nick f2007
Robinson's Beverly Department Store, 1975
JW Robinson's opened its first branch downtown in the long ago to compete with its rival stores but took a different approach: it offered somewhat higher-priced and harder-to-find merchandise than its fellows. The store opened fewer branches than, say, the May Company or The Broadway and set its sights on more affluent areas--such as Pasadena and Beverly Hills.
This stately store opened in January 1952. Built on the former site of a nursery, it seemed oddly distant from the center of Beverly Hills and somewhat out of place at "the point," the v-intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards--especially in the three years before Hilton built its mid-century-modern hotel on the adjoining property. Robinson's Beverly enjoyed a clientele that included people with famous faces, some that enjoyed attention and others who would keep a very low profile. Those who visited will remember how quiet the store's floors were--almost reverant and hushed. In 1993 Robinson's was merged with the May Company into something called "Robinsons-May," and finally by 2006 the chain was dissolved and the stores closed. This property was made available to whomever might make the most attractive bid. After a lot of proposals and a lot of debate, no project could navigate the development process, but finally in the spring of 2014 a plan for a "boutique" hotel, and residences that would also rise on both sides of the adjoining Beverly Hilton hotel got the green light. In June 2014 demolition began on the William Pereira / Charles Luckman building. I joined a number of friends with tears over the destruction of this austere building, and can only hope that what replaces it can keep within the scale of the intersection and its surroundings.
Robinson's Beverly Department Store, 1975
JW Robinson's opened its first branch downtown in the long ago to compete with its rival stores but took a different approach: it offered somewhat higher-priced and harder-to-find merchandise than its fellows. The store opened fewer branches than, say, the May Company or The Broadway and set its sights on more affluent areas--such as Pasadena and Beverly Hills.
This stately store opened in January 1952. Built on the former site of a nursery, it seemed oddly distant from the center of Beverly Hills and somewhat out of place at "the point," the v-intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards--especially in the three years before Hilton built its mid-century-modern hotel on the adjoining property. Robinson's Beverly enjoyed a clientele that included people with famous faces, some that enjoyed attention and others who would keep a very low profile. Those who visited will remember how quiet the store's floors were--almost reverant and hushed. In 1993 Robinson's was merged with the May Company into something called "Robinsons-May," and finally by 2006 the chain was dissolved and the stores closed. This property was made available to whomever might make the most attractive bid. After a lot of proposals and a lot of debate, no project could navigate the development process, but finally in the spring of 2014 a plan for a "boutique" hotel, and residences that would also rise on both sides of the adjoining Beverly Hilton hotel got the green light. In June 2014 demolition began on the William Pereira / Charles Luckman building. I joined a number of friends with tears over the destruction of this austere building, and can only hope that what replaces it can keep within the scale of the intersection and its surroundings.