At the southwest corner of Olympic Blvd and Soto Street in Boyle Heights, you’ll find the Sears building; an art deco landmark and staple in the community for almost a hundred years. But do you know the history of this building or why it’s so massive? This was actually a distribution center for Sears’ mail order department.
Sears has been called the Amazon of the early 20th century; customers could order practically anything from the famous Sears’ catalog and have it delivered to their home. The Sears catalog offered everything from clothes to farm equipment and even houses; you read that right, you could buy kits to build a house from Sears.
In December 1926, Sears announced that it would build a 9 story building in Boyle Heights to serve as the mail order distribution center for the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states.
The building was erected in 1927 in record time; taking only 6 months to complete and costing $5,000,000. The 1.8 million square foot complex was 9 stories tall, included a basement, and its signature 226 foot tower. It became one of the largest buildings in L.A. and at its opening, employed 1,800 people and received more than 100,000 visitors in its first month. Employees would fill orders by rollerskating around the giant facility and dropping the items onto corkscrew slides for delivery by rail or truck.
From 1927 to 1991, the building operated both as a mail order distribution center and retail store. Employing and serving generations of residents of Boyle Heights and the surrounding areas. In 1992 Sears stopped its catalog business and the mail order part of the building closed, was sold and unfortunately, hundreds lost their jobs.
The retail store on the ground floor continued to operate until 2021, when it finally closed due to Sears financial woes.
The mail order distribution center has remained vacant since it was first sold in 1992 and has been the subject of several renovation proposals. Its most recent owner, who purchased the building in 2013 had proposed converting the building into a mixed-use food hall, lofts, and office space branded the “Mail Order District” but that never materialized. The owner has now proposed a different use; converting the space into a campus to help the unhoused.
This most recent proposal called “The Life Rebuilding Center” would include temporary housing, medical and job training centers, and other resources and facilities. But this proposal has run into opposition, so the future use of the building is still uncertain.
However, what is certain, is that the Sears building will continue to be an iconic landmark of L.A.’s Eastside (I’m only calling it the “Eastside” for all the L.A. transplants that think the Eastside is Echo Park and Silver Lake) and will always hold a special place in the memories of Angelenos who grew up working and shopping there.
References:
Sears Building (Boyle Heights) | Water and Power Associates
“Remembering the Boyle Heights Sears: A Tribute to an Eastside icon” by LAist Staff, LAIst. May 7, 2021.
“A 94-Year-Year Old Sears Store Has Never Given Up on a Los Angeles Neighborhood, But That May Soon Change” by Michael Lisicky, Forbes. Sept. 26, 2020.
“After Almost a Century, Landmark Sears Store in Boyle Heights Will Soon Close” by Andrew J. Campa, The Los Angeles Times. April 3, 2021.
“Column: Can a Giant, Empty Sears Building Help Solve Homelessness in Los Angeles?” By Gustavo Arellano, The Los Angeles Times. Feb. 19, 2022.
“The History of Sears Predicts Nearly Everything Amazon is Doing” by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic. Sept. 25, 2017.
“Move Thousands of Homeless People Into Landmark L.A. Sears Building? Some Say No Way” by Andrew J. Campa, The Los Angeles Times. July 18, 2022.