I don’t know much about Leggett’s other than they were a women’s clothing store at 8301 Beverly Blvd, on the northwest corner of Sweetzer Ave. I love the clean Art Deco lines of this building, and their uncluttered window displays. (I’m also a fan of that two-light streetlamp.) This photo was taken in 1929, which has me wondering how well Leggett’s fared (or didn’t fare) during the coming Depression.
** UPDATE ** – Chris N. says: “Leggett’s came to L.A. from New York in 1922. They made it until at least 1967 and were definitely gone by ’69.”
Also, those fashions look more like 1949, not 1929, so it’s possible that Leggett’s moved into this building in 1929 but the photo was taken much later.
Good news! That building remains largely intact. This image is from August 2022.
What strikes me is that while the newer building next door is okay, it would have been so much nicer if the owner of that property had continued the same architectural scheme of the older building in the new building. It would have been so easy to do, even with the desire to add another story to the structure. Oh well.
Also, the uncluttered look of the storefronts, signs and sidewalks was so much more restful and a signature of old Los Angeles (and Beverly Hills) in the past than today with all the signs and signals, and trees (yes they are great, but they do add visual clutter). All are important, but certainly not visual restful.
I agree. It wouldn’t have taken much to tweak the design of the new building so that it’s compatible. I didn’t need to match it, but a bit more cohesion would have been a nice tough.
Why is there so much clutter on the streets of LA these days? I hate it!!!! How I wish I could have driven down the streets back in the days before (signs and trees) and all the other crap and had a nice clean canvas to look at and enjoy.
Sadly, it’s essentially robbed the building of its tower. There is no longer the contrast of the different heights. The new building is lovely enough in its own right; it has just muddled some of the aspects that gave the original parts of its charm. One of the things that makes the Guggenheim in New York so special is the contrast of its inverted cone shape to the rectilinearity of its surroundings. Similarly, in this case some of the drama of the upper floors have been washed out.
Very interesting pictures to find. In that building after the woman clothing store was a family business in my family all through the 70’s. Sadly, the realtor in the area snagged it out from under the sister’s who owned the property, our family business left, and you know the rest. Shame too. It may have been same woman who owned the property where Beverly Park was.
I live a block away from this building and every day I admire the beautiful architecture and am so glad it never met with the wrecking ball.
My grandmother and grandfather founded the store in the 1920s. They lived there and raised four sons and sold in the late 1950s. The eldest son Joseph Leggett passed away recently at the age of 99. We would have dinners often across the street where he would reminisce about his childhood and growing up in the apartment above the store. my father, Donald Leggett, was the youngest son and unfortunately passed away at the age of 29, So the legacy of his home has always been of the utmost interest to me. My grandmother, who came from Ireland and was the business mind of the family, used to take a train to New York and about to Paris to do the buying. Myrna Loy, Greer Garson, and many other actresses were regular customers and were famous for always being on the top 10 best dressed in America. My grandmother with her business drive, unfortunately passed away from a heart attack at the age of 51, but her legacy lived on many Decades after…