{"nrhp_refnum":"78000685","name":"Bullock's Wilshire Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3050 Wilshire Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.06107689600003,"lon":-118.28841798099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story department store at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, built in 1928 to designs by John and Donald Parkinson. It is a steel-reinforced Art Deco building clad in buff terra-cotta with green copper trim and a six-story tower.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is the finest and most noteworthy example of Art Deco architecture in the Los Angeles area, in both its interior and exterior. It also marks a shift in retail history, as John G. Bullock was the first merchant to place a major department store outside the downtown business district, helping move commerce toward the Wilshire district.","narrative":"Bullock's Wilshire is a five-story department store at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, completed in 1928 and designed by architects John and Donald Parkinson. Its buff terra-cotta walls, green copper spandrels, zig-zag copper parapet work and six-story tower with a copper-sheathed extension make it a leading example of Art Deco design. Inside, a cube-styled marble foyer leads to specialty departments, and original artworks include a Fresco-Secco ceiling by Herman Sach in the motor court entrance. John G. Bullock had opened his first store downtown at 7th and Broadway and built this second store some twenty-two years later. It was the first department store of a major merchant placed outside the main downtown district, which helped draw business toward Wilshire. Each department functioned almost as a separate store, allowing a complete outfit to be bought in one place. The exterior remains largely unaltered, and many original interior shops survive.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"John & Donald Parkinson","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good; exterior largely unaltered, with some interior rooms altered and remodeled while many departments remain as built. The form marks the property as unoccupied but also describes a continuing store use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.935716-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000685.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000685/bd49d887f0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000685/bd49d887f0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Antoine Taveneaux","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bullocks_Wilshire.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Antoine Taveneaux</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:Bullocks_Wilshire.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858995","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullocks_Wilshire","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4996997"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/bullocks-wilshire-building-78000685/"}