Introduction

In 2005, the Downtown Neighborhood Council funded an Historic Resources Survey to identify historic or potentially historic buildings within their boundaries. Many downtown buildings have been designated historic on local, state and national registers. These properties include parking garages, former department stores, old banks, movie theaters, warehouses and a wide variety of other building types.The goal of this project was to create a comprehensive database of historic buildings in a format that can be easily accessed by the public.

The results of this project are:

• a series of interactive maps available online through Google Maps, with photos and data for each building, including address, construction dates, ZIMAS (city planning department) parcel number and link, builder, architect, and historic status.
  
• a single interactive map, accessible via the free program Google Earth.
  
• historic information and photos in the form of a list that is searchable with an internet browser.
  
• a printable map of the entire Downtown Neighborhood Council area showing historic buildings, and smaller maps by district.

The information contained within these documents is accurate to the best of the knowledge of the surveyors. Collection of data was conducted in 2006 and the on-the-ground survey was conducted between August 2006 and January 2007. For more information on the National Historic Register, visit the website of the National Register of Historic Places. For more information on historic preservation in Los Angeles, visit the website of the Los Angeles Conservancy. The Getty Conservation Institute is in the early stages of putting together a complete survey of the City of Los Angeles’ historic resources. This survey will investigate all buildings in the city, not just those previously deemed historic.

Interactive Map

Full-size, scalable map of Downtown Historic Resources.

Google Earth Map

Google Earth map of Downtown Historic Resources.

Printable Map

Printable PDF map (note:  LARGE file – 25 MB).  Copies are available at the Historic Core BID Office at 114 West 5th Street.

List of Buildings

Basic information and photos of Downtown Historic Resources.

Sources

Data in this survey were gathered from the following sources:

• California Historic Resources Information
  
• Central City Environmental Impact Report
  
• City (Eastside) Industrial Environmental Impact Report
  
• Determination of Eligibility list indicating National Register potential
  
• Getty Conservation Institute’s Los Angeles Landmarks List
  
• Historic American Buildings Survey
  
• Historic American Engineering Record
  
• Historic Cultural Monument list for City of Los Angeles
  
• National Register of Historic Places
  
• Department of Building and Safety’s “ZI” list of property addresses that need to be signed off by the CRA prior to permitting

This survey contains information for more than 600 buildings using data from 10 sources, with field research conducted in a constantly changing urban environment. Errors, though regretable, are inevitable. Please contact the authors, Holly Kane (archival research: historicholly@msn.com) and Jennifer Mapes (cartography: jmapes@usc.edu) with any questions or comments.