Brockman Building

The Brockman Building is a 12-story Beaux-Arts, Classical, and Romanesque Revival style building located on 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles.

Brockman Building and New York Cloak and Suit House (annex)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Brockman Building (2009)
Location	520−530 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34°02′49.07″N 118°15′23.14″W
Built	1912
Architect	Barnett, Haynes & Barnett
Architectural style	Beaux-Arts, Classical Revival, Romanesque Revival,
NRHP reference No.	08001276[1]
Added to NRHP	May 21, 2009

History

Built in 1912, the Brockman Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The building was built in 1912 for John Brockman (1841-1925) and designed by George D. Barnett (1863-c. 1925) of Barnett, Haynes & Barnett. The Brockman Building was the first building west of the Broadway Commercial District to reach the city's 150-foot height limit.[2] Brockman's move started a westward movement of the downtown commercial district and turned Seventh Street into the city's high-end retail district. Several department stores (including the original J.W. Robinson Co.) and office buildings were developed along Seventh Street after the Brockman Building was completed.[2]

In 1917 J. J. Haggarty, a large department store-style apparel retailer moved from Broadway to occupy the ground floor.

Role in the film Safety Last!

The roof of the Brockman Building was used for the 1923 Harold Lloyd film, Safety Last!, but the Brockman itself is not seen in the movie, but rather, the ten-floor International Savings & Exchange Bank Building at Spring and Temple. Although the two buildings look nothing alike, this erroneous understanding has appeared in numerous sources, including The Los Angeles Times, Daily Variety, Los Angeles Business Journal, and countless real estate websites.[3][4][5]

Replica of the International Savings Building’s façade as seen in Safety Last!

The International Savings Building was used for all of the long shots showing Lloyd’s character scaling its exterior. Medium and close shots were executed using a full-scale replica of two floors of the International Savings Building’s façade, placed on a platform on the rooftop of the L. L. Burns Western Costume Co. building at 908 S. Broadway[6] – making it appear that Lloyd’s character was hanging up to 12 stories over the sidewalk. (A similar method was used for 1921’s Terror Trail, wherein a building façade was reconstructed over the Hill Street Tunnel to give an illusion of grand height on film – while actually being only a story and a half above a solid surface.)[7]

The International Savings Building is seen clearly in a large photograph (showing a stuntman climbing it for Safety Last!) on page 140 of the book, Hollywood – The Pioneers by Kevin Brownlow (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979).

Adaptive reuse

The Brockman Building was converted into an 80-unit condominium project from 2006 to 2008, however the building's owner filed for bankruptcy protection before the project was completed.[8] The building was owned by Bank of America until April 2012,[9] when it was purchased by Simpson Housing LLC of Denver, in what was reported as "the second highest price-per-unit sale in Downtown Los Angeles’ history." There were reportedly 26 offers for the building.

Renamed the Brockman Lofts, they are now luxury rental apartments with largely-finished 'loft interiors.'[10][11]

The Bottega Louie restaurant has operated on the building's ground floor since 2009.[12][13][14]

See also

• Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles, California

References

1. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
2. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Brockman Building and New York Cloak & Suit House (DRAFT)" (PDF). Jones and Stokes. July 2007.
3. “New Hopes Hung on Building,” by Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2004.
4. “New Line Home Entertainment introduces Harold Lloyd DVD set,” by Shira Gotshalk. Daily Variety, November 1, 2005.
5. Los Angeles Business Journal; Danny King, September 10, 2003.
6. https://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/safety-last-mr-epsteins-writing-on-the-wall/
7. Hollywood – The Pioneers, by Kevin Brownlow, 1979, page 139. ISBN 0-394-50851-3
8. "When Bad Business Is Good for Business". Los Angeles Downtown News. September 11, 2009.
9. Ryan Vaillancourt (January 5, 2011). "Bank of America Retains Brockman: Bank Considering How to Sell Building, Though No Opening is Scheduled". Los Angeles Downtown News.
10. "TODAY'S DEALS: Colliers Sells a Landmark L.A. Loft Property". Multi-Housing News Online. April 4, 2012.
11. LA Curbed: Brockman Lofts articles index . accessed 8.8.2015
12. "Take an Activist Role on Brockman Building". Los Angeles Downtown News. April 9, 2010.
13. S. Irene Virbila (July 1, 2009). "Bottega thinks big; The portions, crowds and noise are ample. Yet the prices at this downtown L.A. Italian spot are affordable". Los Angeles Times.
14. Betty Hallock (April 29, 2009). "High hopes for Bottega Louie". Los Angeles Times.