{"id":410786,"date":"2026-07-24T14:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410786\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T14:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:02:16","slug":"these-temples-once-defined-l-a-are-we-better-off-without-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410786\/","title":{"rendered":"These temples once defined L.A. Are we better off without them?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, there was no greater barometer of class than the department store.<\/a> <\/p>\n

As my grandmother loved to explain, May Co. was affordable when there was a sale. Broadway was a bit pricier but you might find a deal on a good day. Bullocks was for the Buick and Lincoln crowd. Robinson\u2019s: strictly Cadillacs and I. Magnin: the land of Mercedes and Rolls Royce.<\/p>\n

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She was mostly a window shopper. But department stores were her passport into the different strata of post-war L.A., a chance to aspire to a different life even if all she left with was a perfume sample sprayed on her palm.<\/p>\n

\"Bullocks <\/p>\n

Bullocks Wilshire interior<\/p>\n

(Teena Apeles)<\/p>\n

L.A.\u2019s class barometer<\/p>\n

This summer marks 20 years since the classic L.A. department store died. <\/a>It was this time in 2006 when workers removed the last of the Robinsons-May signs<\/a> from stores and malls across Southern California, marking the end of an era in more ways than one. Rob-May outlived Bullock\u2019s <\/a>and Buffums<\/a> and Orbachs<\/a>, but it was no match for the national chains and changing consumer behavior that favored discounters like Target and Kohls.<\/p>\n

In a world of one-click purchasing and window-shopping on Instagram, it\u2019s hard to imagine the status and influence these brick-and-mortar stores imparted on 20th century Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Their ads dominated the pages of the newspapers, and even there you detected a caste system. Mid-market chains like May Co. and Broadway advertised in the news sections with pages and pages of photos showing off their wares. The upscale chains like Robinsons were reserved for the features sections, with glorious hand-drawn sketches of beautiful women and handsome men against dramatic landscapes that were worthy of framing.<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

The May Company\u2019s Lakewood Center<\/p>\n

The stores got their start with huge emporiums in downtown L.A., a street car ride away. But the stores easily adapted to the car and post-war suburbia. With every new tract, they would anchor the shopping malls that became the downtowns of suburban life.<\/p>\n

The arrival of a Bullocks or a Robinson\u2019s in your community was a mark of status, that you were living in a sophisticated place.<\/p>\n

My grandmother\u2019s Disneyland<\/p>\n

What we forget is that they were more than places to shop. My grandmother bought all her clothes at the down-market Fedco<\/a>, usually \u201chalf-size\u201d polyester blouses with the brand name \u201cThe Discriminating Woman.\u201d <\/p>\n

The fancy stores were her amusement park.<\/p>\n

She took us to the ornate tea room atop the art deco masterpiece, Bullock\u2019s Wilshire, where we lunched and marveled at the one place in late 1980s L.A. where women still wore hats and gloves.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A sepia-tone postcard shows the Pasadena location of Bullock\u2019s department store.<\/p>\n

She made the rounds at the Robinson\u2019s in Beverly Hills, spying for celebrities and likely unaware of all that went into the edifice: Travertine stone from Peru. Rose marble from Portugal. Black granite from Brazil. Rosewood from Madagascar. <\/a>When the outpost closed in 2006, longtime employees lamented L.A. was losing not just an expensive store but a unique public space. \u201cI did ladies\u2019 shoes and later men\u2019s shoes and clothing. Now I\u2019m doing demolition,\u201d one said.<\/a> <\/p>\n

My grandmother died a few years before Rob-May. But I cannot help but think about her when I roam through the stores of my youth.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, two friends and I got inside the empty building on Wilshire that once housed I. Magnin.<\/a> It was a symphony of marble, grand etchings and elegant curves. Now, it\u2019s boarded up, the black marble exterior faded by graffiti and neglect. Down the block, the Bullocks Wilshire has been lovingly restored<\/a> and protected by the Southwestern Law School.<\/a> But the last time I walked into the property, I was shooed away by a security guard.<\/p>\n

