Bullocks Wilshire

Identification

Map

Structure in general

Usage

Facts

• The building opened just before the stock market crash of 1929.
• Bullocks Wilshire is regarded as one of the finest Art Deco buildings in the U.S.
• The building was one of America's first suburban department stores and was the first designed with the car in mind.
• The building was purchased by the Southwestern University School of Law in 1994 who restored it to its former glory.
• In 2000, Bullocks Wilshire garnered a National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust.
• The building houses over 365,000 volumes for the new library of the Southwestern University Law School.
• Given Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #56 designation in 1969.
• A variety of materials used in the building's construction include: Glazed tan terra cotta on most of the exterior, green patina copper on the tower and spandrels, and black granite on the base.
• Dubbed at the "Cathedral of Commerce" at its opening. Largest store building of the Art Deco period with most of its original architectural details preserved.
• Engraved above the main entrance is the phrase: "To build a business that will never know completion".
• Bullocks Wilshire was built to 241 feet at a time when LA had a strict 150 foot maximum height restriction.
• Placed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1978.
• Bullocks Wilshire was built for John J. Bullock, founder of the exclusive Bullocks Wilshire Department stores; clients who visited the store included Mae West, Alfred Hitchcock, John Wayne, Greta Garbo and Clark Gable.