Brockman Building
- Architect
- Barnett, Haynes & Barnett
- Year
- 1912
- Style
- Beaux-Arts
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
The Brockman Building is a 12-story Beaux-Arts, Classical, and Romanesque Revival high-rise on Seventh Street in downtown Los Angeles, built in 1912 for John Brockman and designed by George D. Barnett of Barnett, Haynes & Barnett. It was the first building west of the Broadway Commercial District to reach the city's 150-foot height limit, a move that pulled the retail district west and turned Seventh Street into Los Angeles's high-end shopping corridor.
the building
Seventh Street's turning point. Several department stores, including the original J.W. Robinson Co., and office buildings followed the Brockman Building west along Seventh Street after it opened; in 1917 the apparel retailer J.J. Haggarty moved in to occupy the ground floor.
Role in Safety Last! The Brockman's roof was used during filming of the 1923 Harold Lloyd comedy Safety Last!, though the building itself doesn't appear on camera — the skyscraper seen in the film's famous scenes is the nearby International Savings & Exchange Bank building.
the style
The Brockman Building blends Beaux-Arts, Classical, and Romanesque Revival detailing, ornament visible from Seventh Street on a building whose height once marked the edge of downtown Los Angeles's commercial core.
More on Beaux-Artsthe architect
George D. Barnett (1863-c. 1925), of the firm Barnett, Haynes & Barnett, designed the Brockman Building for developer John Brockman, completing it in 1912.
significance
The Brockman Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
nearby
- Giannini Place
- South Park Lofts
- Southern California Gas Company Complex
- Garfield Building
- James Oviatt Building
- Roosevelt Building