Like so many in her generation, my grandmother saw those iconic names as markers of discriminating taste without considering the dark side of all that exclusivity. The tea room whose pretensions she so loved was the subject of protests and lawsuits<\/a> in the 1940s by Blacks who were refused service there. They eventually prevailed and got to join my grandmother in the escapism (and tyranny) of these retail temples that insisted they represented the L.A. ideal.<\/p>\n

\"Former <\/p>\n

Former Robinsons\u2013May store at the Westfield Fox Hills shopping center<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Seeing \u2018how the other half lives\u2019<\/p>\n

One of the last places you can experience the department store the way my grandmother did is on Lake Avenue in Pasadena<\/a>. The Bullocks (now Macy\u2019s) was one of her favorites: A whimsical space that transports you back in time with vintage fixtures and furniture, an old-fashioned elevator, and murals and wallpaper galore.<\/p>\n

My grandmother would pile us into the car and head to Pasadena \u201cto see how the other half lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every time Macy\u2019s announces another round of store closures, I hold my breath to see if 401 S. Lake Avenue will be on this list. It\u2019s surviving for now.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s top stories \"Another <\/p>\n

With repairs nearly completed on a massive water main break that flooded a swath of West Hollywood a week ago, another leak occurred Thursday morning nearby at Santa Monica Boulevard and Laurel Avenue with far less damaging results.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Another leak in West Hollywood puts a hold on repair plansWorkers had already finished repairs on the 3-foot-wide trunk line that sent 17 million gallons of water gushing onto Sunset Boulevard when crews discovered a \u201cpinhole sized leak<\/a>.\u201d But the utility said its plans to reopen Sunset Boulevard have remained intact. How long will Southern California\u2019s broiling heat wave last?Peak temperatures may finally be past us, but you can expect high heat<\/a> through the weekend. A heat advisory is in effect for many areas, including the beaches of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the southern coast of Santa Barbara County, through 8 a.m. Monday.ICE detention center detainee numbers hit a new highMore than 43,000 people were booked into detention centers<\/a> nationwide in June, new data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show. Immigrants without criminal records make up 74% of the average daily population in California detention centers and 79% nationwide.Graffiti towers begin clean upWhat else is going onHomelessness has increased in L.A., dealing a fresh setback<\/a> to Mayor Karen Bass.Another cyclosporiasis outbreak<\/a> is being investigated as cases of the diarrhea-causing illness continue to mount.A new drug<\/a> could help people stricken with Valley fever.GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton pleads his case <\/a>to anti-Trump voters.California is letting more drivers add their license and ID card to their phones. Here\u2019s how<\/a>.In L.A., playing ball in the streets is a crime<\/a>. A City Council member wants to change that.Commentary and opinionsThis morning\u2019s must-readAnother must-readFor your downtime \"Mickey <\/a> <\/p>\n

Mickey Mouse beignets from Royal Street Veranda, a quick-service outdoor restaurant at New Orleans Square in Disneyland. <\/p>\n

(Bill Addison \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Going outStaying inA question for you: What do you like about daylight saving time?<\/p>\n

Susan H. writes: NOTHING. I wish we could go back to standard time year-round, or at least for a full six months out of the year instead of four.<\/p>\n

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n

And finally … your photo of the day \"Contractors <\/a> <\/p>\n

Contractors working for KPC Square LLC begin power washing and removing graffiti off the Oceanwide Plaza during a test run of graffiti removal in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s photo is from Times photographer Allen J. Schaben at Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, where crews have started cleaning the notorious graffiti towers.<\/p>\n

Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n

Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Shi Bradley, audience intern<\/p>\n

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, there was no greater barometer of class than the department…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":["post-410786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-civic-revolt","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-days","tag-essential-california","tag-israel","tag-l-a","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-may","tag-pandemic","tag-part","tag-president-biden","tag-red-county","tag-san-diego","tag-state","tag-time","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}