Coulter's was a department store that originated in Downtown Los Angeles 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 sh ...

shopping district in that same city.

History

Coulter's was founded by B. F. Coulter, a minister and entrepreneur from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, 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 Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...

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 A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

. In July, 1879, Coulter's moved to its second location, the Baker Block, 236 N.

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

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 t ...

, 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 The Homer Laughlin Building, at 317 South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, is a landmark building best known for its ground floor tenant the Grand Central Market, the city's largest and oldest public market that sees 2 million visitors a year ...

, 317–325 S.

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. 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

Grand Central Market Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

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 an ...

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 (1895),

The Broadway The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant reta ...

(1896),

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as barber Des ...

(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 Bullock's was a chain of full-line department stores from 1907 through 1995, headquartered in Los Angeles, growing to operate across California, Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated as many as seven more upscale Bullocks Wilshire specialty ...

(1907), and Hamburger'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

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...

. 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 The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant reta ...

chain in 1960 and became a Broadway branch.

Miracle Mile building

The Streamline Moderne flagship store at 5600 Wilshire Boulevard, was designed by Stiles O. Clements and completed in 1938-39 was four stories high, as described by the Los Angeles Conservancy, "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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

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