The Bumiller Building is a residential building in the Los Angeles Historic Broadway Theater District. Built in 1906 and designed by the architects Morgan & Walls, the Bumiller Building was constructed of reinforced concrete in Renaissance Revival style. Historically the building has been a department store and a theater.

History

Opening

In 1906, the Bumiller Building was the home of a department store, the Bon Marché, owned by the Le Sage Brothers. Le Bon Marché occupied the first three floors and basement. Two freight elevators at the back of the building ran from the basement to the third floor for use of the store. The department store liquidated its goods to the J. M. Hale (Hale's) department store in September 1907 and closed, after which the freight elevators fell into disuse and were eliminated. Two Otis passenger elevators in the lobby ran from the basement to the sixth floor. The next month the building became a branch of

The Hub The Hub may refer to: Places * The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines * The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival * T ...

, a large clothier that started up in 1896 whose main store was at 157 N. Spring Street.

Early years

As the Broadway Theater District evolved, New York-based

Eden Musée The Eden Musée was an amusement center in New York City that featured a large waxworks collection, musical concerts and a changing selection of specialty entertainment, such as magic lantern shows and marionettes. It was opened on March 28, 1 ...

, a theater for motion pictures and vaudeville acts, moved in. With "a show on every floor," Eden Musée attracted audiences with afternoon and evening performances. After Eden Musée left, the Bumiller Building was home to the Wonderland Theater, then the Jade Theater, named for the jade hue of the building's facade. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

in 1921, firemen were called to the building to put out a blaze caused by a whiskey still, under which a gas fire had been lit. Tenants heard an explosion and when firemen arrived, one room was in flames. Firemen found sour mash and the ten gallon still blown to bits. The man who rented the room had already disappeared.

Today

The Bumiller Building, after extensive renovation, is now the Broadway Lofts, a residential rental with 58 apartments. Adaptive Reuse and architecture completed by Los Angeles architecture firm Omgivning.

Owners

The owners of the Bumiller Building reflected the changes in the district.

Bumiller Estate

Caroline Bumiller Hickey (née Gerstenberg, 1848–1932) was a wealthy German-born Los Angeles socialite, the widow of Jacob Bumiller, a Bavarian wine merchant, who had moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn around 1871. Her house, 1049 South Elden Avenue, is now an historic-cultural monument of the Wilshire Historic District. She controlled the Bumiller Estate and had a highly publicized divorce from her second husband, George C. Hickey. At trial she claimed she was deaf and appeared in court elegantly dressed with an ear trumpet. Following 18 years of marriage, George Hickey accused his wife of desertion, and the court agreed. Nevertheless, George Hickey returned the lot at 430 South Broadway, which Caroline averred he had swindled from her. The owners of record of the Bumiller Building in 1912 were Caroline's children from her first marriage, Arthur W. Bumiller, Edna B. Sullivan, and Stella B. Burks.

Albert J. Wallace

Albert Joseph Wallace Albert Joseph Wallace (February 11, 1853 – February 23, 1939) was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council in 1907–09 and the 25th lieutenant governor of California, from 1911 to 1915. Personal Wallace was born on February 1 ...

(February 11, 1853 – February 23, 1939) was a member of the Los Angeles City Council in 1907–09 and lieutenant governor of California in 1910–14. He acquired the Bumiller Building from Isabelle M. Anderson, 1935, in exchange for his two-story building at 425 South Broadway, occupied by the W. T. Grant Company.

Carroll White Blake

Carroll White Blake was a successful real estate investor and motion picture exhibitor. Born in Bowdoinham, Maine, April 12, 1885, he graduated from the Industrial College of the University of Nebraska (1908), arrived in Los Angeles in 1909 and served in World War I. In 1942 Blake bought the palatial California Theater, 810 S. Main Street, from Jack Lankershim, son of

James Boon Lankershim James Boon Lankershim (March 24, 1850 – October 16, 1931) was an American heir, landowner and real estate developer. Early life James Boon Lankershim was born on March 24, 1850, in Charleston, Missouri. His father was Isaac Lankershim, a Germ ...

, who had built it during World War I. After buying the Bumiller Building, Blake renamed it the Carroll W. Blake Building, and had his offices there. Blake divorced his wife, Josephine Terzenbach Blake, in 1934. He lived with his mother, Frances Blake, until her death in 1942. He then became engaged to a divorcée, Lillian Schramm, but died November 28, 1948, shortly before they were scheduled to be married at Christmas.

Lillian E. Schramm

Born in Arkansas, Lillian Evelyn Schramm (née Pugh, 1898–1952) was divorced from Dr. Alfred J. Schramm, Executive Secretary of the American College of Osteopathic Physicians, and the only College official who refused to take advantage of the 1962 California legislation allowing an osteopath to convert his degree to an MD. After the death of her fiancé, Carroll W. Blake, Lillian Schramm inherited the bulk of his property, although six of Blake's cousins contested the will, claiming Schramm feigned her love for Blake. Attorney

Jerry Giesler Harold Lee Giesler, known professionally as Jerry Giesler (November 2, 1886 – January 1, 1962) was an American trial attorney. Giesler was the defense attorney of record for many of the highest-profile litigations, both criminal and civil, in ...

represented the cousins. Schramm operated a beauty salon at the time of her own death, and left most of her million dollar estate for cancer research. The California State Board of Cosmetology was located on the second floor of the Bumiller Building, and gave their certifying exams there.

Dr. Harry Lehrer

Dr. Harry Lehrer (1904–1972) was a 1938 graduate of the College of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (now the

University of California, Irvine School of Medicine The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine (with the affiliated healthcare system branded as UC Irvine Health) is the medical school of University of California, Irvine, located in Irvine, California. It is accredited by the Liaison ...

), and received a Doctor of Medicine degree after the 1962 California legislation allowing an osteopath to convert his degree to an MD. Lehrer bought the Bumiller Building from the Schramm estate in 1958, and had his medical offices there until his death in 1972.Directory of Members. Los Angeles County Medical Association, 1971, Physicians. pp 206, 368 He added the ramp that converted the basement to a parking garage. He was married to fashion designer Anne T. Hill.

References

{{LABTCD Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles Office buildings in Los Angeles Residential buildings in Los Angeles Office buildings completed in 1906 1900s architecture in the United States Theatres in Los Angeles Historic district contributing properties in California Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles 1906 establishments in California Adaptive reuse of industrial structures in Greater Los Angeles Broadway (Los Angeles)