The Douglas Building, a five-story classical revival structure, curves elegantly around the corner of Third and Spring Streets near the northern end of today's downtown commercial district. It is one of the few remaining examples of commercial architecture still in existence in downtown from late 1800s. During its heyday, the heart of the downtown commercial district revolved around the Douglas Building, the Bradbury and Sumner Hunt's Irvine-Byrne Building. Douglas Building tenants included the chief ticket office of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, Desmond's Men's Store and Eagleson's Men's Store.
Thomas Douglas Stimson, a retired lumber baron from Chicago, moved to Los Angeles in the early 1890s and started working with real estate development. His residence, a massive three and a half story brown ashlar sandstone house at 2421 S. Figueroa, was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, with Flemish Gothic stepped gables, a massive tower, columns and Gothic arches. It still stands and is now used as a convent.
Among his many building projects was a six-story Romanesque Revival ‘skyscraper' built in 1892, called the Stimson Block, which was demolished in 1963. The Stimson Block was located on the northeast corner of Spring and Third. Late in life he began planning the Douglas Building as an eight-story building on land facing the Stimson Block, but died as the plans were being finalized; his heirs continued with the project, scaling it down to five-stories.
Reid Brothers, a well-respected architectural firm based in San Francisco, were chosen to create the design. The firm was well known for commercial architecture, and is credited with designing the Call Building (1898), later renamed Central Tower, in San Francisco, one of the few buildings still standing after the great earthquake and fire of 1906. They also designed the original Fairmont Hotel, the 1908 Cliff House, the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego and the Merritt Building in downtown Los Angeles.
One bay of windows curves around the corner of Third and Spring Streets, with nine bays on the east façade and an additional eleven bays on the south façade. Based on historic photographs, the original first floor of the building was glazed and had a glazed transom. The transom was later replaced by a broad band of brick defined with stringcourses (horizontal bands of masonry) and pierced with decorative terra cotta panels. Second story windows, one to a bay, are set into molded stone surrounds and capped with decorative terra cotta window heads. The third and fourth story windows are simpler, with stone sills and a small stone lintel above the fourth story windows. Windows on the fifth story are inset slightly and emphasized by brick piers topped with molded capitals underneath a decorative stringcourse. A blank frieze topped with a molded, denticulated (block-like shapes) cornice finish the classical roofline.
The Douglas Building was determined eligible for the National Register in 1983. It's since been creatively addapted to a boutique residential building including 1 and 2 bedroom lofts. To view lofts for sale or lease at the Douglas Building, contact Kerry Marsico at 213.700.6515 kerry@thedowntownmls.com If your property is currently listed for sale, this is not intended as a solicitation.
