Coulter's was a department store that originated in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

and later moved to the

Miracle Mile Miracle Mile may refer to: Places in the United States * Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, a district of Los Angeles * Miracle Mile (Coral Gables), a shopping area in Coral Gables, Florida * Miracle Mile (Manhasset), New York, a premium sho ...

shopping district in that same city.

History

Coulter's was founded by B. F. Coulter, a minister and entrepreneur from Kentucky, who joined the partnership Coulter & Harper in 1875, selling hardware, homeware and appliances, as well as underwear, at Eighth and Spring streets, moving to 110 Main Street in 1878. On October 22, 1878, Coulter opened his own store in the

Downey Block The late-Victorian-era Downtown of Los Angeles grew year by year, around 1880 centered at the southern end of the Los Angeles Plaza area, and over the next two decades, extending south and west along Main Street, Spring Street, and Broadway t ...

at the corner of Temple and Main streets, selling dry goods including "gentlemen's furnishings" including neckties, as well as ladies' cloaks, hosiery, and "dress goods". This first store measured and held merchandise valued at $1,000.Knapp, Dan "A Retail History on the Shelf", ''USC News'', November 12, 2010, University of Southern California. Retrieved April 30, 2019
/ref> Coulter's philosophy was to sell exceptional quality items at a fair price, but also with exceptional customer service. The store motto in ads was "the nicest store in Los Angeles". As was common with Los Angeles retailers of the time, Coulter moved the store's location several times, as the most desirable retail districts moved away from the Plaza. In July, 1879, Coulter's moved to its second location, the

Baker Block The late-Victorian-era Downtown of Los Angeles grew year by year, around 1880 centered at the southern end of the Los Angeles Plaza area, and over the next two decades, extending south and west along Main Street, Spring Street, and Broadway to ...

, 236 N. Main St., SE corner Main and Arcadia streets. It originally had one storefront and expanded into several more over time. On November 1, 1884, Coulter's moved to its third location, the

Hollenbeck Block The late-Victorian-era Downtown of Los Angeles grew year by year, around 1880 centered at the southern end of the Los Angeles Plaza area, and over the next two decades, extending south and west along Main Street, Spring Street, and Broadway to ...

, 201–205 N.

Spring Street Spring Street may refer to: * Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA * Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA * Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia * Spring Street, Singapore * Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website Subway and trolle ...

, claiming to be largest and best-lighted store in Southern California at the time. It had gross retail space on the ground floor and an equal amount in the basement for wholesale trade. In August, 1898, Coulter's moved to its fourth location, the Homer Laughlin Building, 317–325 S. Broadway. In 1905, Coulter's moved, the building was extended at the back through to Hill Street, and the Ville de Paris department store moved into the former Coulter's space. After Ville de Paris moved again, in 1917, the

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moved into the space and occupies it to this day. On May 31, 1905, Coulter's moved to its fifth location, a complex that renovated the

Potomac Block The Potomac Block was a commercial building with a historical role in the retail history of Los Angeles, at 213–223 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, on the west side of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd streets. It was developed by lumberyard and ...

and incorporated buildings adjacent to it: the new store's address was 225-7-9 S. Broadway and it went through to 224-6-8 S. Hill Street. Broadway was becoming the home of many large department stores such as

J. W. Robinson's J. W. Robinson Co., ''Robinson's'', was a chain of department stores operating in the Southern California and Arizona area, previously with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. History Joseph Winchester Robinson was a merchant from Waltham, ...

(1895), The Broadway (1896), Desmond's (1900), the

Fifth Street Store The Fifth Street Store was a major department store in Los Angeles opened in 1905. Name The official name of the company and store changed many times: *1905–1909: Steele, Faris, & Walker Co. - the official company name and name under which the ...

(1905), Bullock's (1907), and

Hamburger's May Company California was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California and Nevada, with headquarters in North Hollywood, California. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California s ...

(1908). When Coulter's left the space in 1917 it became home to the Western Shoe Company, which changed its name in 1922 to the Western Department Store, which operated there until 1928. Lettering covered the face of the building from top to bottom through the end of the 1950s: "THE LARGEST SHOE DEPT. IN THE WEST". In 1917, Coulter's moved to its sixth location, fashionable Seventh Street, the new upmarket retail district often called "around the corner" - that is, west of the then-existing Broadway retail district, and south of Bunker Hill. Coulter's was at 711 S. Olive, the southwest corner of 7th and Olive. Coulter's maintained a branch store at 215 S. Broadway. In 1938, it relocated to its seventh and final location on the

on Wilshire Boulevard. Again, unlike other stores that opened an additional branch on Wilshire, it moved its only store — its entire business — to Wilshire. Coulter's was purchased by the Broadway chain in 1960 and became a Broadway branch.

Miracle Mile building

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 ...

flagship store at 5600 Wilshire Boulevard, was designed by

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 ...

and completed in 1938-39 was four stories high, as described 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 ...

, "with a rounded exterior of white concrete and horizontal bands of glass block rather than proper windows. A dramatic seventy-two-foot-high panel of glass soared above the boulevard entrance"."Coulter's Department Store (Demolished)", Los Angeles Conservancy, Retrieved April 20, 2019
/ref> The building was nominated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places but was demolished in 1980 before the nomination was heard. The site remained - as the Conservancy described it — "a community eyesore for decades, with pools of tar and oil visible at the bottom of a deep pit" — it now a large mixed-use development.

External links

Coulter's Department Store page at the Los Angeles Conservancy Web site

References

{{History of Retail in Southern California Defunct department stores based in Greater Los Angeles Demolished buildings and structures in Los Angeles Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles Buildings and structures demolished in 1980