The Blackstone Building (formerly ''Blackstone's Department Store'', now the ''Blackstone Apartments'') is a 1916 structure located at 901 South Broadway in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. It has been listed as a

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cult ...

since 2003 (number LA-765). The Blackstone Department Store Building is an early example of the work of John B. Parkinson, Los Angeles’ preeminent architect of the early 20th century, who also designed

Bullocks Wilshire Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a 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 Down ...

. The building is clad in gray

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

and styled in the Beaux Arts school.Blackstone Department Store Building , Los Angeles Conservancy
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History of Blackstone's

Nathaniel Blackstone (brother-in-law of department store magnate

J. W. Robinson James William Robinson (January 19, 1878 – December 2, 1964) was an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Utah's 2nd congressional district from 1933 to 1947. Early life a ...

) opened Blackstone's Dry Goods in 1895 when J.W. Robinson Co. (commonly known as the "Boston Store" at that time) vacated its previous location at 171–173 Spring Street that year. In 1898 they moved to the Douglas Building (then known as the "New" Stimson Block) at the northwest corner of Third and Spring streets, taking a space on the ground floor, plus the entire basement. In 1906-7, N. B. Blackstone Co. moved to 318–320-322 S. Broadway, in the new A. P. Johnson (or O. T. Johnson) building designed by Robert B. Young.

901 S. Broadway flagship

In 1916, Blackstone hired Parkinson to design his flagship store further south at the southwest corner of 9th and Broadway, with 90 feet of frontage on Broadway and 165 feet on 9th Street. It cost of $500,000, with 6 stories plus two basement levels, and opened on September 20, 1917. In 1939, Blackstone’s was sold to the

Famous Department Store The Famous Department Store (not to be confused with the "Famous Clothing Store", precursor to Famous-Barr and the May Department Stores Co.) was a department store in Los Angeles, California. Famous had its origins with the Cal Hirsch & Sons ...

Company, and renovated by

Morgan, Walls & Clements Morgan, Walls & Clements was an architectural firm based in Los Angeles, California and responsible for many of the city's landmarks, dating back to the late 19th century. Originally Morgan and Walls, with principals Octavius Morgan and John A. ...

Stiles O. Clements Stiles Oliver Clements (March 2, 1883 – January 15, 1966) was an architect practicing in Los Angeles and Southern California. History Clements trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He was a key figure in the 1920s Art Deco archite ...

designed a ground-floor façade in the

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

style; this façade is now protected by an easement by the

Los Angeles Conservancy The Los Angeles Conservancy is a historic preservation organization in Los Angeles, California. It works to document, rescue and revitalize historic buildings, places and neighborhoods in the city. The Conservancy is the largest membership based ...

. Also it was the building behind Harold Lloyd in the famous scene when he is climbing another building and does those amazing stunts hanging from the building's clock — in the 1923 silent film "Safety Last". Blackstone's department stores received about 20 minutes of free advertising in a very popular film that year.

Current use

In 2010, the Blackstone Building was adaptively reused and converted to 82 apartments with ground-floor retail space and a subterranean parking garage.Romancing the Blackstone – News – LADTN
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References

{{History of Retail in Southern California Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles Apartment buildings in Los Angeles Commercial buildings in Los Angeles Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Commercial buildings completed in 1916 1916 establishments in California 1910s architecture in the United States John and Donald Parkinson buildings Morgan, Walls & Clements buildings