Eastern Columbia Lofts - 1930 (Los Angeles, California)

 condominiums, high-rise, Art Deco (architecture), 1930_construction, historic landmark

855 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.easterncolumbialofts.com/

The Eastern Columbia Building is a 264-ft (80 meter) 13-story building in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles and it is considered by many to be the most beautiful of Los Angeles's historic buildings, as well as the finest surviving type of Art Deco following the 1969 demolition of the Richfield Tower. It is easily spotted from the Santa Monica freeway (Interstate 10 due to its bright turquoise colour. The building sits just across the street from the restored Orpheum Theater.

The Eastern Columbia Building was designed by Claud Beelman and opened on September 12, 1930 after nine short months of construction. It was built as the new headquarters of the Eastern Outfitting Company and the Columbia Outfitting Company furniture and clothing stores. With the construction of this lavish structure, the companies could also boast one of the largest buildings constructed in downtown after World War II.

It is built of steel reinforced concrete and clad in glossy turquoise terra cotta trimmed with deep blue and gold terra cotta. The building's vertical emphasis is accentuated by deeply recessed bands of paired windows and spandrels with copper panels separated by vertical columns. The facade is decorated with a wealth of motifs: sunburst patterns, geometric shapes, zigzags, chevrons, and stylised animal and plant forms. The building is capped with a four-sided clock tower emblazoned with the name "EASTERN" in neon and crowned with a central smokestack surrounded by four stylised flying buttresses. The sidewalks surrounding the Broadway and Ninth street sides of the building are of multi-coloured terrazzo laid in dynamic pattern of zigzags and chevrons. The central main entrance has a spectacular recessed two-story vestibule adorned with a blue and gold terra cotta sunburst. The vestibule originally led to a pedestrian retail arcade running through the center of the building.

Developer Kor Group converted the building into 147 condominiums that opened in Fall 2006. A pool was also added to its rooftop which is overlooked by the building's clock tower.