{"nrhp_refnum":"83004529","name":"Oviatt, James, Building","other_names":["Alexander and Oviatt Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"617 S. Olive St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.04762818000006,"lon":-118.25473825999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A twelve-story commercial building with penthouse and mezzanine at 617 South Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles, built 1927-1928 as the Alexander and Oviatt clothing store and office building, designed by Walker and Eisen.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as the product of clothier James Oviatt's taste and business sense, with opulent Art Deco interiors and glasswork by Rene Lalique. It was linked to the 1925 Paris Exposition of decorative arts and was among the first Los Angeles buildings with a penthouse residence. Its 1970s-80s rehabilitation became a leading local example of adaptive reuse.","narrative":"Rising twelve stories on Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles, this steel-frame building was completed in 1928 for the clothing firm Alexander and Oviatt. Walker and Eisen designed the shell and the cream terra cotta facade, topped by a clock tower with Italian Romanesque details. James Oviatt assembled a team that included store designers Feil and Paradise, cabinetmakers Saddier et Fils, and French glassmaker Rene Lalique, whose illuminated glass ceiling, doors, and metalwork gave the lobby its Art Deco character. Oviatt also lived in a ten-room penthouse on the roof, a novelty at the time. The store closed in 1969 after downtown declined, and the building was bought in 1977 for rehabilitation. The original elevators, marble corridors, and Lalique details were preserved, and a restaurant now occupies the former store. The building is recognized for its design and as a prominent example of preservation and reuse in the city.","period_of_significance":"1927-1928","architect_builder":"Walker and Eisen","architectural_style":"Art Deco, with restrained Italian Romanesque details at the top","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; rehabilitated after 1977, with a restaurant in the former clothing store, offices on upper floors, and a refurbished penthouse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.155865-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/83004529.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004529/4fed0cabb4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004529/4fed0cabb4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Oviatt_Building,_Los_Angeles.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles</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:James_Oviatt_Building,_Los_Angeles.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859370","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oviatt_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14682503"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/oviatt-james-building-83004529/"}