The Jewelry District is a section of

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

where a variety of jeweled products are sold.

History

The Jewelry District is predominantly made up of early twentieth-century buildings. Half of the area falls under the greater "Historic Core" of

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, which spans between Hill and Main Streets, and 3rd and 9th streets. The median year in which the buildings in the area were built was 1923. The oldest building to remain in the district is located on 543 South Broadway Avenue—a three-story, 32,600-square-foot commercial space that is now occupied by Teresa's Bridals.

Creation

The influx of jewelry stores in the area did not come about until after the 1960s, when gold came to be seen as a safer investment than U.S. dollars. Gold was a great attraction and it was indeed popular not only for its benefits, but for the style it gave. Before this surge, the California Jewelry Mart dominated the local industry with its establishment on 607 S. Hill Street. The district became even more popular with the opening of Saint Vincent Jewelry Center, housed in the former

Bullock's complex Bullock's complex is a collection of nine historic buildings located at 639-651 south Broadway (Los Angeles), Broadway, the 300-block of 7th Street (Los Angeles), 7th Street, and 634-670 south Hill Street (Los Angeles), Hill Street in the Jewelry ...

with a European-inspired alley of restaurants. Across from St. Vincent's is the State Theater building, a twelve-story red brick office building and theater. Across from the theater was another office building, one that accommodated a drug store in the early 20th century. Behind the theater, along 7th street, is Speckels Building, an office building turned garment manufacturing center, and Provident Loan Association, a not-for-profit organization that provided short term loans for gold and jewelry. It was the last remaining of the many not-for-profit loan societies of the late 19th and early 20th century. Also on Hill Street in this area is Jasper Building, a 14-story office building built in 1928, and Warner Bros. Downtown Building, a 9-story theater and office building built in 1920, both of which were converted to accommodate jewelry manufacturing.

Borders

The Jewelry District is bordered by

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

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 Stre ...

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

, and

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

streets.

Density

Almost all of the buildings within the Jewelry District were designed for general office use with retail spaces on the street level, with some large venues, such as the historic Loew’s State Theatre on 703 S. Broadway, which was built in 1923. In the early twentieth-century, downtown was rapidly developing but it did not feature skyscrapers as tall as

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The buildings were limited to 150 feet by law, which was favored by architects and planners who saw the towering skyscrapers of the east coast metropolises as unsustainable and not conducive to the Southern California lifestyle. Although many residents were living in apartment buildings at the time, the architects and planners argued that excessive vertical expansion would lead to inhumane overconcentration and congestion. This was ultimately not the case and many people were attracted to the area which led to increased business.Jeremiah Axelrod, "Keep The "L" Out of Los Angeles," Journal of Urban History, 34, no. 1 (2007): 7.

Transportation

The Los Angeles Jewelry District can be accessed by public transportation through the

Metro B Line B Line, B-Line or Line B may refer to the following: Transportation US *B (New York City Subway service), a subway route in New York *B (SEPTA Metro), one of three subway lines in Philadelphia. *B-Line (Norfolk Southern), a freight-rail line in ...

to Pershing Square station. The district is southeast of the square.

References