Broadway Leasehold Building

This article is about the building that housed Western Costume prior to 1923. For the building that housed Western Costume from 1923 to 1932, see Western Costume Building.

Broadway Leasehold Building
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Location of building in Los Angeles County
Location	908-910 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34°02′31″N 118°15′22″W
Built	1914
Architect	Unknown or Meyer & Holler or an employee of theirs
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
Part of	Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID02000330)
Designated CP	April 12, 2002[1]

Broadway Leasehold Building, also known as L.L. Burns Western Costume Building,[2] Sparkle Building[3] or Sparkle Factory,[4] is a historic seven-story building located at 908-910 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles. The building is best known for its Banksy mural and as the filming location where Harold Lloyd scaled and dangled from a clock in Safety Last!.[5]

History

Broadway Leasehold Building, built in 1914, was originally designed to house street-level retail with offices for Leasehold Company above. According to the United States Department of the Interior, the architect is unknown,[1] while other sources cite the architect as an employee of Milwaukee Building Company[6]/Meyer and Holler[7] and even more sources cite Meyer and Holler directly.[8][9][10][11]

During prohibition, Broadway Leasehold Building's basement housed several speakeasies,[5] and the building was also home to Western Costume until 1923, when the company moved across the street to the Western Costume Building.[12]

Broadway Leasehold Building was not listed in the National Register of Historic Places's Broadway Theater and Commercial District when it was first created in 1979,[13] but it was included when the district was expanded in 2002.[1]

In 2007, Alfonso Campos and Tarina Tarantino bought the building for $4 million ($5.88 million in 2023). They then renovated the building and turned it into Tarantino's jewelry company headquarters, dubbed the Sparkle Factory.[4] The total cost of the renovation, which took more than a decade, was $1.8 million ($2.39 million in 2023).[14]

In 2014, the building was awarded $103,940 ($133,775 in 2023) through the Bringing Back Broadway initiative to spotlight its façade columns and outline its architectural crown.[15]

In 2022, local lawyer Farid Yaghoubtil bought the building at auction for $8.5 million ($8.85 million in 2023), $21.5 million less than the sellers hoped for.[16]

Architecture and design

Broadway Leasehold Building is built of reinforced concrete and brick with a primary facade clad in terra cotta and glazed brick.[1][6] The building was designed in the Gothic Revival style, with features that include:[1]

• a defining wide open arch in the primary facade that encompasses three bays of wood-frame, mostly-fixed, deep-set sash windows
• faceted colonettes that define the window grid and are each topped by a capital, above which they curve together to join at the top of the ogee arch
• a segmental-arched header at the top window opening of each bay
• unornamented spandrel panels except for string course detail along the bottom
• a metal fire escape affixed to the central bay
• a gabled parapet wall that terminates the facade

The building's ground-floor exterior has been altered and obscured by signage, but the upper-stories are intact. Overall, the building is in good condition.[1]

In popular culture

Filming location

The rooftop of the Broadway Leasehold Building was where Harold Lloyd scaling and dangling from the arms of a clock in Safety Last! was filmed, as was the last shot of that film.[17] A similar stunt in Hold Your Breath was also filmed on this building's rooftop.[5]

Banksy mural

In 2010, a 13 feet (4.0 m) by 33 feet (10 m) foot mural was painted on the building's southwestern exterior. Titled Girl on a Swing, the mural is believed to have been created by Banksy, who was attending the premiere of Exit Through The Gift Shop at the nearby Los Angeles Theatre around the time of the mural's creation.[5][16]

See also

• List of contributing properties in the Broadway Theater and Commercial District

External links

• Banksy mural on the building

References

1. "Broadway Theater & Commercial District (Boundary Increase)". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. April 12, 2002.
2. "Broadway 'Sparkle Factory' Planned". Los Angeles Downtown News/. February 1, 2012.
3. "Sparkle Building". fashiondistrict.org/. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
4. Vaillancourt, Ryan (February 6, 2012). "A Modern Sparkle for Broadway". Los Angeles Downtown News.
5. Netzley, Luke (June 21, 2024). "Iconic DTLA landmark with Banksy artwork to be sold at auction". Los Angeles Downtown News.
6. Sitton, Tom (2008). "GC 1323 - Historic Sites Surveys" (PDF). Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
7. Michelson, Alan. "Meyer and Holler, Architects, Engineers and Builders (Partnership)". University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
8. Sutton, Benjamin (September 1, 2022). "Banksy mural, and the Los Angeles building he painted it on, head to auction". The Art Newspaper.
9. "LA building with Banksy mural could fetch $30M at auction". The Real Deal. September 2, 2022.
10. Kamin, Debra (September 6, 2022). "Want to Buy A Banksy? This Building Comes With It". The New York Times.
11. Tschorn, Adam (February 3, 2012). "Tarina Tarantino takes her talents to South Broadway". Los Angeles Times.
12. "Western Costume Company". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
13. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - California SP Broadway Theater and Commercial District". United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service. May 9, 1979.
14. Batycka, Dorian (September 2, 2022). "A Banksy Mural in L.A. Is Hitting the Auction Block—With the Whole Building It Was Painted on Attached—for as Much as $30 Million". Artnet.
15. "Facade Lighting Grants Awarded on Broadway". historiccore.com. March 31, 2014.
16. Witthaus, Jack (December 1, 2022). "Downtown LA Property With Banksy Mural Sells for Less Than What Sellers Hoped". CoStar Group.
17. Bengtson, John (February 29, 2012). "How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last!". silentlocations.com.