Place
Lerners Building
Part of the National Register-listed Broadway Theatre and Commercial Historic District, this building was originally a women's clothing store.
Lost
The Conservancy concurs with the decision to remove the remaining portions of the marble cladding and to restore the earlier 1931 façade.
Place Details
Address
Architect
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Year
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Government Officials
Community
Grayson's, undated | L.A. Conservancy archives
Overview
Originally constructed in 1931 to house Lerner’s, a women’s apparel store, the building at 533 South Broadway is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Broadway Theater and Commercial District. Engineer Philip Barker designed the building in the Art Deco style.
About This Place
About This Place
The two-story building was characterized by cast stone cladding and was organized into three bays, featuring an expansive recessed balcony with boldly colored tile details flanked by two slim bronze-framed windows with stylized floral stone details.
The next tenant, Grayson’s department store, modified the building around 1944, installing a new Moderne façade that concealed the original stone surface. The new, windowless façade was clad in book matched marble panels and featured a prominent intaglio, an incised carving unusual in an architectural setting, of a classical maiden.
Our Position
Due to the irreversible damage to the Moderne façade and studies indicating that the original stone façade is intact beneath the surface, the Conservancy concurs with the decision to remove the remaining portions of the marble cladding and to restore the earlier 1931 façade.
We believe that the proposed mitigation measures, including the construction monitoring by a qualified historic preservation consultant, would ensure that the Lerner’s building does not sustain any additional damage as a result of the project and that all work meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
To guarantee that the building retains its contributing status to the National Register-listed Broadway Theater and Commercial District, we urge the applicant and City to submit additional documentation to the California Office of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service to amend and update the nomination.
