By Jake Romero | Gaslamp Landmarks
This month’s featured building is one of the most beautiful, yet often overlooked historic structures in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Located at the very edge of the Quarter on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Broadway, a visit to this structure will reveal some of the Gaslamp’s finest architectural detail.
This structure was built in 1929 to accommodate its sole tenant, which it did for 55 years, the Lion Clothing Store.
Lion Clothing had been around under different ownership in various locations in the Gaslamp Quarter since the 1880s. It wasn’t until 1920 when Samuel Fox purchased the business from the Isaac Kuhn estate, keeping the business in the family since Samuel had married Kuhn’s sister, Pauline.
Upon opening, this four-story, reinforced concrete and steel building was recognized as an artistic architectural masterpiece.
The exterior of the first level features ornate cast iron grills. Large framed windows rise majestically, lighting the upper floors. The exterior facade is topped with cast ornamental terracotta spandrels and heraldic lions, while elaborate Victorian geometric patterns grace the soffiting between sculpted corbels.
The interior featured 16-foot ceilings showcasing some of the finest mens and womens high-end furnishings. The first and second floors were devoted to menswear. The third floor housed the business offices and the boys clothing department, while the fourth floor featured fine womens apparel.
When Samuel Fox died in 1939, operation of the business fell to his son John, who managed the company until his death in 1953. The Lion Clothing Store remained in this location under various owners until it closed in 1984.
Today, the first floor of this magnificent structure remains vacant, while the upper floors are devoted to lofts.
—Jake Romero is the director of operations of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, located at 410 Island Ave., Downtown, in the historic Davis-Horton House. For more information visit gaslampquarter.org.
