Architectural Photography - The Broadway Hollywood
The Broadway Hollywood is one of the true classic buildings in Los Angeles. Built in 1927, this neoclassical structure opened as a department store, the Broadway. After an addition in 1938, the Broadway department store remained in the building until the 1970's. By 1987, the building was completely abandoned until a major 2005 restoration turned the building into 96 lofts that are still popular to this day. In this day of modern architecture, I love when classic architecture is saved and restored to its former glory.
Thanks to @juliank and @photocontests for creating and curating #architecturalphotography!
beautiful
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I love how much historical significance is defined by the country. Over here 1927 wouldn't be particularly old, but equally there wasn't really as much in terms of a definite style. On the other hand this kind of building looks so traditionally American that I can totally see the significance. Unfortunately a lot of our 20's and 30's style buildings are nowhere near as nice to look at!
1927 isn't old for the east coast of America either (NYC, Boston, etc...) But for Los Angeles, the mid 1920's is basically the start of the modern city here so these are all historic. There are a ton of buildings like this downtown and a handful here in Hollywood, but that's about it. And it's great that these are being preserved.
I always forget about how vast America is, it's strange to think about huge cities that evolved so much in such a relatively short space of time. I think that's still what fascinates me most about it, just the scale of everything! You so quickly forget just how small the UK is!
Really good that they are being preserved though, the first time we visited our friends in Portland they told us how the country has had a tendency to just build right over the old stuff in the quest to modernise and expand, only to realise they have little left that tells the story of their history. Over here we have preservation orders on everything, from old building to old trees, sometimes it's a red tape nightmare (old buildings often go into disrepair because the artisan repair work needed is prohibitively expensive but modern repairs are not allowed) but for the most part it's a really important way of keeping these things alive!
It's crazy to tear down classic buildings when you can turn them into lofts
Sadly, what happens to some of these buildings is that they sit vacant. It's too expensive to renovate (versus the investment return) but nobody wants to demolish it, so they sit empty. There are some classic theaters and buildings in Hollywood in that situation. It's sad.
In montreal they designate them historic so you cant demolish and they sit vacant until it's economically viable to renovate them, or the owner hires an arsonist
I hope one day to walk down this broadway😍