Structure Type: built works - commercial buildings - office buildings

Designers: Derrah and Associates (firm); Martin, A.C. and Associates, Architects (firm); Parkinson and Parkinson, Architects (firm); Robert Vincent Derrah (architect); Albert Carey Martin Jr. (architect); Donald Berthold Parkinson (architect); John Parkinson (architect)

Dates: constructed 1924

13 stories

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810 South Flower Street
Downtown, Los Angeles, CA 90017-4620

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Building History

The Southern California Gas Company Building was built in three phases, each designed by a different architectural firm: Parkinson and Parkinson (1924), Robert V. Derrah (1941-1942), A.C. Martin and Associates (1960). The 1924 building contained 185,485 square feet, the 1942 addition had 51,767 and the 1960 wing had 107,355.

Building Notes

Tel: 213.955.5700 (2014).

Alteration

Los Angeles architect Robert V. Derrah (1895-1946) designed an addition to the Southern California Gas Company Building in 1941-1942. This building had a tripartite facade, with a central bank of windows stretching five floors above a glazed entryway. The chrome-finished, twin front doors, each lit with a large pane of glass, were set back from the street slightly. Plate glass windows on either side had rounded corners, the hallmark of the Streamline Moderne, that bent back to the inset entrance. Above, the central bank of windows was flanked by bays with walls that curved into the setback center. On each floor, both bays had a symmetrical fenestration. Each bay was lit by a twelve-light window, the four lights closest to the center also having the trademark, streamlined curve. This addition was located at 810 South Flower Street.

In 2003-2004, the Los Angeles-based CIM Group spent $48 million to transform the building into the "Historic Gas Company Lofts," a rental apartment building, containing 251 loft apartments. Studio lofts ranged in size between 500-700 square feet and generally cost between $1620-$1915 per month in 2014. One bedroom units, between 800 and 1150 square feet in size, ranged in price from around $2000 to about $2600 monthly. A 1,367-square-foot, two-bedroom loft, #1213, commanded $3,266 at this time. The lofts advertised the following features: "laundry, concierge, package receiving, door attendant, short-term leases, gate, on-site management and maintenance, storage space, night patrol, elevator, proximity to public transit, a business center, controlled access and parking." The CIM Group also renovated 22,500-square feet of commercial space of the former Southern California Gas Company complex; an early tenant in 2004 was the International House of Pancakes (IHOP).

The architectural firm Killefer Flammang, supervised the 2003-2004 renovation of the complex's three buildings into the Historic Gas Company Lofts. Kerry Joyce worked on the interior design with Killefer Flammang.

Los Angeles County Assessor Number: 5144020040

PCAD id: 6094