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Thursday, June 2, 2011 – Chapman Market

Chapman Market, designed by the firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements, opened in 1929 – and it's typical of the Churrigueresque Spanish Colonial Revival architecture popular at the time, with a bit of Moorish mixed in, along with some Gothic and Rococo touches. It's a glorious nightmare of a place, on West 6th Street at Alexandria Avenue in the Wilshire District of Los Angeles. But Stiles O. Clements was on a roll – three years earlier he had given us the exterior of the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard – so everyone should have seen this coming.

The Chapman Market was designed as the first-ever drive-in market, but now "The Chapman" is the Koreatown hotspot – all the hot clubs and amazing restaurants are here. The odd thing is that this used to be a barley field with a creek. Then along came Charles Chapman and his brothers – major land owners who besides building Chapman Market, founded what's now Chapman University and along the way published county almanacs and county histories under the name "Chapman Brothers." And at one time everyone knew Charles Chapman – he was "The Orange King of California." And he built things.

This place of course eventually fell into disrepair. The developer Wayne Ratkovich saved it – and the nearby Wiltern – so here it is. But it's still a nightmare of a place.

Under construction –

Also see 1929 Windows and 1929 Archways

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All text and photos unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 - Alan M. Pavlik

[June 2011] [Boulevard Skies] [Seeking Fame] [Chapman Market] [1929 Windows] [1929 Archways] [Survey Party] [Basic Warnings] [In Overload] [Elegance] [On Being Cool] [Imitating Life] [Chasing Fame] [The Old Stuff] [How It Ends] [Dogtown World] [Fresh Paint] [Intentionally Odd] [A Balinese Wall] [Perhaps Dead] [Connecting Dots] [The June Roses] [Curious Yellow] [Bee Time] [On America] [On Hollywood] [Elle] [Portraits] [The Underworld] [Concept] [The Rock World] [Stick It] [Looming] [The Contention] [Run Wild] [Another Destiny] [Wellness] [Strange Women] [Summer Now] [Popping Up] [Stunners] [Odd Intimations] [A New Shaman] [Junction Walking] [Close Enough] [Bad Meets Evil] [The Textures] [Escape] [Beach Parking] [Local Bubblehead] [Caged In] [Going Way Back] [Just Celebrity] [Quite Odd] [Summer Detail] [A Bit Ragged] [The LA Family] [Watching] [Arrogance] [A Creepy Corner] [Kid Stuff] [Hollywood Mood] [Iconography] [Hollywood Mix]