Board of Trade Building
Built in 1929, the Board of Trade
Building is a historic building in
Downtown Los Angeles. Situated at
the northwest corner of Main and
Seventh Street, the Trade building
was designed in the Beaux Arts style
with some Neo-classical influence by
Beelman and Curlett. In 2008, it was
included in the National Register of
Historic Places. It is one of the
more than 10 buildings designed by
Claud Beelman to be listed in the
National Register.
When it was finished, the Trade
building had 230,000 square feet of
space and 14 stores on the first
floor, with the rest of the building
used for offices. Since January
1930, the building was the new
California Stock Exchange’s
headquarters. Located on the 2nd
floor, the exchange's trading floor
was copied from the design of the
New York Stock Exchange. It measured
89 by 90 feet and was built to hold
300 brokers. It also included 6
trading posts, a clearing-house, a
gallery for visitors, a smoking-room
for members, executive private
offices, a committee room, and
locker rooms.
The Board of Trade Building was the
first to have automated elevators on
the Pacific Coast which stopped
automatically on the floors where
buttons were pressed. An elevator
operator was not required. As with
several of the old buildings in
Downtown Los Angeles, the Board of
Trade building has been turned into
live/work lofts. |
