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Commercial Building
1202 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, California
City Landmark Assessment Report
Evaluation Report
Building Permit History
City Directory Research
Photographs
Tax Assessor Map
Sanborn Maps
Prepared for:
City of Santa Monica
Planning Division
Prepared by:
PCR Services Corporation
Santa Monica, California
June, 2006
Commercial Building
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City of Santa Monica
APN: 4291-002-001
City Landmark Assessment and Evaluation
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Description of site or structure, note any major alterations and dates of alterations
The subject property is situated on the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and the 3rd
Street Promenade on Lots A, B, and Y of Block 122 of the Town of Santa Monica tract in
the City of Santa Monica. The rectangular-shaped lot size is approximately 100 feet by 150
feet. Until 1998, when it was converted for use as a Banana Republic retail clothing store,
the property had operated continuously since its construction in 1949 as a branch of the
J.C. Penney Company department store chain. The property consists of a two-story
commercial building with a rectangular footprint that occupies the entire parcel at the
property line. The building’s main ground floor entrances face the now vehicle-restricted
3rd Street Promenade with a secondary entrance facing Wilshire Boulevard. The subject
property is bordered on the west by a narrow paved alley and on the south by a one-story
commercial building. The property is located within the City’s Central Business District.
The property located at 1202 3rd Street Promenade was previously identified and evaluated
in the City’s Historic Resources Inventory (1983) and given a National Register 5D rating
code indicating that it was a contributor to a potential historic district eligible at the local
level of significance. The City’s Historic Resources Inventory Update of historic structures
affected by the Northridge Earthquake (1996) upgraded the subject property’s status to 3S,
indicating that the building appeared potentially eligible for individual listing in the National
Register for its architectural quality. Most recently, the City’s Historic Resources Inventory
Update of the Central Business District and The Third Street Promenade (1998)
reconfirmed the property’s 3S status code.
Description. Erected in 1949, the two-story commercial building with basement is located
at a prominent corner of the 3rd Street Promenade. The building is of steel frame
construction with reinforced concrete floors and is designed in the Late Moderne
architectural style. Stucco sheathes exterior surfaces of the east, north and south elevations.
A flat roof caps the building with the roof supported by exposed steel trusses and steel
joists. The roof features a high parapet that is distinguished by a cylindrical fluted tower on
the building’s northeast corner that rises above the roofline to form a prominent anchor to
the retail store building as seen from Wilshire Boulevard and 3rd Street. Finished in smooth
stucco, the two-tiered tower is recessed slightly from the north and east-facing elevations, its
curved form continuing to the pavement. A projecting cantilevered canopy sheathed in
stainless steel wraps around the primary elevations following the curve of the building and
tower at its northeast corner. Beneath the canopy on the east elevation, the storefront
windows and entrance are canted diagonally inward to direct pedestrians into the store from
the sidewalk. A terrazzo entry area contains the “Banana Republic” logo beneath the
projecting canopy, which is supported by a single freestanding concrete column clad in
beige terracotta glazed tiles. Similar glazed terracotta tiles frame the plate glass storefronts
on the south end of the east elevation and the spaces beneath the building’s remaining
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 1
storefronts. Stainless steel mullions secure the large plate glass windows within the
recessed storefronts.
Punctuating the second story elevations near the south and west ends of the property’s east
and north elevations, respectively, are horizontal window bands each containing six
rectangular windows framed by bezels that are typical of the Late Moderne architectural
style. Both the Wilshire Boulevard and mall entrances feature stainless steel double-doors
centered by fixed glazing. The less prominent Wilshire Boulevard entrance is sheltered by
a cantilevered canopy that mirrors the building’s main canopy in its design, materials and
craftsmanship, although without the supporting column. Ground floor elevations between
storefronts are distinguished by horizontal bands consisting of wide recessed metal strips
set within the building’s stucco exterior surface. The banding continues along the
structure’s secondary west elevation, which contains recessed delivery and service entrances
accessed from a narrow north-south service alley. Another recessed service entrance is
located near the south end of the east elevation. The building’s south elevation is attached
to the adjacent commercial building that abuts the subject property at the parcel line.
