FULLERTON'S 1ST MAYOR

L.A. THEN AND NOW
City's old names grace trendy new residences

As stately downtown buildings of yesteryear are reborn as high-end lofts and condos, some storied pasts are being dusted off too.
By Cecilia Rasmussen, Times Staff Writer
March 25, 2007

As downtown's new residential conversion marches deeper into old Los Angeles, architects and developers are tapping into history, paying homage to pioneers and perhaps to a tree.Some of the building names — Brockman, Blackstone, Douglas — were practically forgotten in the years when downtown sank into decay. Now, many of the buildings are enjoying a revival as they're converted into high-end lofts and condos.

Downtown's mostly young new residents tell one another, "I live at the Higgins" or "at the Douglas."

Art Astor isn't in that demographic. He's 82, and he may be one of the few who bought a piece of downtown for reasons of nostalgia. He owns a sixth-floor corner loft in the newly refurbished Chapman Building at 8th Street and Broadway.

"My father had his law office here from 1930 to 1960," Astor said in a recent interview. Astor recalled going downtown every Saturday with his father. From the office window, he could see every theater along Broadway.

"All of his mail was addressed to A.M. Astor at the Chapman building," Astor said. "Street addresses weren't necessary. Everyone knew the Chapman Building."

The Chapman, a 13-story beaux arts building, was constructed in 1912, more than a decade before Broadway became downtown's jazziest entertainment district, lined with motion picture palaces. The Los Angeles Investment Co. built it at a cost of $1 million. Designed by architect Ernest McConnell, the building was said to be fireproof. It has mahogany doorways, sweeping marble stairways and wrought-iron letters "LA" marking each stair railing.

In 1920, Charles Clarke Chapman — Fullerton's first mayor and the chief benefactor of Chapman University — bought the building for $1.6 million. The so-called Orange King of California — who built his fortune on citrus and real estate — made it his headquarters. He added bronze elevator doors ornately embossed with the letter C.

(I have shortened the original article.)