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May Company Building (Los Angeles)

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article May Company Building (Los Angeles), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 202534 sources
May Company California
Company typeDepartment store
IndustryRetail
Founded1908
FounderA. Hamburger & Sons
FateCeased operations in 1986; building repurposed for retail and manufacturing
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Area served
Los Angeles
Key people
Thomas May, Wilbur May
ProductsDepartment store goods

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Design of the Hamburger Department Store, circa 1906
Terrazzo flooring at the entrance of the May Company flagship department store in downtown Los Angeles
Modern-day perspective of the May Company Broadway building

The May Company Building, situated on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, also known as the Hamburgers/May Company Department Store and later the California Broadway Trade Center, served as the principal location for the May Company California department store chain. It stands as a contributing structure within the NRHP-designated Broadway Theater and Commercial District.

History

At the dawn of the twentieth century, A. Hamburger & Sons had outgrown their Spring Street premises, which employed 520 individuals across five floors.[1] The Hamburger family opted to construct a significantly larger establishment at the southeast corner of Broadway and Eighth Street, a site then outside the prevailing retail hub. Construction commenced in 1905, culminating in a grand opening in 1908.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] This edifice, often referred to as The Great White Store, was at its inception the largest department store west of Chicago and eventually became May Company California’s flagship outlet. Upon its opening, it featured one of the earliest escalators on the West Coast, multiple dining venues, a drugstore boasting an 80-foot soda fountain,[15] a grocery section, bakery, fruit and meat markets, postal and telegraph services, barber shop, dental office, chiropractic clinic, a fully equipped medical suite with an operating room, an auditorium seating 1,000,[15] an electricity and steam power plant in its basement capable of supporting a city with 50,000 residents, a private volunteer fire brigade comprising 120 men,[16][17] approximately 13 acres (5.3 ha) of retail space, and a workforce of around 1,200 employees.[5][18][19][20][21][22] Additionally, from 1908 until it required larger quarters in 1913, the Los Angeles Public Library occupied much of the third floor.[23][24][25] For a brief period, the fifth floor also housed Woodbury Business College.[26]

In 1923, ownership transferred from the Hamburger family to the May family from St. Louis for $8.5 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year).[27][28] Thomas and Wilbur May—sons of the May Company’s founder—were assigned to oversee operations at this location. One of their initial initiatives was to expand by constructing adjoining additions around other parts of the city block.[29][30] Over time, the May Company occupied nearly the entire block bounded by Broadway and Hill Streets and between Eighth and Ninth Streets. In 1925, the former Hamburger store was officially rebranded as The May Company.[31][32]

The department store ceased operations in 1986 when May relocated to Seventh Marketplace. Subsequently, the building’s lower levels were converted into retail spaces while upper floors were repurposed for garment manufacturing.[33]

In 2014, Waterbridge Capital announced plans to acquire the property for approximately $115–130 million. Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar indicated intentions for a mixed-use development incorporating offices, hospitality venues, retail outlets, and residential units.[33] The transaction involving Waterbridge Capital and New York developer Jack Jangana’s Broadbridge LA LLC closed on August 20, 2014.

Representatives involved in brokering the deal revealed plans for a two-year renovation aimed at establishing a "creative campus" akin to Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. The investors aspired to develop "one of the largest single tech hubs" nationwide.[15]

By early 2020, renovations were ongoing[34] until construction was halted statewide in March due to directives related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Waterbridge Capital partnered with Continental Equities to seek $251 million in bridge financing to replace an expiring $213 million loan from Starwood Property Trust. Unable to secure additional funds by August 2020, they began marketing the incomplete property for sale.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name By November that year, listing price reports indicated $425 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year).Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Following reports in April 2021 about potential foreclosure actions by lenders, Starwood Property Trust agreed to extend financing support through year-end.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1900jul29
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1905jul29
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1905oct18
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1908may31
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1908jul26
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1908aug09
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1905jul30-1
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1905jul30-2
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1905oct18
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1906jan07
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1906apr15
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1908apr19
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1908aug09
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1908aug10
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Aug 22
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1906jan07-1
  17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1908mar20
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1916oct29
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1923apr01-1
  20. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1931jul24-1
  21. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1931jul24-2
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1935jul26
  23. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1906jan07-2
  24. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1913feb09
  25. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1913apr10
  26. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hearld-1908aug30
  27. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1923apr01-2
  28. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1923feb26
  29. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1923jul27
  30. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named latimes-1923jul29
  31. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1925mar01
  32. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat-1925mar03
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lat
  34. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tan-2020jan22

Template:Downtown Los Angeles Template:LABTCD Template:LAHMC

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