Building Permits. While an original building permit apparently was utilized when the
subject property was initially assessed as part of the Central Business District Historic
Resources Inventory in 1983, the permit was not located during the current survey process.
However, an addition to the original building permit dated August 1949, indicates that a
retail store located at 1202 3rd Street Promenade was erected in that year for the J.C. Penney
Company designed by architect Milton L. Anderson. The firm of MacDonald, Young and
Nelson served as contractors. Three years later, in 1951, a permit for a small three-foot by
four-foot sign was issued, although the location of the sign, since removed, was not
specified. The following year, two large flat wall signs that were erected flanking the corner
tower above the canopy (since removed) costing approximately $100 were approved by the
City. While still occupied by J.C. Penney, the building’s original glazed entrance doors
were replaced in 1985 for an estimated cost of $7,000.
Following the departure of the J.C. Penney Company from 1202 3rd Street Promenade in
the mid-1990s, City staff issued two memoranda (September 14 and November 2, 1998) to
the City’s Architectural Review Board regarding the approval of building design, colors,
materials, and sign adjustment for the subject property in its proposed conversion to a
Banana Republic retail store. Staff recommendations (and subsequent City approval)
included the addition of three storefront windows along Wilshire Boulevard, the sheathing
of the cantilevered canopies with stainless steel, and the attachment of metal letters spelling
“ Banana Republic” atop the canopies. However, documentation was not located that
approved the replacement of the original terrazzo entry area with new terrazzo imbedded
with the “Banana Republic” logo or for the installation of horizontal banding in the
exterior surface of the property’s east, north, and west elevations. Additionally, the original
“ JCP ” logo in a condensed, sans serif typeface of the period was removed from the upper
portion of the circular corner tower.
On November 24, 1998 a building permit with a $2,000,000 estimated valuation for interior
and exterior renovations of the subject property was issued to the CIM Company with the
project to be designed and supervised by the Gensler architectural firm. Three months later,
another building permit for interior renovations of the subject property costing
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 2
approximately $5,000,000 was issued to the CIM Company, with Gensler serving as
architect.
Statement of Architectural Significance
The subject property located at 1202 3rd Street is a very good, although altered, example of a
department store building designed in the Late Moderne architectural style typical of the
early post-World War II years in Southern California. The Late Moderne style was the
initial style expressing the post-war boom of Los Angeles that lasted from approximately
1945 through the early 1950s. The World War II years essentially halted the evolution of
architectural styles such that immediately following the war many Southern California
commercial buildings were strongly influenced by architectural designs seen in the latter
years of the Great Depression. As such, the Late Moderne was a stylistic melding of the
Streamline Moderne that was popular in the mid- to late-1930s with the International
Style that originated in the 1920s. Specifically, the idiom borrowed the horizontality,
curved canopies, and curved corners from the Streamline Moderne style, and the flat roof,
window bands, and boxy form of the International Style. Unique to the style were the
prominent bezels that surrounded window bands. Broad cantilevered rectilinear or
curved canopies were also a character-defining feature of the style. Additionally,
commercial buildings designed in the Late Moderne style often featured prominently
soaring sign pylons that dominated the building’s façade.
In the early post-war years, a number of Southern California’s most prominent architects
designed important Late Moderne style buildings in the region. Some of the best
examples include Bullock’s Pasadena Department Store (now Macy’s) located at 401
South Lake Avenue (1947, architects Walter Wurdeman and Welton Becket), Milliron’s
Department Store (now Target) at 8739 Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester (1947-49,
architects Victor Gruen & Elsie Krummeck), Mullen & Bluett department store located at
5570 Wilshire Boulevard (1949, architect Stiles O. Clements), and Bob’s Big Boy
restaurant in Toluca Lake/Burbank at 4211 West Riverside Drive (1949, architect Wayne
McAllister). As relates to the prevalence of the Late Moderne style in Santa Monica, the
style is relatively uncommon; however, the Sears’ retail store at 302 Colorado Avenue
(1947, architect Roland H. Crawford) is the City’s most prominent example of the style,
which was designated a local Landmark in 2004.
