C I .:r""~..,, 0 FLO s "...!.l:...~ .. 5~...~...!-:... ~ ... :O:. SIGNIFICANCE WORK SHEET TYPE OR HAND PRINT IN ALL CAPITAL BLOCK LETTERS Complete One or Both of the Upper and Lower Portions of This Page TIlE ---'G::::r:.:;e"'th'-'e::-r-::&:.:G=r-::e:::th:::e::r"'B"Ui"'ld"'in""9'= IS AN IMPORTANT EXAMPLE OF NAME OF PROPOSED MONUMENT ________________ ~~C~h~ic=a9~O~s~Ch~O~O~I~---------------ARCllTECTImE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE (SEE LINE 8) AND MEETS TIlE CULTURAL HERITAGE ORDINANCE BECAUSE OF TIlE llGH QUALITY OF ITS DESIGN AND TIlE RETENTION OF ITS ORIGINAL FORM, DETAIllNG AND INTEGRITY. TIlE ~G~~~t~he~r~&~G~~~t~he~r~B~u=i1=di~n~9~-------_WASBDrrTIN 19_2_4 _ NAME OF PROPOSEDMONUMENT YEARBUlLT __________________ -ccc_Gccr.."et"-h-,,e::c=&-::G-::-r-:::e:::th:::e=r:-B..,u"'i1d:-:i:::n=:9-c:-r WAS IMPORThNT TO THE NAME OF FIRST OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER DEVELOPMENT OF LOS ANGELES BECAUSE _ The Grether & Grether Building is a significant building in the commercial and industrial development of Los Angeles and is associated with several figures who were Influential in the commercial and artistic development of the city. The Grether & Grether Building is an exceptional example of architect John Montgomery Cooper's design work, incorporating the office and retail requirements of a mercantile building at its front with the industrial aesthetic of a manufacturing building at its rear. Constructed for the Grether & Grether dry goods wholesale merchant company, the building is significant for its association with Walter Grether, whose work as president and founder of the Wholesale Institute helped establish Los Angeles as a major center of manufacturing in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Additionally, the building is significant for its association with Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Daniel Hull, whose office in the building served as de-facto National Park Service regional headquarters during the pivotal period of planning and development for the buildings and landscape of several National Parks, including the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite (1927). While simultaneously working for concessionaire firms, railroads, and the National Park Service, Hull and Underwood set the precedent of subordinating man-made elements to the natural material and topography, arriving at the apex of the Rustic style with their designs. Working from their office in Los Angeles, where fantasy architectural styles flourished, Hull and Underwood defined the romanticist National Park aesthetic. Therefore, the building meets the criteria of the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Ordinance and should be recoqnlzed as a Historic-Cultural Monument. HISTORlC--CUL'rvRAL MONUMENT Af'f'UCATION HISTORIC-CUI ..TURAL MONUMENT ApPLICATION TYPE OR HAND PRINT IN ALL CAPiTAL BLOCK LETTERS IDENTIFICATION 1. NAME OF PROPOSED MONUMENT G::.;r..:.e.::.th..:.e::.;r.::&...:G:.:r.::eth=e::.;rB=-U=i:.:ld:::in:ogc- _ 2, SDUillTADDRESS ~7~3~O~S~,~L~o~s~A~n~oe~le~s~S£t~re~e~t _ CflY --"'Lo"'s"'A!:lJol!lQ,fSe"'le"'s'-- ZlP CODE _--,9,-,0",O2;14~_ COUNCIL DISTRlCT -"14"- _ 3, ASSESSOR'S PARCEL NO, ---'5>..1...4"'5"'00"'2QOll.Ou1 _ 4, COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTIOn TRACT Mll!ll;!auol"'eClA"'v"ewo""u"'e-'T..Lra"'c"'t _ BLOCK --'N!!o<!.n~e LOT(S) FR "UNNUMBERED LT" ARB, NO, .J..1 _ 5, RANGEOFADDRES~SONPROPERTY ~7~3~0,~7~3~2~,~73~6~S~,L=o~s~A~o~g~e~le~s~S~tr~e~ffi~ _ 6, PRESENTO~R ~S~o~ut~h~P~a~rk~G~ro'_'u~PL,~LL~C~ _ STREET ADDRESS __ -'8~3::.2=2:.cB=:e~v~e~rl~y-=B~o~u~le~v~a~rd~#~3~O~1"___ _'E-=MAIL!fl4~AD~D,d,RES~;,;S>L:-'ja::.:c:::k::ra:.:v::ao::'@~so:::ut::h.:!:p:::a:.:rk~g:.::ro:::u':::p,::::co:::m:.:_.. CITY_-' --"=L::::o:::.s:.:A:::n~ge;:!le~s':- STATE CA ZIP CODE 90048 PHONE (323) 782-1272 O~ERSHIP:PRlVATnF ~P~r~iv~a~te~ _ PUBLlr"- _ 7, PRESENT USE -'-ro:et~a~il,'.:::o~ffi~c~e _ ORIGINAL USE -'-re'''t'''a'''ill,,01!ffi'''lc'''e _ DgSCRIPTION 8, ARCHITECTURALSTYLE ~C~h~ic~a~g~o~S~c~h~o~o~I __ (SEE STYLE GUIDE) 9, STATE PRESENT PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE OR STRUCTURE (SEE OPTIONALDECRlPTION WORKSHEET, IPAGBM.<\lOMUM) See attached HISTORIC.-CutTURAL MONUMENT AP'?LlCAnON HISTORIC-CUL. TURAL. MONUMENT ApPL.ICA nON NAME OF PROPOSED MONI1MENT G=re::.t=-h:;:e.:.r..:&'-G=re:ct::.;hc;:e:...r"'B:.:u:::iI"'d::.in"'g'-_ 10, CONSTRUCTION DATE: ....:... 19_2_4 FACTUAL: W ESTIMA1ED: 0 11, ARCHITECT, DESIGNER, OR ENGINEER :.:J"'o"'h"'n-'CM"'o"'n-"tgli!:0::::m=ery"'-'C"'o"'o"'p"'e::-r _ 12, CONTRACTOR OR OTHER BUIIDERllnkrul""w"-lo _ 13, DATES OF ENCLOSED PHOTOGRAPHS 2013 (I 8Xl0 BlACK AND \\Il-UTE GLOSSY AND 1 DIGITAL £..MAlLED TO CULTURALH1:."RITAGE [email protected]) 14, CONDmON: 0 EXCEUENI !liGOOD OFAlR o DETERIORATED o NO LONGER IN EXISTRNCE 15, ALTERATlONS""S"'e"'e ...a"'tt"'a"'ch.!