Broadway Theater and Commercial District

Broadway between Third and Ninth Streets in downtown Los Angeles forms a six-block district of commercial towers, department stores and theaters, most built between 1894 and 1931. The buildings are in varied condition, and several have gained new facades since. Architectural styles range from Italianate and Romanesque to Classical, Spanish and French Renaissance, Gothic Revival, Art Deco and Moderne. Notable examples include the Bradbury Building by George Wyman, the Eastern Columbia Building by Claude Beelman, the Orpheum Theater, and the Los Angeles Theater by S. Charles Lee. Supporting statements describe Broadway as the first and largest picture-palace row in southern California. They note the Million Dollar Theatre as the city's first movie palace and the Tower Theatre as an early user of centralized air conditioning. Advocates urged listing a full district rather than isolated landmarks, arguing that scattered recognition would leave plaques marking buildings that could not survive redevelopment.