Character defining elements of the Late Moderne style that are represented in the subject
property include the structure’s broad horizontality, flat roof, stucco exterior surface, and
bezeled window bands. In particular, the building’s most predominant Late Moderne
architectural feature is its curved northeast corner as expressed in its storefront,
cantilevered canopy, and soaring curvilinear tower. Despite the sheathing of the
building’s two projecting canopies in stainless steel, the addition of a trio of storefront
windows to the Wilshire Boulevard elevation, and the banding of ground floor exterior
elevations with inset metal strips, the subject property remains a representative example
of the Late Moderne architectural style as represented in a department store in the City of
Santa Monica.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 3
Statement of Historical Importance
Santa Monica. In 1875, the original townsite of Santa Monica was surveyed, including all
the land extending from Colorado Street on the south to Montana on the north, and from
26th Street on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Between 1893 and the 1920s, the
community operated as a tourist attraction, visited by mostly wealthy patrons. Those areas
just outside of the incorporated city limits were semi-rural in setting and were populated
with scattered residences. After the advent of the automobile in the 1920s, Santa Monica
experienced a significant building boom, with homes being constructed in the tracts north of
Montana and east of Seventh Street for year-round residents. Commercial buildings,
primarily one- or two-story in height, initially concentrated along 2nd and 3rd Streets between
Colorado Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard also began to expand eastward at this time.
Central Business District. The subject property is located on the west side of 3rd Street
within the boundaries of the City of Santa Monica’s Central Business District. This
commercial area is roughly bounded by Wilshire Boulevard to the north, 2nd Street to the
west, Colorado Avenue/Santa Monica Freeway to the south, and 4th Street (south of Santa
Monica Boulevard) and 7th Street (north of Santa Monica Boulevard) to the east. Most
buildings are commercial in function, with a small scattering of residential properties and
churches. The Central Business District developed early in the history of Santa Monica as
the location of commercial businesses catering to both local residents and the City’s many
visitors. Second Street, the oldest commercial street in Santa Monica, was supplanted by 3rd
Street as the City’s principal commercial street in the early twentieth century. A three-block
stretch of 3rd Street was eventually closed to vehicular traffic and became a pedestrian
shopping mall in 1965. It is within this mall area, now known as the Third Street
Promenade, that the subject property is located. Fourth Street between Wilshire Boulevard
and Colorado Avenue evolved from a primarily residential neighborhood at the turn-of-thecentury to a predominantly commercial area by the early 1920s. The impetus for this
change occurred as a result of the continuing resident and tourist population growth of the
City overall and their demand for consumer goods.
Buildings of each period of development, from 1875 through to the present day, stand in the
area, their styling and historic associations providing a physical document of the commercial
history of the city.1 The most prevalent styles are those associated with the 1920s and
1930s, which included Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and
Classically influenced vernacular structures. Buildings located within the Central Business
District range from one to twelve stories in height and are clad in a variety of materials,
including stucco, brick, terracotta, and concrete.
Sanborn maps dated 1918 indicate that the commercial building located at 1202 3rd Street
Promenade (the subject property) would be built on the combination of three adjacent
parcels of which the westernmost parcel was, at that time, occupied by the First Church of
Christ Scientist. By 1918, single- and multi-family dwellings were located throughout the
area from Ocean Avenue east along Wilshire Boulevard within the original Santa Monica
townsite. Additionally, the blocks north and south of Wilshire Boulevard in the vicinity of
the subject property were residential in character during this time period. With the
widespread adoption of the automobile and the resultant building boom of the 1920s, many
1
Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory, 1985-1986: Final Report, p.28.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 4
of the dwellings situated along Wilshire Boulevard and 3rd Street in the City’s expanding
Central Business District were replaced with commercial properties in subsequent years.
