the boyle heights sears
Los Angeles, CA
After being open for nearly 100 years, this eastside landmark in the Boyle Heights neighbourhood of LA closed its doors for good earlier this year (2021). I'm so glad I was able to photograph it on our first visit to Los Angeles back in 2014.
The LAist web site reported on this closure back in May:
"At one time, the massive, 2-million-square-foot retail complex at Olympic Boulevard and Soto Street was one of several large Sears distribution centers located around the country. It first opened its doors in 1927.
For the generations of Angelenos whose families shopped there — climbing that long flight of stairs at the entrance, inhaling the smell of popcorn, gazing up at the tower’s green neon glow — the Boyle Heights Sears is more than a piece of history. It's inextricably tied to the experience of growing up on the Eastside. And the memories go back many decades.
It’s still not clear exactly what will replace the old Sears. A developer bought the complex in 2013, and possibilities for the site’s future — as housing, retail and more — have been discussed back and forth for many years."
And The Eastsider had this to say: "The building opened in 1927 as a mail order warehouse for the department store chain, with employees on roller skates racing around the structure to fill orders."
How cool is that?! Sad to see this iconic location close; I sure hope it's preserved somehow.
the boyle heights sears
Los Angeles, CA
After being open for nearly 100 years, this eastside landmark in the Boyle Heights neighbourhood of LA closed its doors for good earlier this year (2021). I'm so glad I was able to photograph it on our first visit to Los Angeles back in 2014.
The LAist web site reported on this closure back in May:
"At one time, the massive, 2-million-square-foot retail complex at Olympic Boulevard and Soto Street was one of several large Sears distribution centers located around the country. It first opened its doors in 1927.
For the generations of Angelenos whose families shopped there — climbing that long flight of stairs at the entrance, inhaling the smell of popcorn, gazing up at the tower’s green neon glow — the Boyle Heights Sears is more than a piece of history. It's inextricably tied to the experience of growing up on the Eastside. And the memories go back many decades.
It’s still not clear exactly what will replace the old Sears. A developer bought the complex in 2013, and possibilities for the site’s future — as housing, retail and more — have been discussed back and forth for many years."
And The Eastsider had this to say: "The building opened in 1927 as a mail order warehouse for the department store chain, with employees on roller skates racing around the structure to fill orders."
How cool is that?! Sad to see this iconic location close; I sure hope it's preserved somehow.