May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles)

Completed in 1939, the May Company Building on the Miracle Mile in the Wilshire district, Los Angeles, is a celebrated example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The building's architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., also designed the Million Dollar Theater and Los Angeles City Hall. The May Company Building is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.[2] The building was operated as a May Company department store from 1939 until 1992, when May merged with J. W. Robinson's to form Robinsons-May.

May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles)
May Company Wilshire Building
Location6067 Wilshire Blvd. at Fairfax Ave., Wilshire district, Los Angeles
Coordinates34.0633°N 118.3610°W / 34.0633; -118.3610
Built1939
ArchitectAlbert C. Martin, Sr.
Architectural style(s)Streamline Moderne
DesignatedSeptember 30, 1992[1]
Reference no.566[1]
Location in Western Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Conservancy calls it "the grandest example of Streamline Moderne remaining in Los Angeles". It is especially noted for its gold-tiled cylindrical section that faces the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, of which it occupies the northeast corner.[3]

In 1994 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) acquired the building and, as "LACMA West", used it as exhibition space for the museum.[4][5]

The building will be repurposed and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is set to open in the building in 2020.[6][7][8]

References
  1. "Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments". Department of City Planning. City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  2. Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission (July 1994). Historic-Cultural Monuments. City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.
  3. "May Company Wilshire". Los Angeles Conservancy.
  4. "Overview". Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
  5. "May Co. Building to Reopen as LACMA West". Los Angeles Times. October 22, 1998.
  6. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures official website
  7. Boehm, Mike (2014-06-02). "Film academy to pay LACMA $36.1 million for movie museum lease". Los Angeles Times.
  8. "Academy Museum opening delayed to 2020". Curbed LA. 21 June 2019.
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