{"nrhp_refnum":"10000053","name":"Garment Capitol Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"217 E. 8th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.04161914000008,"lon":-118.25150818799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-03-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 12-story Gothic Revival garment manufacturing loft building at 217 East 8th Street, at the corner of Santee Avenue, in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles. It was completed in 1926 and designed by architect William Douglas Lee.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an excellent example of a high-rise industrial building influenced by Gothic Revival architecture. It is significant at the local level as one of only a few such buildings in Los Angeles. It reflects the 1920s shift of downtown from residential use to multi-story garment manufacturing.","narrative":"Rising about 150 feet above East 8th Street in downtown Los Angeles, this 12-story loft building was completed in 1926 for garment manufacturing. Architect William Douglas Lee designed it for developers Lloyd and Casler, a firm that specialized in such buildings. Its reinforced concrete structure is faced with about 70,000 ruffled brick and extensive Gothic Revival terra cotta, including panels with tracery, shields, fleur-de-lys and figures of monks. Inside, a marble lobby retains a vaulted ceiling, a brass Cutler mail chute receiver and an original Otis freight elevator car. The building came through a major explosion in 1930 and later changed names several times, though its use has stayed the same. It was listed as an excellent local example of a high-rise industrial building influenced by Gothic Revival design, one of only a few of its kind in Los Angeles, and it reflects the growth of the Fashion District in the 1920s.","period_of_significance":"1926","architect_builder":"LEE, WILLIAM DOUGLAS","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Upper floors are used for garment manufacturing, though the building is described as largely vacant as of 2007; a corner storefront is vacant. Alterations are limited to the parapet, storefronts and main entrance.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.659231-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/10000053.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000053/04bfbb86ab-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000053/04bfbb86ab-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JodiSummers","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garment_Capitol_Building_with_carpet.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JodiSummers</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garment_Capitol_Building_with_carpet.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859142","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garment_Capitol_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24041308"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/garment-capitol-building-10000053/"}