>e"'d'-- _ 16, THREATS TO SITE: IIINONE KNOWN 0 PRNATE DEVELOPMENT 0 VANDALISM 0 PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT D ZONING DOTHER _ 17, IS THE STRUCTURE: 10ON ITS ORIGINAl SITE 0 MOVED D UNKNOWN SIGNIFICANCE 18, BRIEFLY stst« cnsrORlCALAND/OR ARCHITECIURAL IMPORTANCE: INCLUDE DATI'..S,EVENTS, AND PERSON ASSOCIA'TED wrm THE SITE (SEE ALSO SIGNIFICANCE WORK SHEET, 750 WORDS MAXIMUM IF USING ADDITlONALSHEElS) See attached 19, SOURCES (LIST BOOKS, DOCUMENTS, SURVEYS,PERSONAL lNJ'ERVmWS WITH DATES)-'S"'e"'e"-Sa""tta"'c"'h"'e"'d'- _ 20, DATE FORM PREPARED 1"'2"-/1L1u,/2~Ou1-"3....:... PREPARER'S NAME LA:illIlJljis'!donw.LYlyo,llng;s'-- _ ORGANlZATlON:.::C",h",att",e::::'!.-',''''n'''c,'-- 'STREET ADDRESS 13417 Ventura Blvd, CITY -"'S"'he"'r""m"'a"'o:...O=ak"'s'-- ,STATE CA ZIP CODE 91423 PHONE (8.1.8) 788-7954 E-MAIL ADDRESS: =al:::lis:::on:::@~c::h=att:::e:::l.u:::s~ _ HISTORIC"CUcrURAl MONUMENT APPLICATION HISTORiC-CULTURAL MONUMENT ApPLICATION ATTACHMENT SHEET 9. Present physical description For the purposes of this description, the northeast will be treated as north, the southeast will be treated as east, the southwest will be treated as south, and the northwest will be treated as west. Exterior The Grether & Grether Building is located at 730 S. Los Angeles Street in Los Angeles, California. The building sits on a parallelogram-shaped parcel located on the east side of Los Angeles Street, 1h between E. yth Street to the north and E. 8 Street to the south. Designed in a simplified interpretation of the Chicago School style, the six-story, reinforced concrete building is rectangular at its ground floor, occupying the entirety of its lot, and T-shaped from the second through sixth floors. At the primary west facade, the top of the T reaches the lot lines to touch buildings at 724 S. Los Angeles Street to the north and 738 S. Los Angeles Street to the south. Brass letters embedded in the concrete sidewalk mark the frontage of the building along S. Los Angeles Street (see photo 15). The base of the T forms light wells along the lot lines, extending to an alley-like private open space (alley) along the rear, eastern side of the parcel. The building reaches the edges of its lot at the ground level along the rear alley. The primary facade is organized in a typical Chicago School base-shalt-capital arrangement (see photos 1 and 2). The facade is symmetrical and divided into five bays. At the "base" level, comprising the ground and second floors, it is sheathed in cast stone painted a cream color to mimic terra cotta or natural stone. The primary entrance is located in the center bay and features a decorative painted cast stone door surround with segmental arch framing a transom opening above a contemporary storefront The transom is boarded over, and fixed wood frame windows are extant behind the boarding. Flat, painted cast stone pilasters without capitals articulate each bay at the base. Four storefronts with brick bulkheads and metal roll-up doors occupy the outer bays of the ground floor. The storefront at the southernmost bay features an older wood frame glazed storefront with angled inset and brick bulkheads. Other storefronts have contemporary aluminum-frame, fully glazed surrounds. Above the storefronts are vertically oriented transoms, divided into four hopper, wood sash windows; transoms in the two southernmost bays are covered with board. A decorative frieze running between the ground and second floors features bas-relief balusters in each bay above a stringcourse of roses set in circles. Square panels with roses demarcate each bay between the balusters. A narrow cast stone stringcourse delineates the second floor from the third and the fifth floor from the sixth, framing the "shaft" of the Chicago School column arrangement. Facing at the upper floors is light brown unpainted brick. A metal fire escape extends from second floor to the roof at the southernmost bay. From the second through sixth floors, fenestration is wood sash Chicago windows with a fixed center pane flanked by single light, double-hung outer panes. The "capital" of the facade is a painted cast stone cornice with shallow acanthus-leave brackets spanning the top of the sixth floor. A cast stone sign with incised letters reading "GRETHER & GRETHER INC" interrupts the cornice and spans the entire center bay. The cornice is capped with a triangular parapet rising above the center bay. The secondary north, east, and south elevations are board-form concrete.