Preservationists Lament Federal Reserve Blaze

Once upon a time, when downtown Los Angeles was known as the Wall Street of the West, the old Federal Reserve Bank building sturdily symbolized the city’s burgeoning importance as a financial center.

When it was built in 1930 at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Olive Street, the five-story granite-clad structure embodied the strength of the federal government at a time when public confidence had been shaken by stock market plunges and bank runs.

It served Los Angeles’ financial institutions until 1987, when a replacement was built nearby. The old building was sold soon afterward. Now preservationists are hoping the Classical Moderne style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will survive the devastating fire that broke out Monday evening and gutted part of it.

Fifteen firefighters were injured fighting the blaze, which burned strongly for nearly five hours. Firefighters worked Tuesday to douse remaining hot spots. One firefighter, Cesar Garcia, 43, a 13-year veteran, remained hospitalized in stable condition at UCLA Medical Center.

At one point several firefighters, including eight of the injured, became trapped on the building’s roof and had to be rescued by helicopter.

The fire is believed to have started in the mezzanine between the first and second floors, and was reported by two employees of Original Fabric Selection Inc., which leased a portion of the building, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Capt. Steve Ruda.

Investigators have not determined the cause, but the blaze was stoked by burning bolts of fabric stacked from floor to ceiling.

Ruda said firefighters were aware of the building’s historic significance. “It’s one of the reasons the guys went as hard and as long as they did,” he said.

There is heavy smoke damage throughout and major buckling at the northwest corner, but otherwise Ruda said the steel frame structure appears sound.

That is good news to the Los Angeles Conservancy’s preservation specialist, Ken Bernstein.

“This has been a significant building for Los Angeles both for its important role as a financial hub for the region and for its pioneering architecture,” said Bernstein.

The building was technically the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Los Angeles branch. Its designers were the father and son team of John and Donald Parkinson, two of the city’s premier architects who were also responsible for such landmarks as the Bullocks Wilshire Department Store, the Memorial Coliseum, Union Station and, with two other architects, City Hall.

They sought to impart an impression of confidence in the very bones of the building, which also includes Art Deco influences.

“This represented the presence of the national central banking system in Los Angeles and its solidity was likely meant to convey confidence in a system that was going through a lot of upheaval at the time,” said Bernstein.

The old bank’s strength of character is attested to by Cindy Stewart. She started working there the day after the Sylmar earthquake in 1971 and remembers wondering what she would find. But the old bank had sustained not a crack, she said.

Her favorite room was “the kind of old time lobby that you’ll never see again,” with a ceiling hand-painted in vivid colors, gold gilded fixtures, marble counters and mahogany paneling. The room was often used as the set for commercials and films.

“It gave you a sense of power and a sense of being safe when you walked in there,” said Stewart, 48, who works in the branch compliance office at the new, bigger reserve facility on Grand Avenue.

Mike Pfeiffer, executive director of the South Park Stakeholders Group, a group of property owners, said the building was included in a 1995 study as a possibility for conversion into a loft-style apartment building with the ground floor used as commercial space.

Pfeiffer said the building was sold and the new owners were not interested. The current owners could not be reached for comment.

Bernstein said that if damage is not too extensive, the building is a good candidate for rehabilitation and could qualify for tax credits for historic properties.

Legislation pending in the state Assembly would provide additional tax incentives for converting pre-1975 buildings into housing and working spaces, said Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Assn.

“This is a classic building that would seem to work beautifully for those purposes,” said Schatz. “There are not that many of these building left in downtown Los Angeles and you want to preserve them and put them to use.”