Art Deco Masterpiece Hidden in Plain Site

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Throughout the 1930s and ’40s, a 10-story art deco building at 5410 Wilshire Blvd. served as the flagship of Myer Steigel Department Store. It was in good company. The Miracle Mile had already earned the reputation as a premier retail strip and there were several other department stores along the boulevard.

Today, none of those stores remains, but the 80,000-square-foot building is getting a facelift aimed at attracting retail tenants, even if it never will again gain such prominence.

Carnegie Hill Properties, a New York private real estate investment company bought the building in 1988 and helped restore much of the interior. More recently, it teamed with L.A. development company Tiger West Capital LLC to further improve the property.

“The key motivation for the most recent renovation of the property is our goal of reorienting the building to bring life to Wilshire,” said Daniel Farasat, head of Tiger West. “We want Wilshire Boulevard engaged.”

The building was constructed in 1931 by the Dominguez family, original settlers of Los Angeles, and in 1931 opened as the flagship store of Myer Siegel, a now-defunct chain. Designed by Morgan Walls & Clements, it was known for its exotic woods, metalwork and terrazzo floors.

But after the department store closed in the 1950s, the building traded hands several times. Over the years, the original interior had been covered over with carpeting on the floors, paint on the walls and plaster on the ceiling. When Carnegie bought it, the space was in disrepair and had few tenants.

In the 1990s, Carnegie began renovations that revealed the original tiling, walls and flooring, all of which were restored to their original finishes. Anything that couldn’t be restored was replicated and replaced. The elevator and other building systems also were updated.

In fact, the company did such a good job that the Los Angeles Conservancy honored the ownership in 2000 for its work in restoring the building.

But the facelift wasn’t enough to revive the property’s fortunes. Much of the building still remained vacant and there were no bottom-floor retail tenants. So Tiger West was brought in to continue improving the building and find more tenants.

Within the last two years, the boulevard sidewalks have been replaced, large green planters have been installed out front and the once brown-and-beige structure given a coat of white paint.

Those improvements helped secure Korean restaurant SlowFish, which took 1,850 square feet of the ground floor last year. A second restaurant is being sought to occupy another 5,400 square feet and there is space for some small shops.

The upper floors have about 15 office tenants, most of whom are in the entertainment or design industries, but there are still a few more vacant offices.

Farasat said he believes the building will have a role in revitalizing the more eastern reaches of the Miracle Mile, which are not as far along in their redevelopment as blocks closer to the museums and Beverly Hills.

“We hope to serve as a catalyst for the entire neighborhood,” he said.

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