Downtown's Foreman & Clark Building Getting Residential Conversion

Image credit: Michael Minn

Located at the southwest corner of 7th and Hill Streets, the Foreman & Clark Building was once a pillar of Downtown Los Angeles' pre-war retail scene.  Now, the owner of the mid-rise structure has proposed a mixed-use conversion that could restore the art deco gem to its former stature.  According to plans submitted to the city last month, the discount jewelry stores which currently occupy the 13-story tower's ground floor would be given the boot, to be replaced by two restaurants and a bar-lounge.  The upper floors of the building, now serving as office space, would instead be converted into 165 residential units.

Built in 1929, the Foreman & Clark Building was designed by the prominent architectural team of Aleck Curlett and Claud Beelman, whose other works includes the Garfield Building and the Park Plaza Hotel.  The building's name derives from that of its developer: the now defunct Foreman & Clark department store chain.  Known for their second-floor window displays, Foreman & Clark was headquartered out of 701 S. Hill Street for approximately 30 years, only vacating the property following Downtown's precipitous mid-century decline.  Considered a superb example of the Art Deco-Gothic style of architecture, the building was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2009.