The 1918 and the 1950 paste-up Sanborn maps document the evolution of development
patterns from residential to commercial that occurred in the vicinity of the subject property,
solidifying the commercial focus of 3rd Street and Wilshire Boulevard. Over the years,
residential properties that once lined the two thoroughfares were replaced by department
stores, automobile service stations, restaurants, stores, and offices. Conversely, singlefamily and multi-family residential properties continued to occupy many of the parcels
along the numbered streets south of Wilshire Boulevard in the northeast quarter of the
Central Business District up through the late 1940s. Today, most of the dwellings that were
located within the Central Business District are gone, replaced by a variety of commercial
buildings.
J.C. Penney Company. The J.C. Penney Company originated as an outgrowth of a small
chain of modest dry goods stores called The Golden Rule, one of which was opened in
1902 and operated by 26-year-old James Cash Penney in Kemmerer, Wyoming. With the
success of his first store, Penney and his financial partners opened additional Golden Rule
stores in Wyoming and nearby Western states during the decade. By 1910, Penney had
bought out his remaining partners, relocated the company’s operations to Salt Lake City,
Utah, and instituted his business policy of offering one-third ownership of his new stores to
store managers. During the 1920s and the years of the Great Depression, the renamed J.C.
Penney Company, with its headquarters then located in Manhattan, continued to expand.
With its wide selection of branded merchandise, particularly clothing, the company’s target
market was the broad swath of America’s working and middle classes who shopped on the
main streets of the country’s small towns. Consistent with this strategy, J.C. Penney
opened its Santa Monica branch at 1328 3rd Street during the 1930s along the small City’s
main commercial thoroughfare. By the time of America’s entry into the Second World
War, there were over 1,600 J.C. Penney department stores located primarily in small towns
throughout the United States.
For the first three decades following World War II, the J.C. Penney Company continued to
grow, particularly targeting its new stores in the emerging regional shopping centers being
built in suburban communities across the nation. It inaugurated its catalog sales operation
in 1963, offering credit sales to customers, and expanded its merchandise from primarily
clothing to appliances, sporting goods, garden merchandise, and auto parts and service,
following the path that Sears, Roebuck and Company blazed a half-century earlier. The
company’s Santa Monica store, located at 1202 3rd Street (the subject property) continued
to specialize primarily in clothing.
In 1971, company founder James Cash Penney died at the age of 95, having written four
books on retailing as one of America’s most well known and respected merchandise men.
During the remaining years of the twentieth century, the J.C. Penney Company retrenched
and reorganized several times to keep pace with the changing face of retailing. As a result,
many of the company’s stores, including the J.C. Penney branch located at 1202 3rd Street
Promenade (the subject property), closed in favor of larger stores situated within regional
shopping malls.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 5
Department Stores in Santa Monica. When the J.C. Penney store relocated one block
north from its 1324 3rd Street location in Santa Monica to 1202 3rd Street in 1949, a handful
of competing department stores already existed in the City. In Santa Monica’s Central
Business District, stores such as Montgomery Ward & Company (1316-18 3rd Street),
Sponberg’s Department Store (1408-10 3rd Street), Sears Roebuck and Company (302
Colorado Avenue), and Henshey’s Department Store (Santa Monica Boulevard at 4th Street)
were the primary department store shopping destinations for local households. Of these,
Henshey’s Department Store established in the City in 1925 was probably the most well
known. The store was housed in a traditional brick multi-story building constructed in
1925 and survived as a much expanded mid-level department store at its original location
until the 1990s. The subject property and Montgomery Ward stores, located side-by-side
on Third Street, were eventually converted to other commercial uses following their closure.
Of the department stores listed in the City of Santa Monica’s 1947-48 directory, only Sears
Santa Monica remains in business today.
