Milliron's Westchester
| Company type | Department store |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Founder | Milliron's (originally Fifth Street Store) |
| Fate | Acquired by The Broadway in 1950; closed late 1990 |
| Successor | The Broadway-Westchester, later Mervyn's, then Kohl's |
| Headquarters | Westchester, Los Angeles , United States |
| Products | Department store goods |
Milliron's Westchester
Milliron's Westchester, subsequently known as The Broadway-Westchester, was a department store situated at 8739 S. Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester, Los Angeles. The structure was crafted by architect Victor Gruen and initially gained recognition as an iconic example of retail exterior architecture. Although significant portions of the original architectural elements have been altered or removed, the building remains notable. Its latest occupant was a Kohl's store.
Background
In 1942, the developers Frank Ayres & Son were tasked with establishing a thriving commercial area along Sepulveda within the emerging Westchester neighborhood. Their initial effort to secure J. C. Penney as a primary tenant was unsuccessful, as Penney's considered the location too close to Downtown Inglewood. Instead, they managed to attract Milliron's, marking the first branch of the department store known as the Fifth Street Store, which had its main outlet on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, then recognized as the city’s principal retail hub featuring numerous large department stores and theaters. Despite this, Milliron's lacked the customer draw of competitors like Bullock's, Broadway, or J. W. Robinson's.
Significance
Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen, who later designed the nation’s inaugural enclosed shopping mall, Southdale Center, and significantly shaped American mall architecture, emigrated to the United States in 1938. He gained prominence through designing retail spaces in New York City, including notable establishments such as Ciro's on Fifth Avenue and Barton's Bonbonniere on Broadway. By 1941, Gruen had begun extensive projects in Los Angeles, crafting branches of Grayson’s Ladies Ready to Wear located on Hollywood Boulevard, Crenshaw Boulevard, and Third Street. In 1949, he designed Milliron's Westchester store situated in a rapidly expanding suburban area on Los Angeles’ Westside.
The store’s grand opening on March 17, 1949, was celebrated as a significant occasion that highlighted the sophistication and functionality of postwar Modernist architecture, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.
At its debut, Milliron's Westchester was regarded as remarkably forward-thinking due to its appealing Late Moderne architectural style and its status as a freestanding suburban department store—a concept still relatively novel at the time. Over subsequent years, department stores increasingly moved into suburban areas of Los Angeles. However, by the mid-1950s, Milliron's began to be seen as outdated:
- Its size was modest and less impressive compared to larger and more comprehensive shopping centers emerging during that period, such as the 1947 opening of Broadway-Crenshaw Center.
- The design emphasized street-facing visibility aimed at automobile traffic, whereas newer shopping centers favored enclosed environments.
- Freestanding suburban department stores were becoming less common; Architectural Forum noted in 1950 that isolated branch stores in suburban locations were likely to face significant challenges.
Despite these critiques, Milliron's played a crucial role in shaping Gruen’s architectural trajectory. Being a department store rather than a smaller specialty shop gave his work national exposure and helped establish him as a leading figure in designing enclosed American shopping malls.
Architectural details
While the structure itself is not officially designated as historic, the National Register of Historic Places documentation for Bullock's Pasadena mentions this building and classifies its style as Late Moderne. It is described as a single-story department store that incorporated parking areas into its overall design, including rooftop parking accessible by two intersecting ramps located at the rear. The exterior features unpainted brick with evenly spaced bays defined by structural fins, which form a flat-canopied loggia extending above the roofline. This architectural element encircles the building and curves downward to create a modernistic arch over the rear entrances leading to the rooftop parking ramps. Although lacking traditional windows, Milliron's included four standalone display kiosks positioned along the sidewalk side for showcasing merchandise.
Height
The concept behind Milliron's design was to accommodate the equivalent of "five stories' worth of department store" space within a single-floor footprint, despite having a total area of only 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2). The rooftop housed amenities such as a restaurant, beauty salon, and auditorium, which collectively raised the main façade to approximately 30 feet in height. A secondary façade wrapped around part of the building, effectively concealing a rooftop parking deck and stair towers from street-level view. Vertical concrete fins accentuated the perceived height, so from most vantage points the building appeared to be two stories tall.
Parking
A distinctive aspect of the building was its rooftop parking facility accommodating 300 vehicles. Access to this upper-level lot was provided by striking ramps characterized by straight lines combined with subtle diagonal segments and curved corners. From the roof parking area, escalators descended directly into the retail space below, enhancing customer convenience.
Epilogue
During the initial years, the retail area surrounding Milliron's location developed slowly. In June 1950, the store was acquired by The Broadway, which subsequently operated it under the name The Broadway-Westchester.[1] Despite this, Westchester never evolved into a prominent regional shopping destination, particularly following the establishment of the nearby Fox Hills Mall.[2]
The Broadway ceased operations at its Westchester site in late 1990.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name Subsequently, the premises were occupied by a Mervyn's outlet and presently serve as a Kohl's store.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name