Resource Description

Resource Summary

Names
Venice/Grand View Commercial Historic District (Primary)
Resource Types
District
Important Dates
No dates recorded
Keywords (Subjects)
Ocean Park
Busby Building
library
Late Moderne
Art Deco
Spanish Colonial Revival
Post World War II
Claude Busby
streetcar
1960s
1950s
1940s
1920s
chamber of commerce
post office
1930s
Mid-Century Modern

Location Information

Addresses
Location Description
No descriptions recorded
Administrative Areas
Palms - Mar Vista - Del Rey Community Plan Area (Community Plan Area)
Los Angeles City Council District 11 (Council District)
MAR VISTA COMMUNITY COUNCIL (Neighborhood Council)
MAR VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD (Neighborhood)

Classification

Classification
Type: Commerical District
Related Features
No features recorded

Resource Descriptions

General Description
The Venice/Grand View Commercial Historic District is composed of 20 one- and two-story commercial buildings along the south side of Venice Boulevard between Centinela Avenue on the west and Grand View Boulevard on the east; and the west side of Grand View Boulevard between Venice Boulevard on the north and Pacific Avenue on the south, in Mar Vista. Constructed between 1924 and 1960, individual buildings are exclusively commercial in use, set at the sidewalk, and designed in the popular architectural styles of the period, including Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Deco, Late Moderne, and Mid-Century Modern. Typical building features include flat roofs with parapets, stucco exterior cladding, large display windows, and canopies or awnings. Other features of the district include concrete sidewalks and mature street trees. Of the 20 properties within these boundaries, 16 are contributing resources to the historic district; three are non-contributors.

Summary of Significance
The Venice/Grand View Commercial Historic District is significant as cohesive collection of neighborhood commercial development located at what was historically the heart of Mar Vista. The district was developed between 1924, when the first building was constructed at the corner of Venice and Grand View, and 1960, when the block as built out. Approximately 80 percent of the properties are contributing resources to the district. This commercial area was originally subdivided from the East Ocean Park Tract in 1904, in anticipation of new residential development in the immediate area. The first three residential tracts in Mar Vista were subdivided at this time, all in the vicinity of Venice Boulevard between Centinela and Inglewood. The Ocean Park Heights tract, situated north of Venice Boulevard and east of Centinela, was subdivided in July 1904. The East Ocean Park tract was recorded in December 1904, located on the south side of Venice Boulevard between Centinela and Inglewood. The East Ocean Park Villa, north of Venice and east of Ingelwood, was subdivided between 1904 and 1906. However, despite these early ventures in local real estate, these tracts did not experience any substantial development until the 1920s. Similarly, the commercial district, located along the Venice Boulevard streetcar line, did not take hold until the construction of the Busby Building at the southwest corner of Venice and Grand View in 1924. The Busby Building has been called the most historic building in Mar Vista. Constructed by Culver City merchant and druggist Louis Claude Busby, it was the first major commercial building in the community of Mar Vista, and provided the impetus for the business blocks that would develop along the south side of Venice between Centinela and Inglewood. The Busby Building has multiple storefronts along both Venice and Grand View, and has accommodated many of Mar Vista's earliest businesses and community services. Over the years it has served as the Mar Vista Drug Store, operated by Busby (later Fraser Pharmacy, then Mar Vista Drug Co.); Daley's, an early Los Angeles market chain and Mar Vista's first full-service grocery store (later Ralph's 5 and 10 Cent store); Thomas and Condie, Mar Vista's first department store; and as the headquarters of the original Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce (Busby was the organization's treasurer). The Busby Building was also the first location of the Mar Vista branch of the U.S. Post Office in 1925, as well as the first location of the Mar Vista branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in 1927. The two-story Spanish Colonial Revival building at 12218-12220 Venice was built by Dewitt T. Caspary in 1926 to accommodate retail on the ground floor and apartments above. Caspary was the first vice president of the Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce, and his building was the second location of the Mar Vista post office. The building at 12210 Venice was built in 1939 and was the home of Van's Market from 1939 to 1948, when it became Penny Market. The building at 12310 Venice was built in 1950 as the new home of the Mar Vista Public Library. The building at 12320 Venice, constructed in 1953, was the home of Rich's Furniture and Appliance. While this commercial area was first established in the 1920s, it was not fully realized as a neighborhood commercial district until the after World War II. This coincides with the larger pattern of residential development in the area. Adjacent tracts that were initially subdivided in the first decade of the 20th century and partially developed in the 1920s were not fully built out until the 1950s and 1960s, as the west side of Los Angeles became more desirable for its proximity to several large employment centers, such as Douglas Aircraft. Today, this district is a remnant of low-scale early and mid-century commercial development along the Venice Boulevard corridor, and serves to demarcate the historic core of Mar Vista.

External System References

SurveyLA ID: 266e70d3-b1ea-4c4c-97bf-723e040a97db

Resource Significance

Evaluation Details

Date Evaluated
2012-02-21
Context/Theme
Commercial Development, 1850-1980
Neighborhood Commercial Development, 1875-1960
Neighborhood Commercial Centers, 1875-1960
Neighborhood/Village Commercial Center
Eligibility Standards
  • May include some buildings constructed outside the period of significance
  • May be linear and located along a single street or encompass several blocks
  • A significant concentration of commercial, institutional and/or residential buildings located within a neighborhood or village center representing important patterns in commercial development, property types and architecture
  • Includes a substantial concentration of intact small-scale buildings which form the commercial center for a neighborhood or community
  • Property type encompasses major east/west, north/south boulevards and avenues throughout Los Angeles, some of which cover the entire city
  • Was developed primarily during the period of significance
  • Should retain integrity of Location, Feeling, Design and Association from the period of significance
    • Integrity Aspects
    Setting
    Design
    Association
    Feeling
    Materials
    Workmanship
    Location
    Retains sufficient integrity to convey significance
    California Historic Resources Status Codes (explanation of codes)
    5S3
    3CS
    3S
    Significance Statement
    Excellent and cohesive collection of neighborhood commercial development in Mar Vista.
    Periods of Significance
    From: 1924-01-01
    To: 1960-12-31

    Related Resources

    Related Historic Resources

    12306 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12324 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12316-12318 Venice Blvd (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3831 S GRAND VIEW BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3817 S GRAND VIEW BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12218-12220 Venice Blvd (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3815 S GRAND VIEW BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12216 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Non-Contributor, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)
    12224-12226 Venice Blvd (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12228 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12300 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12320 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    Busby Drug Store (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12328 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Non-Contributor, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)
    12210 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12324 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12240 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Non-Contributor, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)
    12312 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3823-3827 Grand View Blvd. (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    12310 W VENICE BLVD (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)

    Related Historic Districts

    None

    Related Activities

    None

    Related Historic Events

    None

    Related People/Organizations

    Historic Resources Group (Surveying Firm, was surveyed by / surveyed)

    Related Information Resources

    Images
    Documents
    SurveyLA: Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Historic Resources Survey Report (Document/Text, is referred to in / refers to)

    SurveyLA

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    Office of Historic Resources

    Office of Historic Resources
    Department of City Planning
    221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1350
    Los Angeles, CA 90012
    (213) 847-3676 phone
    Email: planning.historicplacesla@lacity.org
    http://www.preservation.lacity.org
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