Walter P. Story Building | |
 The building in 2014 | |
  Location of building inLos Angeles County | |
| Location | 610 S.Broadway and 236 W.6th Street,Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°02′46″N118°15′07″W / 34.046°N 118.252°W /34.046; -118.252 |
| Built | 1909 |
| Architect | Morgan & Walls |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| Part of | Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID79000484) |
| Designated CP | May 9, 1979[1] |
Walter P. Story Building, also known as theNew Story Building, is a historic eleven story high-rise located at 610 S.Broadway and 236 W.6th Street in theBroadway Theater District in thehistoric core ofdowntown Los Angeles.
Walter P. Story Building was designed byMorgan & Walls[1] forWalter Perry Story, on land bought fromJames Boon Lankershim byStory's father for $48,000 in 1894 ($1.74 million in2024). Built in 1909, the building was one ofLos Angeles's first skyscrapers and upon completion was home to a 28,000 square feet (2,600 m2)Mullen and Bluett department store in its basement and bottom three stories.[2][3] Apied-à-terre for Story and his wife was included on the top story, complete with gardens and servants’ quarters.[4]
Walter P. Story Building opened in February 1910 and was entirely occupied within two months, making it "one of the most successful buildings in the city" at the time.[5] The building's garage entrance, added in 1934, was designed byStiles Clements.[6]
Upon Story's death in 1957,[4] the building was sold at auction. It was purchased byFisher-Cooper Realty for $1.5 million ($16.8 million in2024), after which they renovated and renamed it New Story Building. Mullen and Bluett moved out in the 1960s.[2]
In 1979, theBroadway Theater and Commercial District was added to theNational Register of Historic Places, with Walter P. Story Building listed as acontributing property in the district.[1] In 1980, the building was converted tojewelry industry use, with the building's ground floor was later converted to jewelry booths.[6]
Walter P. Story Building is 150 feet tall[5] and rectangular in plan, with a 120-foot frontage on Broadway and 160 feet on 6th Street.[7] It was built usingreinforced concrete with aterra cottafacade, and featuresBeaux Arts architecture with decorative bands, arched windows,brackets, and heavycornice that terminates the composition.[1][6][8] The building'sparking garage featuresZigzag Moderne gates[1][2] and an entrance that has been called "a high point of theModerne in Los Angeles."[6]
All interior corridors featuremarble floors andwainscoting to the height of the doors.[5] The lobby also features a compact marble staircase, widebanisters, two-storynewel posts, and aTiffany-stylestained glassskylight.[3] Upon opening, the building's ground floor contained the largestplate glass windows west ofChicago. The building contained twelve of these windows, at a total cost of $12,000 ($419,956 in2024).[2]