Eastern Columbia Building, designed by Claud Beelman, was inaugurated on September 12, 1930, after just nine months of construction. It was envisioned as the new headquarters for the Eastern Outfitting Company and Columbia Outfitting Company, retail stores for furniture and clothing. With the construction of this opulent structure, these companies could boast one of the largest buildings erected in downtown Los Angeles until World War II. Located on Broadway Street in the historic Broadway Theater District, the Eastern Columbia Building stands thirteen stories tall and is constructed of steel-reinforced concrete and clad in bright turquoise terracotta adorned with blue and gold terracotta.
At the time of its construction, the City of Los Angeles imposed a height limit of just over 150 feet (45.72 meters), however, the decorative clock tower was granted an exemption, allowing the building a total height of 264 feet (80.46 meters). This spectacular clock crowns the tower on all four sides with the name ‘Eastern’ in neon, culminating with a central spire surrounded by four stylized buttresses.
The facade is adorned with an abundance of motifs: sunburst patterns, geometric shapes, zigzags, chevrons, and stylized forms of animals and plants. The sidewalks on both sides of the building on Broadway and Ninth Street are made of multicolored terrazzo laid in a dynamic pattern of zigzags and chevrons. The central main entrance features a spectacular two-story lobby adorned with blue and gold terracotta sunbursts. The original lobby led to a pedestrian shopping arcade that ran through the center of the building.
The Eastern Columbia has been designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, as it has become a visual landmark and is representative of the vitality of Los Angeles’ commercial and retail core.
This beautiful building, whose mere sight transports us to another era, is considered the finest surviving example of Art Deco architecture in the city. Rightly so, it is one of the most photographed buildings in the city and a world-renowned Art Deco landmark. The Eastern Columbia prominently appeared in the pilot episode of the legendary series ‘Moonlighting’ (1985), where the climax takes place atop the building, with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis climbing the enormous building clock. It was also seen in movies like ‘Predator 2‘ (1990), where the titular alien climbs the clock tower.
