Photos: The historic former May Co. department store on Broadway

Escalators on the second floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which once housed May Co. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Feb. 4, 2015 9:46 PM PT

A proposed renovation would restore much of the glamour the structure had a century ago, when it was home to one of the region’s finest department stores.

The historic former May Co. department store on Broadway

One of the entrances to the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which once housed May Co. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

The Broadway Trade Center, at right, in downtown Los Angeles. The old department store will be converted to a combination shopping mall, office building and hotel, and will have two swimming pools, rooftop gardens and restaurants. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

The Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Customers at opening day of May Co.’s new home appliance department, June 1946. (R.O. Ritchie / Los Angeles Times)

The second floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which once housed May Co. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

One of the views offered from the 9th floor roof of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A detail from the 9th floor roof of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

An old vault on the second floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which once housed May Co. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Buildings and the view on the seventh floor roof of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

One of the views offered from the 9th floor roof of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

An old desk at the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A detail found in an abandoned structure on the 7th floor roof of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Structures as seen from the 7th floor roof of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

The Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

The ground floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which is now unused. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A detail on the ground floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Hangers litter the floor of a room that once was used for garment manufacturing, inside the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Hangers and clothing litter the floor of a room that once was used for garment manufacturing, inside the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A detail from inside a room that once was used for low-end retail and garment manufacturing, inside the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A detail of a wall inside the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which once housed May Co. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A mural adorns the second floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles, which once housed May Co. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

An old piano sits in a room on the second floor of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

A detail of the outside of the Broadway Trade Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)