Spring Street Financial District (Boundary Increase
Why it's listed
Two downtown Los Angeles bank-related buildings were added to the Spring Street Financial District at Fourth and Main Streets. The Farmers and Merchants Bank Building, built in 1904-1905 to designs by Morgan and Walls, is a granite-clad, reinforced concrete Neoclassical bank with paired Corinthian columns and pediments on both street facades. It served as the bank's headquarters until a 1956 merger. Wrapping around it is the Isaias W. Hellman Building, a six- and seven-story Beaux-Arts structure faced in terra cotta and built in three phases between 1905 and 1914. Hellman, a pioneering Los Angeles banker, had sold the corner lot to the bank and then developed the surrounding property, again using Morgan and Walls. Both buildings fit the district's period of significance, 1903 to 1931, and sit beside existing contributing buildings. Their exteriors remain largely intact, with changes mainly at ground level and the Hellman interior.
Significance in brief: The district was once known as the "Wall Street of the West" and was the financial center of Los Angeles in the first half of the twentieth century. The two added buildings reflect early banking history and the quality of Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture. The Farmers and Merchants Bank Building is described as the only Neoclassical temple of finance in downtown Los Angeles.
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 00000387, listed April 21, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 401 S. Main St. and 405-11 S. Main St., Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | April 21, 2000 |
| Reference number | 00000387 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1903-1931 |
| Architect / builder | Morgan and Walls (Octavius Morgan and John Walls); Morgan, Walls & Morgan (Octavius Morgan, John Walls and Octavius Weller Morgan) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th Century & 20th Century Revival: Beaux-Arts, Neo-Classical |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current functions are listed as vacant/not in use and work in progress. The Farmers and Merchants Bank exterior is highly intact; the Hellman Building exterior is substantially intact with the interior extensively remodelled. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Spring Street Financial District |
| Coordinates | 34.04887, -118.24761 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 00000387.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.