Vintage Photo Friday - Coulter's

Coulter's Department Store

I never visited Coulter's Department Store, but I do remember driving by on our way to my Mother's preferred department stores, Ohrbach's and The May Company, all on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile.

The Broadway Department Store, formerly Coulter's, Miracle Mile, 1972

From Ruth Wallach’s “Miracle Mile in Los Angeles: History and Architecture:”
5600 Wilshire Blvd, S/E corner with Hauser Blvd.  This was the site of Coulter’s Department Store.  B.F. Coulter opened his dry goods store in downtown Los Angeles in 1878.  Over the years, it grew into a department store and moved to several locations in downtown.  In 1938, A.W. Ross lured Coulter’s to Miracle Mile, into a six-story Streamline Moderne building designed by Stiles O.Clements for the store.  In the 1950s, Coulter’s went through a renovation and added a second parking lot on the northwest corner of Hauser Boulevard and Eighth Street.  In the 1970s, the location became a Broadway Department store.  The building was demolished in 1980.

Coulter's, 1938.  Security Pacific National Bank Collection

Coulter's has to be one of the most photographed buildings on the Miracle Mile.  There are countless photos of it's beautiful exterior as well as a few of the interiors.  

Ladies Lingerie Department, Coulter's.  1938.  Security Pacific National Bank Collection

The Fur Salon at Coulter's.  Photo Courtesy of the Examiner

Security Pacific National Bank Collection

My own husband, Larry Underhill, photographed this site in 2005 after it had been reduced to a hole in the ground for over 20 years, just before re-development.  

Vacant lot, formerly Coulter's, next store to the Mullen and Bluett building.  2005, photo by Larry Underhill

Formerly Coulter's. 2005, photo by Larry Underhill

This location now houses a 5-story mixed-use complex with apartments and shops.  Sigh.

Vintage Miracle Mile Postcard, 1950s

Next time you're walking or driving on Wilshire Boulevard, look at the buildings.  Do they look like they were built in the 1930s?