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Potomac Block

Broadway (Los Angeles)Buildings and structures demolished in 1953Commercial buildings in Los AngelesDemolished buildings and structures in Los AngelesRomanesque Revival architecture in California
Potomac Block
Potomac Block

The Potomac Block was a commercial building with a historical role in the retail history of Los Angeles, at 213–223 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, on the west side of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd streets. It was developed by lumberyard and mill owner J. M. Griffith, designed in 1888 by Block, Curlett and Eisen in Romanesque architectural style and opened on July 17, 1890. Tenants included Ville de Paris (department store), and City of London Dry Goods Co. It was the first time major retail stores opened on South Broadway, in what would be a shift of the shopping district from 1890-1905, from the 1880s-1890s central business district around Spring, Main, First and Temple streets to S. Broadway, and ever further south along Broadway. In 1904 Coulter's bought the building and combined it with a building to the south and at the back (facing Hill St.), renovated and combined them into one, opening it as a 157,000 sq ft (14,600 m2) new store in June 1905.The building was demolished in 1953 and is still the site of a parking lot.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Potomac Block (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Potomac Block
West 2nd Street, Los Angeles Downtown

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Latitude Longitude
N 34.052083333333 ° E -118.2475 °
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West 2nd Street 316
90012 Los Angeles, Downtown
California, United States
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Mirror Building
Mirror Building

The Mirror Building also called the Butterfield Overland Mail Company Los Angeles Building was a large building in the City of Los Angeles. Butterfield Overland Mail Company built the large brick building in 1858. The Mirror Building was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.744) on July 05, 1960. The Mirror Building had business offices and housing space for traveling workers. There was a large stable in the back of the buildings for the horses, along with a large workshop to repair the stagecoaches. The first Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach from St. Louis to arrive was on October 7, 1858. The Butterfield Overland Mail Company was founded by John Butterfield, he later would be the founder of American Express. While the Mirror Building was being built the Butterfield Overland Mail Company rented space from the Bella Union Hotel. The Los Angeles Butterfield Overland Mail Company closed in 1861. In 1861 the Mirror Building became the Office of U.S. Quartermaster. The U.S. Quartermaster use the stable for army horses and mules. The stable also had space to support the camels used at Fort Tejon and other west outpost. From 1858, Fort Tejon was the western terminus of the experimental U.S. Camel Corps, which used imported camels in an effort to carry supplies across arid regions in the Southwest. The soldiers found the camels hardy, but temperamental, and they spooked the horses used by the cavalry.From 1884 to 1888 the Mirror Building was used as Los Angeles City Hall. The site of the former Mirror Building is now Los Angeles Times Building at 202 West 1st Street built in 1935. The current Times Building has a small museum about the Mirror Building and other offices that were on the site, located at 125 South Spring Street. The 1947 New Times Building, is sometimes called Mirror Building due to the site of the original Mirror Building. The Mirror Building received its name later from the Mirror Printing Office and Book Bindery. Mirror Printing Office became the owners of Los Angeles Daily Times in 1882.The downtown Los Angeles block that the Mirror Building was on is also the location of the Los Angeles School No. 1 built in 1855. This was the first brick school house in Los Angeles. The School was paid for by the new California education property tax assessment started in 1852, which gave schools five cents per $100 of taxable property value. The school was at the northwest corner of Spring and Second streets and cost $6,000 to build. The two story School opened on March 19, 1855.