Walker's department store

Fifth Street Store

Illustration from a 1905 Los Angeles Herald article announcing the debut of the "Fifth Street Store"
Company type	Privately-held company
Industry	Apparel Retail
Founded	1905 (1905) in Los Angeles, USA
Defunct	1978 (1978)
Fate	Locations consolidated into Ohrbach's, Milliron's Westchester, or Walker Scott
Area served	California, USA

The Fifth Street Store was a prominent department store based in Los Angeles, established in 1905.

Name

Throughout its history, the store and company underwent several name changes:

• 1905–1909: The official corporate title and store branding was Steele, Faris, & Walker Co.
• 1909–1925: The company operated under the name Muse, Faris, Walker Co. but marketed itself predominantly as the "Fifth Street Store," with the formal corporate name displayed in smaller print.
• 1926–1946: Renamed Walkers, Inc. in 1925, the business began promoting the retail location as Walker's, situated at Broadway and 5th starting mid-1926.
• 1946–1953: The store adopted the name Milliron's, honoring C. J. Milliron, who was president and majority shareholder at that time. Milliron joined as legal counsel in 1917 and ascended to president by September 1943, acquiring ownership from William A. Faris. The Milliron's branding remained even after acquisition by The Broadway in 1950.
• 1953–1959: Functioning as a branch of Ohrbach's, this location opened on November 30, 1953, and was marketed as Ohrbach's-Downtown.

Broadway, Los Angeles

Main article: Fifth Street Store Building

Situated at the southwest intersection of Fifth and Broadway, this store replaced an earlier structure with a new eleven-story building completed in 1924. Starting in 1925, the store promoted itself as Walkers, named after co-founder Ralf (R. M.) Walker, who later established Walker Scott, the largest department store chain in San Diego. In 1946, the store was rebranded as Milliron's. The Broadway Department Store acquired the location in 1950 but closed it by 1956, after Ohrbach's purchased it in August 1953. Following a $1,000,000 renovation designed by architect Welton Becket, the store reopened as Ohrbach's-Downtown in November 1953. Ohrbach's ceased operations at this branch and sold the property in 1959.

Westchester

Main article: Milliron's Westchester

Milliron's Westchester commenced operations on March 17, 1949, with a construction cost of $3,000,000 and designed by notable retail architect Victor Gruen. The grand opening was a significant occasion, with the building’s design—featuring clean linear forms softened by large curved corners, triangular window displays projecting outward, and a rooftop parking deck—recognized as a pioneering example of retail architecture. Shortly after opening, the store was acquired by The Broadway in June 1950.

Walker's Long Beach

Hugh A. Marti Co. prior to acquisition by the Fifth Street Store

Former Walker's Downtown Long Beach location

In 1933, Walker's launched its inaugural branch in Downtown Long Beach, positioned at the corner of 4th and Pine—the city's primary shopping corridor. The building had originally opened in 1928 and was designed by Meyer and Holler in an Art Deco style for the Hugh A. Marti Co., which had since ceased operations. In 1952, Walker's invested $300,000 to expand the facility to 132,000 sq ft (12,300 m²), installing five escalators—exceeding the total number of escalators present throughout Long Beach at that time. A second Walker's location opened at Los Altos Center in 1954 but was sold to The Broadway by 1956. Although Walker's divested its Downtown Long Beach property in 1960, it continued operating under its own name until 1978.

Walker-Scott San Diego

In 1935, Walker's established a branch in downtown San Diego, which later separated during the early 1950s to become known as Walker Scott. The original store had a significant presence dating back to earlier decades. Following the death of R. M. Walker in 1935, the company’s stores temporarily closed for his funeral services. Ownership of the building changed hands in 1937, with buyers paying $1,400,000 for the mercantile property.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Walker's expanded its operations, including the construction of a new store in East Long Beach that began in 1954 and opened in 1955 with an investment of $4 million. Prior to this, H. F. Conrad acquired the Long Beach location in 1953. Management shifts occurred over time, with a notable change reported in 1957.

By 1960, the Long Beach store was acquired by a unit of Butler Bros., marking another transition in ownership. This acquisition was also covered by major news outlets at the time. The history of Walker's reflects its evolution from a downtown Los Angeles establishment to a regional retail presence under the Walker Scott name.

External links

• "Transformation of Fifth Street Store into Milliron's", J. H. Graham (blog), September 18, 2017