J.C. Penney’s Santa Monica branch. Because of the population boom of the postwar
years, the need for greater shopping opportunities arose. As noted, Santa Monica had been
served by a number of modest department stores in the Central Business District prior to
the end of World War II. Recognizing the market opportunity arising from the rapidly
growing Santa Monica area, J.C. Penney commissioned a new store for its local operations
only one block north of its existing 3rd Street location. The new, air-conditioned Late
Moderne style store situated at its prominent corner location at Wilshire Boulevard bespoke
the company’s faith in Santa Monica’s long-term growth. For the next 45+ years, the J.C.
Penney store continued to operate at its 1202 3rd Street location, finally succumbing to
changing market conditions with the closure of its Santa Monica branch in the mid-1990s.
Today, although several of the City’s prewar and early postwar department store buildings
have been demolished, Sears’ Colorado Avenue store is still extant. Additionally, the
subject property continues to operate as a retail store building and remains an excellent
example of its period and style. As a result, the subject property is a vivid physical
manifestation of the growth of the City’s Central Business District during the early years
following World War II.
Person(s) of Historical Importance
Milton L. Anderson. The commercial building located at 1202 3rd Street Promenade was
designed by Milton Lawrence Anderson (1895-1987), a Los Angeles-based architect with
offices located at 520 West 7th Street. Prior to establishing his own practice, Milton L.
Anderson was a partner with architect Alvan Edward Norstrom (1897-1946) in the Los
Angeles architectural firm of Norstrom & Anderson.2 Current research suggests that
Norstrom & Anderson focused primarily on commercial projects with their earliest
identified work, a row of Spanish Colonial Revival style retail shops constructed on Second
Street in downtown Los Angeles, dating from 1928. From the late 1920s until 1946 (when
Norstrom died), the firm was responsible for a considerable number of commercial
buildings along Santa Monica’s 3rd Street. Erected between 1937 and 1941, these buildings
include 1212, 1222-26, 1242-46, 1248, 1254, 1258-60, and 1302 3rd Street. Norstrom &
2
The 1941 Los Angeles City Directory lists Milton L. Anderson (Glynda) of Norstrom & Anderson, and Alvan E.
Norstrom (Marie) of Norstrom & Anderson with an office located at 318 9th Street in Los Angeles.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 6
Anderson also designed the commercial building located at 319 Santa Monica Boulevard
that was erected in 1939. Since these buildings’ inclusion as contributors to the Third
Street Promenade District (or, in the case of 319 Santa Monica Boulevard, the Central
Business District), the Historic Resources Inventory Update completed in 1998, indicates
that all of these buildings except for the subject property, 1242-46 and 1254 3rd Street, and
319 Santa Monica Boulevard were removed as district contributors due to the loss of
physical integrity.3
Following the death of Norstrom, Milton L. Anderson established his own firm and was
awarded the commission to design the subject property. Additionally, Anderson designed at
least one other J.C. Penney Company retail store (Westchester), a factory building
(Carpenter Paper Company in Vernon), and a shopping center (Foothill Park Shopping
Center in Azusa) in the years prior to 1960. In sum, as a partner in the firm of Norstrom &
Anderson, Milton L. Anderson was associated with the design of a number of commercial
buildings in Santa Monica and, as the principal of his own firm, other commercial buildings
in the Los Angeles region. Nonetheless, current research suggests that the dearth of
scholarly information and other references to Anderson and his portfolio of work is due to
his relative anonymity as an architect. As a result, it appears that Anderson’s reputation
and body of work did not rise above that of the many other anonymous commercial
architects practicing in Southern California in the middle decades of the twentieth
century. Similarly, the subject property’s contractor/builder, MacDonald, Young &
Nelson of San Francisco, was one of many contractors operating in Southern California
during the years following World War II. Current research suggests that their work in the
Santa Monica area appears to have been quite limited.
Statement of other significance
No other evidence was discovered in current research of the property to indicate other
significance.
Is the structure representative of a style in the City that is no longer prevalent?
