub, a prominent clothing retailer established in 1896 with its flagship store at 157 N. Spring Street.

Early history

As the Broadway Theater District developed, the New York-based Eden Musée, a venue showcasing motion pictures and vaudeville performances, established itself there. Offering "a show on every floor," Eden Musée drew crowds with its afternoon and evening presentations. Following Eden Musée's departure, the Bumiller Building housed the Wonderland Theater and subsequently the Jade Theater, named after the distinctive jade-colored exterior of the structure. In 1921, during Prohibition, firefighters were summoned to extinguish a fire caused by a whiskey still hidden in the building, which had been ignited beneath a gas flame. Occupants heard an explosion, and upon arrival, firemen found one room ablaze. They discovered sour mash and remnants of a ten-gallon still destroyed in the blast. The individual renting that space had already vanished.

Current status

Following significant restoration, the Bumiller Building has been transformed into the Broadway Lofts, comprising 58 residential rental units. The adaptive reuse and architectural redesign were executed by Los Angeles-based firm Omgivning.

Ownership

Caroline Bumiller Hickey, George C. Hickey, 1905

File:Blakefn2.jpg

Carroll W. Blake, University of Nebraska, 1908

The proprietors of the Bumiller Building mirrored the evolving character of the district.

Bumiller Estate

Caroline Bumiller Hickey (née Gerstenberg, 1848–1932), a prosperous German-born socialite in Los Angeles, was the widow of Jacob Bumiller, a Bavarian wine merchant who relocated to Los Angeles from Brooklyn around 1871. Her residence at 1049 South Elden Avenue is now recognized as a historic-cultural monument within the Wilshire Historic District. Caroline managed the Bumiller Estate and was involved in a widely publicized divorce from her second spouse, George C. Hickey. During court proceedings, she claimed deafness and appeared elegantly attired with an ear trumpet. After eighteen years of marriage, George Hickey accused her of abandonment, a claim upheld by the court. Despite this, George Hickey returned ownership of the property at 430 South Broadway, which Caroline asserted he had fraudulently taken from her. In 1912, ownership records list Caroline’s children from her first marriage—Arthur W. Bumiller, Edna B. Sullivan, and Stella B. Burks—as proprietors of the Bumiller Building.

Albert J. Wallace

Albert Joseph Wallace (February 11, 1853 – February 23, 1939) served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1907 to 1909 and held the position of lieutenant governor of California between 1910 and 1914. In 1935, he acquired the Bumiller Building from Isabelle M. Anderson, trading it for his own two-story property at 425 South Broadway, which was occupied by the W. T. Grant Company.

Carroll White Blake

Carroll White Blake was a prominent figure in real estate investment and film exhibition. Born on April 12, 1885, in Bowdoinham, Maine, he graduated from the Industrial College at the University of Nebraska in 1908. Blake moved to Los Angeles in 1909 and served during World War I. In 1942, he purchased the grand California Theater located at 810 South Main Street from Jack Lankershim, son of James Boon Lankershim, who had originally constructed it during the First World War. Following his acquisition of the Bumiller Building, Blake renamed it the Carroll W. Blake Building and established his offices there. He divorced Josephine Terzenbach Blake in 1934 and lived with his mother, Frances Blake, until her passing in 1942. Subsequently, he became engaged to Lillian Schramm, a divorcée, but passed away on November 28, 1948, shortly before their planned Christmas wedding.

Lillian E. Schramm

Lillian Evelyn Schramm (née Pugh; 1898–1952), originally from Arkansas, was previously married to Dr. Alfred J. Schramm, Executive Secretary of the American College of Osteopathic Physicians. Notably, he was the only official within the College who declined to utilize the 1962 California law that permitted osteopaths to convert their degrees to MDs. After the death of her fiancé Carroll W. Blake, Schramm inherited most of his estate; however, six of Blake’s cousins challenged the will on grounds that she had feigned affection for him. The cousins were represented by attorney Jerry Giesler in this dispute. At the time of her own death, Schramm operated a beauty salon and bequeathed the majority of her substantial estate to cancer research initiatives. The California State Board of Cosmetology maintained offices on the second floor of the Bumiller Building and conducted certification examinations there.

Dr. Harry Lehrer

Dr. Harry Lehrer (1904–1972) completed his studies at the College of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons in 1938, an institution now known as the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Following the 1962 California legislation that permitted osteopaths to convert their credentials, he obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree. In 1958, Lehrer acquired the Bumiller Building from the Schramm estate and maintained his medical practice within its premises until his passing in 1972. He was responsible for installing a ramp that transformed the basement area into a parking facility. Dr. Lehrer was married to the fashion designer Anne T. Hill.

See also

• List of contributing properties in the Broadway Theater and Commercial District