Eastern Columbia Building
- Architect
- Claud Wilbur Beelman
- Year
- 1930
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
- Collection
- l.a. deco
The Eastern Columbia Building rises thirteen stories on South Broadway in the Broadway Theater District, designed by Claud Beelman and opened September 12, 1930, after just nine months of construction. It served as headquarters and the 39th store for the Eastern-Columbia Department Store, founded by Adolph Sieroty and family, and cost $1.25 million to build — about $18.63 million in 2025 dollars. It is widely considered the greatest surviving example of Art Deco architecture in Los Angeles.
the building
Turquoise terra cotta and neon. The building is sheathed in bright 'melting turquoise' terra-cotta tile and topped with a four-sided clock tower spelling out 'EASTERN' in white neon on each face — a beacon visible from the Santa Monica Freeway and across much of Downtown.
A clock tower that beat the height limit. Los Angeles enforced a 150-foot height limit at the time of construction, but the decorative clock tower was granted an exemption, letting the building reach 264 feet total.
Built in nine months. General contractor J. V. McNeil Company completed the thirteen-story building in just nine months, opening on September 12, 1930, at a cost of $1.25 million.
the style
The Eastern Columbia is considered the greatest surviving example of Art Deco architecture in Los Angeles, its turquoise terra-cotta cladding and neon-lettered clock tower a signature of the style at full department-store scale.
More on Art Decosignificance
The building is individually designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #294, dated June 28, 1985.
nearby
- Orpheum Theatre
- Charles C. Chapman Building
- Garfield Building
- Mayan Theater
- Maxfield Building
- A.G. Bartlett Building