Continental Building

Architect: The Parkinsons
Year: 1903
Style: Beaux-Arts
City: Los Angeles, CA

The Continental Building at 408 South Spring Street opened in 1903 as the Braly Block, named for John Hyde Braly, president of the company that commissioned it. At 151 feet and 13 stories, it was Los Angeles's first high-rise and remained the city's tallest commercial building for fifty-three years — prompting the city council to cap future buildings at 150 feet, a limit that held until the 1950s.

the building

First of its kind. Designed by the Parkinsons in the Beaux-Arts style, the building is a contributing property to the Spring Street Financial District and was individually designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #730 in 2002.

the style

As Los Angeles's first high-rise, the building set the Beaux-Arts template later followed throughout the Spring Street Financial District.

significance

The Continental Building appears prominently in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer and is a contributing property to the National Register-listed Spring Street Financial District.

nearby

Judson Rives Building 440 ft · Beaux-Arts · 1906
San Fernando Building 450 ft · Renaissance Revival · 1907
Broadway Mart Center 0.1 mi · Renaissance Revival · 1915
Hotel Rosslyn Annex 0.1 mi · Beaux-Arts
Security Building 0.1 mi · Neoclassical · 1906
Bradbury Building 0.1 mi · Renaissance Revival · 1893

All 315 buildings in Los Angeles