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Bullocks Wilshire
Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2) Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Downtown Los Angeles). Bullocks Wilshire was also the name of the department store chain of which the Los Angeles store was the flagship; it had seven stores total; Macy's incorporated them into and rebranded them as I. Magnin in 1989, before closing I. Magnin entirely in 1994. The building is currently owned by Southwestern Law School.
The building was designed by Los Angeles architects John and Donald Parkinson; the interior design was by Eleanor Lemaire and Jock Peters of the Feil & Paradise Company; the ceiling mural of the porte-cochère was painted by Herman Sachs.
The exterior is notable for its 241-foot (73 m) tower whose top is sheathed in copper, tarnished green. At one time, the tower peak had a light that could be seen for miles around. The stylized relief, above the Wilshire Boulevard entrance, was designed by George Stanley, designer of the Oscar. Among the workers laboring on the project may have been Sam Rodia, builder of the Watts Towers.
Bullocks Wilshire's innovation was that it was one of the first department stores in Los Angeles to cater to the burgeoning automobile culture. It was located in a then-mostly residential district, its objective to attract shoppers who wanted a closer place to shop than Downtown Los Angeles. Traditional display windows faced the sidewalk, but they were decorated to catch the eyes of motorists. Since most customers would arrive by vehicle, the most appealing entrance was placed in the rear. Under the city's first department store porte cochere, valets in livery welcomed patrons and parked their cars.
Shoppers entered the foyer which had travertine floors and elevators finished in nickel, brass, and gunmetal.
On the first floor was the vaulted Perfume Hall, awash in natural light muted by walls of St. Genevieve marble. Other floors displayed clothes and accessories in low glass cases on rosewood stands or on live mannequins, to prevent hanging racks from cluttering sight lines. Upstairs showrooms and salons functioned almost as discrete boutiques. The Louis XVI Room sold designer dresses, the Directoire formal wear and later furs. Later still came the couture Chanel Room and the Irene Salon, enclave of future Hollywood costume designer Irene Lentz, reputed to be the first boutique devoted to a single designer inside a major U.S. department store. Lentz designed custom wardrobe for celebrities, leading to a career in design at major film studios, including MGM. Other departments included toys, a mezzanine Doggery for canine accessories, and the city's first leisurewear merchandise on the Playdeck. The women's shoe salon was paneled with the wood from a single Central American tree. Cork in exotic shades lined the walls in the furs atelier. The Saddle Shop featured vermillion floor tiles, wall cases of deep red oak, and a life-size plaster likeness of a horse, Bullock's Barney.
For refreshment, there was a top-floor desert-themed tearoom and the adjoining lounge where society women gathered for luncheon fashion shows. Truly elite service was reserved for the selected men invited to shop in the privacy of J.G. Bullock's wood-paneled private suite on the fifth floor. Titans of business and politics relaxed over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as sales associates modeled potential gifts.
The department store served the upper crust of Los Angeles society. In its heyday, Bullocks Wilshire patrons included celebrities Mae West, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Alfred Hitchcock, Greta Garbo, ZaSu Pitts, Walt Disney, and Clark Gable. While struggling to become an actress, a teen-aged Angela Lansbury worked as a sales clerk. Future First Lady Patricia Nixon also served a stint on the floor. From his studio, next to the Chanel department, Neil Gittings photographed many celebrities who frequented Bullocks Wilshire.
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Bullocks Wilshire
Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2) Art Deco building. The building opened in September 1929 as a luxury department store for owner John G. Bullock (owner of the more mainstream Bullock's in Downtown Los Angeles). Bullocks Wilshire was also the name of the department store chain of which the Los Angeles store was the flagship; it had seven stores total; Macy's incorporated them into and rebranded them as I. Magnin in 1989, before closing I. Magnin entirely in 1994. The building is currently owned by Southwestern Law School.
The building was designed by Los Angeles architects John and Donald Parkinson; the interior design was by Eleanor Lemaire and Jock Peters of the Feil & Paradise Company; the ceiling mural of the porte-cochère was painted by Herman Sachs.
The exterior is notable for its 241-foot (73 m) tower whose top is sheathed in copper, tarnished green. At one time, the tower peak had a light that could be seen for miles around. The stylized relief, above the Wilshire Boulevard entrance, was designed by George Stanley, designer of the Oscar. Among the workers laboring on the project may have been Sam Rodia, builder of the Watts Towers.
Bullocks Wilshire's innovation was that it was one of the first department stores in Los Angeles to cater to the burgeoning automobile culture. It was located in a then-mostly residential district, its objective to attract shoppers who wanted a closer place to shop than Downtown Los Angeles. Traditional display windows faced the sidewalk, but they were decorated to catch the eyes of motorists. Since most customers would arrive by vehicle, the most appealing entrance was placed in the rear. Under the city's first department store porte cochere, valets in livery welcomed patrons and parked their cars.
Shoppers entered the foyer which had travertine floors and elevators finished in nickel, brass, and gunmetal.
On the first floor was the vaulted Perfume Hall, awash in natural light muted by walls of St. Genevieve marble. Other floors displayed clothes and accessories in low glass cases on rosewood stands or on live mannequins, to prevent hanging racks from cluttering sight lines. Upstairs showrooms and salons functioned almost as discrete boutiques. The Louis XVI Room sold designer dresses, the Directoire formal wear and later furs. Later still came the couture Chanel Room and the Irene Salon, enclave of future Hollywood costume designer Irene Lentz, reputed to be the first boutique devoted to a single designer inside a major U.S. department store. Lentz designed custom wardrobe for celebrities, leading to a career in design at major film studios, including MGM. Other departments included toys, a mezzanine Doggery for canine accessories, and the city's first leisurewear merchandise on the Playdeck. The women's shoe salon was paneled with the wood from a single Central American tree. Cork in exotic shades lined the walls in the furs atelier. The Saddle Shop featured vermillion floor tiles, wall cases of deep red oak, and a life-size plaster likeness of a horse, Bullock's Barney.
For refreshment, there was a top-floor desert-themed tearoom and the adjoining lounge where society women gathered for luncheon fashion shows. Truly elite service was reserved for the selected men invited to shop in the privacy of J.G. Bullock's wood-paneled private suite on the fifth floor. Titans of business and politics relaxed over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as sales associates modeled potential gifts.
The department store served the upper crust of Los Angeles society. In its heyday, Bullocks Wilshire patrons included celebrities Mae West, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Alfred Hitchcock, Greta Garbo, ZaSu Pitts, Walt Disney, and Clark Gable. While struggling to become an actress, a teen-aged Angela Lansbury worked as a sales clerk. Future First Lady Patricia Nixon also served a stint on the floor. From his studio, next to the Chanel department, Neil Gittings photographed many celebrities who frequented Bullocks Wilshire.