Eastern Columbia Building, Art Deco residential building in the Broadway Theater District, Downtown Los Angeles, California
The Eastern Columbia Building is a thirteen-story Art Deco tower at 849 S. Broadway, clad in glossy turquoise terra cotta with deep blue and gold trim. Its facade has deeply recessed bands of paired windows and copper-panel spandrels between vertical columns, decorated with sunbursts, zigzags, chevrons and stylized plant and animal forms. A four-sided clock tower with neon "EASTERN" signs rises to 264 feet (80 m), crowned by a central smokestack and four stylized flying buttresses.
Opened on September 12, 1930, after nine months of construction, the building was the headquarters and 39th store of the Eastern-Columbia Department Store, founded by Adolph Sieroty, whose Los Angeles business began as a clock shop at 556 S. Spring St. in 1892. The downtown stores closed in 1957 and the building became wholesale apparel offices. A two-year, $80-million renovation by the KOR Group with Killefer Flammang Architects created 147 condominiums in 2006.
This structure stands as one of the finest examples of Art Deco design on the West Coast, reflecting the optimism and commercial ambition of Los Angeles during the interwar period through its geometric forms and bold vertical emphasis.
Located at 849 South Broadway at Ninth Street, the building is accessible via Metro lines serving downtown. The structure houses 147 private condominiums with amenities including a rooftop pool and fitness center, though public access is limited to exterior viewing from street level.
The 150-foot (46 m) height limit the city enforced in 1930 exempted the decorative clock tower, letting it reach 264 feet (80 m). The tower is crowned by a central smokestack ringed by four stylized flying buttresses, and its four clock faces carry the word "EASTERN" in white neon.
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