Despite noted alterations, the subject property is a very good example of the Late Moderne
style as applied to a commercial building. In performing a cursory windshield survey and a
review of the Santa Monica Historic Resources Inventory, there appear to be few examples
of the Late Moderne architectural style extant in the City of Santa Monica. Further, the
subject property and the Santa Monica’s Sears retail store appear to be among the last
remaining department stores in the City that exemplify the Late Moderne style. Therefore, it
can be concluded that this particular style is no longer prevalent within the City of Santa
Monica.
Does the structure contribute to a potential historic district?
The subject property is located within the boundaries of the Central Business District, a
potential historic district. The district consists of approximately 100 contributing structures,
including the subject property, with boundaries roughly defined by Wilshire Boulevard to
3
Historic Resources Inventory Update completed for the City of Santa Monica: Central Business District and the
Third Street Promenade completed in 1998 by Janet L. Tearnen, Lauren Weiss Bricker, and William Scott Field.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 7
the north, 2nd Street to the west, Colorado Avenue/Santa Monica Freeway to the south, and
4th Street (south of Santa Monica Boulevard) and 7th Street (north of Santa Monica
Boulevard) to the east. The subject property is an important contributor to the Central
Business District as a key example of a commercial building constructed on 3rd Street
designed in a relatively uncommon architectural style from the late 1940s.
CONCLUSION
In summary, based on current research and the above assessment, the property located at 1202 3rd
Street Promenade appears to meet many of the City of Santa Monica’s Landmark Criteria. The
property was evaluated according to statutory criteria as follows:
Landmark Criteria:
9.36.100(a)(1) It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic,
political or architectural history of the City.
The former J.C. Penney building located at 1202 3rd Street Promenade was constructed in
response to the economic prosperity of Santa Monica in the early post-World War II years
and the expansion of commercial activity along 3rd Street at that time. Additionally, the
building’s size and prominence on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 3rd Street
continues to manifest and exemplify the economic development of the City’s Central
Business District during the late 1940s. Further, the subject property exemplifies a
particular and short-lived stylistic phase in the architectural history of the City, the Late
Moderne. Character-defining features of the former J.C. Penney building that are indicative
of the Late Moderne style include its pronounced horizontality and streamlined northeast
corner (storefront, canopy, and soaring fluted tower), flat roof, stucco sheathing, and 3rd
Street-facing entrance configuration. As a result, the subject property is a relatively
uncommon example of this historical period within the City. Despite modifications to the
first floor elevations (horizontal banding, insertion of three Wilshire Boulevard-facing
storefront windows), cladding of the canopies in stainless steel, modifications to the 3rd
Street terrazzo entry area, and the addition of the “Banana Republic” sign atop the
northeast canopy, the subject property retains sufficient contextual, architectural, and overall
physical integrity in its design, workmanship, materials, and feeling to manifest the
architectural history of the City of Santa Monica. Therefore, the subject property appears to
satisfy this criterion.
9.36.100(a)(2) It has aesthetic or artistic interest or value, or other noteworthy interest or value.
While the subject property is aesthetically pleasing in its overall form and prominent siting,
the building’s relatively modest expression of the Late Moderne architectural style does not
lead to the conclusion that the property possesses sufficient aesthetic and artistic value
necessary for designation under this criterion.
9.36.100(a)(3) It is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or
national history.
Current research did not reveal that the property at 1202 3rd Street Promenade is associated
with any historic personages or with important events in local, state, or national history.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 8
Therefore, the subject property does not appear eligible for local landmark designation
under this criterion.
9.36.100(a)(4) It embodies distinguishing architectural characteristics valuable to a study of a
period, style, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials or craftsmanship, or is a
unique or rare example of an architectural design, detail or historical type valuable to such a study.
