{"nrhp_refnum":"86002098","name":"San Fernando Building, The","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400--410 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.047906418000025,"lon":-118.25398399299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-07-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eight-story reinforced concrete commercial building at 400-410 South Main Street, at the southeast corner of Fourth and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles. The first six stories were built in 1906-07, and two more were added in 1911.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the city's earliest large reinforced concrete buildings, finished in plain plaster rather than brick, stone or terra cotta. It also has a rare first-floor arcade, unusually intact original storefronts, and ties to early commerce and to developer Col. James B. Lankershim.","narrative":"Standing at the southeast corner of Fourth and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles, this eight-story commercial building was developed by Col. James B. Lankershim and named for his San Fernando Rancho. Construction of the first six stories began in October 1906 under John F. Blee, with C. Wesley Roberts as contractor, and offices opened in 1907. Robert Brown Young & Son designed two more stories in 1911. The structure is reinforced concrete, an early use of the material at this scale in the city, left exposed under a skim coat of plaster, with rusticated piers recalling masonry. The ground floor has an open T-shaped arcade lit by skylights in two light wells, a layout matched by few downtown buildings. Many original curved-glass storefronts, prism glass transoms and tile floors survive, though caryatids and entrance marquees are gone. The building is valued for its construction, its design, its integrity and its link to early downtown commerce.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific dates 1906; 1911)","architect_builder":"C. W. Roberts/John F. Blee; George D. Hulbert/Robert B. Young","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival influence with rusticated piers","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in good condition, though altered; the caryatids and entrance marquees have been removed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.54778-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86002098.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002098/4e854d37e2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002098/4e854d37e2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_San_Fernando_Building,_Los_Angeles_edit1.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:The_San_Fernando_Building,_Los_Angeles_edit1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859482","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fernando_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7413864"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/san-fernando-building-the-86002098/"}