Textile Center Building

Infobox_nrhp | name =Textile Center Building
nrhp_type =


caption = Textile Center Building, 2008
location= 315 E. Eighth St., Los Angeles, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 2
lat_seconds = 27
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 118
long_minutes = 15
long_seconds = 1
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1926
architect= Lee, William Douglas
architecture= Late Gothic Revival, Renaissance
added = February 15, 2005
governing_body = Private
refnum=05000048cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Textile Center Building is a 12-story brick building located in the Los Angeles Fashion District. Designed by William Douglas Lee in the Gothic Revival style, the building opened in 1926 as a center for garment manufacturing. [cite web|title=State Historical Resources Commission to Meet|publisher=California Department of Parks and Recreation|date=2004-10-28|url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/712/files/102804.pdf] It has since been converted to condominiums.

Construction and operation

The Textile Center Building was developed by Florence C. Casler, a pioneering woman real estate developer and contractor. When the building was completed, Casler maintained her office there during the height of her career. [cite web|title=Florence Casler: Early Female Developer|publisher=Santee Court|url=http://www.santeecourt.com/history_ca.aspx] In April 1926, the Los Angeles Times reported on the building's opening as follows:

"More than 6000 people were present at the formal opening of the new Textile Center Building, the new loft building on the corner of Eighth and Maple, built and owned by Lloyd & Casler, Inc., and catering exclusively to the wholesale garment manufacturers of the city."cite news|title=Celebrate Opening of Structure: Six Thousand View Textile Center Building Catering to Apparel Makers|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1926-04-04]

As part of the grand opening, a fashion show was conducted featuring wearing apparel manufactured in Los Angeles. A $400,000 bond offering in May 1927 noted that the Textile Center Building had a total floor area of convert|88704|sqft|m2 and was completed in January 2006 at a cost of $626,240.68.cite news|title=Display Ad: Textile Center Building|Los Angeles Times, p. 11|date=1927-05-12] It stated that the building was 100% rented to 56 tenants with gross annual income of $92,584 against expenses of $22,394.61, for net earnings of $70,189.39.

The building was sold in 1945 for $450,000. [cite news|title=Textile Center Building Sold|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1945-11-02]

Conversion to loft-style condominiums

In 2005, the building was converted into loft-style condominiums. [cite web|title=Downtown Projects Pipeline|publisher=Downtown Center Business Improvement District|date=2005-08-24|url=http://hmlservice.com/elsa/news/LAdevelopments/loft_style_condo_construction_list.pdf] Demolition of the building's interior began in January 2005 to make way 64 condominiums and convert|5000|sqft|m2 of retail space. The project was part of MJW Investments' $130 million conversion of nine former garment buildings into live/work lofts and retail space. [cite news|author=Kathryn Maese|title=The Big Makeover: Fashion District Shakes Off Its Dusty Image, With New Projects Worth More Than $500 Million|publisher=Los Angeles Downtown News|date=2005-08-15|url=http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2005/08/15/news/news01.txt] In 2006, the cite news">author=Rachel Brown|title=Upgrading buildings with an eye on the future and the past|publisher=Los Angeles Business Journal|date=2006-07-24|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5673681/Upgrading-buildings-with-an-eye.html]

Historic designations

The Textile Center Building has been recognized as a historic building at both the local and national levels. In April 2002, it was designated a Historic Cultural Monument (No. 712) by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. [Citation | last = Los Angeles Department of City Planning | date = 2007-09-07 | title = Historic - Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments | place = | publisher = City of Los Angeles | edition = | url =http://www.cityprojectca.org/ourwork/documents/HCMDatabase090707.pdf | accessdate = 2008-06-25 ] And in 2005 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

ee also

*List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
*Florence Casler

References

External links

* [http://textilebuilding.org Textile Center Building website]