S. H. Kress and Co. Building, Los Angeles: style and history

The S. H. Kress and Co. Building is a five-floor Art Deco store at 6608 W. Hollywood Blvd., built in 1935 as one of roughly fifty Kress five-and-dime stores designed nationwide by architect Edward F. Sibbert. In 1947 it became the flagship of Frederick's of Hollywood, and for nearly six decades the lingerie retailer's name was as central to the building's identity as Kress's own.

the building

The Lingerie Hall of Fame. In 1986 Frederick's opened the Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame inside, displaying intimate apparel worn in films like Some Like It Hot, Show Boat, and There's No Business Like Show Business alongside personal pieces from Mae West, Cher, Madonna, and Halle Berry.

the style

Art Deco (c. 1925–1940): Jazz-age glamour: towers stepping back as they rise, strong vertical lines, and zigzag or sunburst ornament.

the architect

Edward F. Sibbert served as in-house architect for S. H. Kress & Co., designing around fifty of the chain's stores across the United States in the Art Deco idiom that became the retailer's signature look.

significance

The building and its Frederick's of Hollywood contents were targets of looting during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and Frederick's vacated the building in 2005. It stands as a contributing property in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

nearby

Johnny's Steak House Building 470 ft · Chateauesque · 1930
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre 0.1 mi · Egyptian Revival · 1922
Crossroads of the World 0.2 mi · Streamline Moderne
United States Post Office 0.2 mi · Art Deco · 1937
Max Factor Make-Up Salon 0.2 mi · 1916
Bank of America Building 0.3 mi · Beaux-Arts · 1914

All 315 buildings in Los Angeles