Not all buildings have to be grand and ornate to catch the eye. They can also be striking with simple, clean lines like this J.C. Penney store. It stood at 1202 3rd St, Santa Monica, on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. This photo was taken in 1949, decades before that corner became the end of the Third Street Promenade pedestrian mall. This photo is empty of vehicle and people traffic so I guess it was taken early on a Sunday morning which was probably the only time nobody was around.
Miraculously, the building is still there and (mostly) intact. This is how it looked in June 2024.
Camera would be positioned over at the Ralphs market corner looking SW. Hungry parking meters must be constantly fed or they would ticket you fast and heavy in Santa Monica. (Speaking from experience.)
Wonderful that it is still there for us to enjoy.
A rare but valued miracle!
Cool that the building is mostly intact.
My grandmother worked at the Henshey’s Department Store in Santa Monica in the early 50s. It was very near this store, but I looked it up,and it was on Santa Monica Blvd and 4th Street.
She had a stroke when I was five, and she had to quit working, but I do have a few memories of the store when she still worked there.
I used to shop at this store back in the 1980s. I don’t remember when it stopped being a Penny’s – probably around the time Third Street became a pedestrian mall.