BUllocks Wilshire - the BEST Deco department store I think there ever was!

A palace indeed! It's wonderful that Southwestern Law restored to keep the building's original character even if the sashaying models are long gone...

I got a kick out of the "Chanel Conference room", and loved all the decorative touches--ie the friezelike horses on the wall in the former Saddlery, the various "spirit of" murals, and the tile design by the Oscar statuette sculptor. Just gorgeous!

thanks for sharing, Jonathan!
 
Thanks for posting this Jonathan! Although I moved to Southern California too late to see the building in use as Bullocks Wilshire, I find alot of vintage with the Bullocks Wilshire tag and it is nice to know the history of the store. The building itself is a work of art and it is fabulous to see the inside! What a treat!!
 
i loved bullocks wilshire. mostly i remember it as a child, at christmas. the building itself is sooo beautiful. so was the interior. even the portico under the building where movie stars would be driven and let out to go shopping.

course i wasn't there for that. its heyday had passed by the time i was there. but i did see it, and have some child-memories of just afterwards.

really glad they saved the building. at one point i thought for sure it was going to be wrecking ball fodder.
 
Originally posted by joules
Jonathan, this is why I am eternally raving about the place. It was a palace, and I adored shopping there. I lived a few blocks away...it was always a joy, to simply walk inside.
Click to expand...

Lucky girl!

Thanks for sharing the link Jonathan. It's a work of art. :)
 
OMG, just absolutely, positively fabulous!!!!!! I love art deco everything. I want to tour it in person! Hell, I want to OWN it. Thanks for posting!

The most wonderful dept store I've ever personally been in here on the East Coast is the old Wanamaker's in downtown Philly. Italian rennaissance. Not as grand as Bullock's, but still pretty impressive! Their pipe organ is spectacular. We had the fortune of sort of stumbling into the store (I think it's now a Lord & Taylor's) many years ago while in Philadelphia to submit paperwork for our younger son's adoption. We were awestruck.

Grand court:
WannamakerGrandCourt.jpg


Christmas light show:
Wannamakerlightshow.jpg


Tea room (all the upscale dept stores had tea rooms; now you get the pretzel machine and popcorn and hot dogs):
Wannamkertearoom.jpg
 
Oh my - that is an outstanding building - Now I know why people talk about Bullock's they way they do!

Hollis
 
I too have very fond childhood memories of Bullocks Wilshire.

My mom took me there often. I think she got her design ideas from their window displays, as she made 99% of our clothing. She even made my dad's suits.

But - she also paid 'big bucks' for her shoes - DeLiso Debs were her faves in the 50's & 60's.

Wish I still had them. LOL
 
Oh wow Anne - those old photos of Wanamakers bring tears to my eyes.

I grew up in the Philly suburbs and every Christmas we would get on the train and go to Wanamakers. I remember the organ and the big eagle and the children's department which had a train going around the ceiling (unless I'm getting it mixed up with Strawbridges). I DO remember the tearoom - the smell and the sounds - it is still so clear to me. I felt very grown up having lunch there with my mom and my sister.

Susan

PS. And Jonathan - thanks for starting this thread!
 
Louise, towards "the end", there was even a Guerlain Boutique, just inside, and to the left of where one entered, via the porte cochere. I liked that!

Recently, I found myself subjected to a ridiculous film called "Dunston Checks In", and yet watched, fascinated, as it was plain to see that it had been filmed in its entirety, at the store:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunston_Checks_In
 
:wow22:

wanamaker's was gorgeous! thanks for posting those photos. wish they'd hurry up and invent time travel already. i'd love to go see that.

so true about the tea rooms. a thing of the past. how i'd love to go to them now.

*waves at susan* :)
 
Amazing!!! So much deco detail, it is almost overload.

Thanks for the link Jonathan!

Anne the Wannamaker's pics are really something too.

I don't know of any Canadian store building that would compare with either of these - do you Jonathan?

Sue
 
I love reading about amazing buildings that have been saved and put to use again.
Thank you for the link.
 
Oh dear! I must have spent some time at Complexe Les Ailes every time I was in Montreal, but I had absolutely no idea about the ninth floor - I was there for the first time only in '05. Too bad! I guess this could have been my "second living room" on the days that I went to Starbucks after school to do home-work before going back to my host family's place...

Karin
 
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