San Fernando Building, The
About this property
The San Fernando Building is an Italian Renaissance Revival style building built in 1906 on Main Street in the Historic Core district of downtown Los Angeles, California. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, converted into lofts in 2000, and declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002. James Boon Lankershim (1850-1931), a wealthy wheat farmer and miller whose father owned much of the San Fernando Valley in the late 19th century, hired architect John F. Blee to design the building. Constructed at a reported cost of $200,000, the building opened in 1907 and was considered one of the finest office buildings in the city. The lobby has a 22-foot ceiling, and the exterior is decorated with elaborate cornice work and spandrel panels with an incised diamond motif. Originally a six-story structure, two additional stories designed by Robert Brown Young & Son were added in 1911. The building's history includes multiple reports of illegal gambling. The current building web site notes that the building was the site of gambling activities around 1910, resulting in several raids by the police. In each case, however, the gamblers were tipped off to the impending raids and no evidence of gambling was discovered. In 1930 police raided the San Fernando Building again, and arrested eleven men for conducting illegal lottery operations at the building; police also arrested a woman for possession of eight quarts of liquor. The Los Angeles Times described the building as "local headquarters for various well-known lotteries." == Other points of interest in building's early history == In 1907 the Los Angeles Realty Board and the California State Realty Federation, responsible for investigating real estate fraud and other "queer deals," moved into the building. In 1908, the newly formed California Colony and Home Promoting Association opened an office in the San Fernando Building. The Association, formed in June 1908 by Lt. Col. Allen Allensworth (USA, ret.), Dr. William A. Payne, and other Black Angelenos promoted the development of Allensworth, California, a new community in southwest Tulare County that would be settled and governed by African Americans. During its heyday in the 1910s, Allensworth had a school, library, two churches, and several farms, stores, and businesses. In 1976, the townsite became Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. In 1913 physicians and surgeons formed the city's first cooperative telephone exchange at the San Fernando Building. The system was intended to provide 24-hour communication between doctors and patients, freeing doctors to attend the theater or make an out-of-town trip.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was San Fernando Building, The listed on the National Register?
San Fernando Building, The was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1986.
What type of historic resource is San Fernando Building, The?
San Fernando Building, The is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for San Fernando Building, The?
The period of significance for San Fernando Building, The is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near San Fernando Building, The?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near San Fernando Building, The will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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