The property appears to satisfy this criterion. The property located at 1202 3rd Street
Promenade is a very good example of a commercial building designed in the Late Moderne
architectural style popular in the early years following World War II. The building
embodies a number of distinguishing architectural characteristics of the Late Moderne style
including its overall form and massing, flat roof, stucco sheathing, pronounced horizontality,
bezeled window bands, and cantilevered canopies. In particular, the building’s streamlined
northeast corner as expressed in its curved storefront, canopy, and tall fluted circular tower
are highly expressive of Late Moderne architectural style. Few examples of Late Moderne
style commercial buildings exist in the City of Santa Monica. Therefore, despite alterations
to the building’s primary elevations and canopies, the subject property is valuable to a study
of the architectural history of the late 1940s and the Late Moderne idiom.
9.36.100(a)(5) It is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable
builder, designer or architect.
Research conducted during the current survey process revealed a relatively modest track
record of completed projects for subject property architect Milton L. Anderson.
Additionally, as a Los Angeles-based commercial architect, no evidence was uncovered
suggesting that Anderson was considered a notable member of his profession. Similarly,
the property’s contractor, MacDonald, Young and Nelson of San Francisco, does not
appear to have been an especially prominent firm with a body of work in Santa Monica or
Southern California during the years following World War II. Therefore, due to the lack of
association with a notable builder, designer, or architect the subject property does not appear
eligible for local landmark designation under this criterion.
9.36.100(a)(6) It has a unique location, a singular physical characteristic, or is an established and
familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community or the City.
Given the subject property’s highly visible location on the southeast corner of Wilshire
Boulevard and the popular 3rd Street Promenade commercial area, the building’s massing,
proportions, and prominent siting makes it an established and familiar visual feature of the
City’s Central Business District, satisfying this criterion.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 9
CITY DIRECTORY RESEARCH
Commercial Building: 1202 3rd Street Promenade
Year
1947-1948
Entry
1952-1953
No listing at this address.
Note: The J.C. Penney Company department store was listed at 1324 3rd Street.
J.C. Penney Company
1954
J.C. Penney Company
1958-1959
J.C. Penney Company
1960-1961
J.C. Penney Company
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 10
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PCR Services Corporation, 2000.
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City of Santa Monica Planning and Community Development Department. Historic Resources
Inventory Update for the Central Business District and Third Street Promenade, April 12,
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City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Department. Building Permits.
City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Department. Santa Monica Historic Resources
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J.C. Penney Company website. http://www.jcpenney.net/company/history/
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Los Angeles Times. “Carolyn Anderson Wed to Bruce Rodney Lamb. ” July 29, 1953, p. B5.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 11
Los Angeles Times. “Building Slated for Location of New Penney Co. Store. ” April 11, 1954, p.
E7.
Los Angeles Times. “Article 21 – No Title. ” October 17, 1954, p. F12.
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1990.
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Evaluation. Washington DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Interagency
Resources Division, 1990.
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1874.
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1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 12
PHOTOGRAPHS
Primary (north and east) elevations, looking southwest.
Primary (east) elevation, looking west.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 13
Primary (east) elevation, looking west.
Primary (north) elevation, looking southwest.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 14
Primary (north) elevation, looking south.
Secondary (south) elevation facing alley, looking northeast.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 15
Storefront and entry area, east elevation, looking northwest.
Main entrance, east elevation, looking west.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 16
Storefront and canopy detail, east elevation, looking southwest.
Northeast storefront corner, looking west.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 17
Northeast corner, looking southwest.
Window detail, north elevation, looking south.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 18
Context view, looking east from Wilshire Boulevard.
1202 3rd Street Promenade (subject property) is on the right.
Context view, 3rd Street Promenade looking south from Wilshire Boulevard.
1202 3rd Street Promenade (subject property) is on the right.
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 19
MISCELLENOUS ATTACHMENTS
Current Tax Assessor Map
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1918
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1918-1950
1202 3rd Street Promenade
City Landmark Assessment Report
page 20
http://assessormap.co.la.ca.us/mapping/gifimage.asp?val=4291002.00
Assessor Map
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