Building at 816 South Grand Avenue
Why it's listed
Built in 1924 in downtown Los Angeles, 816 South Grand Avenue is an eight-story garage designed by architects Aleck Curlett and Claud Beelman to hold 500 cars, with two retail spaces at street level. Its Beaux Arts front, with a cast stone base, brick piers and a decorated parapet, was meant to resemble an office building rather than a parking structure. The sides and rear are plain, with exposed concrete frame and brick infill. Cars reached the upper floors by vehicular elevators, a method less common than ramps. It was one of six multi-story garages built downtown between 1920 and 1928, and it is one of only three early examples that remain. It appears to be the only surviving multi-story garage in Los Angeles of the elevator type with level floors. Its flat floor plates allowed later conversion to offices and manufacturing. Rehabilitation for loft housing began in 2002, with retail kept on the ground floor. These qualities supported its listing for architecture and transportation.
Significance in brief: It is an early multi-story urban parking garage from the 1920s, when the building type was still evolving, and one of only three such garages remaining in downtown Los Angeles. Its Beaux Arts facade was designed to look like an office building, and it appears to be the last multi-story example in Los Angeles using vehicular elevators with level floors. It also reflects the work of architects Curlett and Beelman.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04001075, listed December 2, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 816 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | December 2, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04001075 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1924 |
| Architect / builder | Curlett, Aleck & Beelman, Claud |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Beaux Arts |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rehabilitated beginning in 2002 as loft housing with ground-floor retail; the form lists current function as work in progress, commerce/trade and domestic. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 34.04726, -118.25913 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04001075.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7568169
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.