§ 16.52.450. The Barker Brothers Building.

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.63 and with the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the City Council designates the following building as an historical landmark in the City: The Barker Brothers Building.

A.

Location, description and reasons for designation. Located at 215 Promenade Plaza in the City of Long Beach, the Barker Brothers Building was the headquarters building in Long Beach for Barker Brothers, a major retailer of Los Angeles. It was a major downtown department store, selling furniture. It symbolizes the economic growth of the City, and the development of downtown as a business and retail center.

The Art Deco architectural style was characteristic of 1929, the year it was constructed. Windows are grouped in vertical strips, divided by vertical piers and pilasters. Window spandrels contain a decorative motif, here a simple diamond.

The Barker Brothers Building anchors a prominent corner in downtown Long Beach, forming a visual pair with its neighbor across the Promenade, the Insurance Exchange Building. Both are an Art Deco pair, and are reminders of the commercial and business center of Long Beach of that period.

Finally, Barker Brothers' corner location at an important intersection of downtown Long Beach's major commercial streets makes it an established and familiar visual feature of the community.

B.

General guidelines and standards for any changes. The "Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings" prepared by the Secretary of the Interior (Revised, 1983), as amended, are incorporated by reference, and the following additional guidelines and standards as recommended by the Cultural Heritage Commission are adopted:

Any alterations, modifications or repair of the above structure shall be done so in keeping with its historic character, and any alteration, modifications or changes shall follow the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.

No environmental changes shall be permitted to the exterior of the building unless a Certificate of Appropriateness has been applied for and approved by the Cultural Heritage Commission or by the City Planning Commission, upon appeal, authorizing such environmental changes. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to restrict internal modifications to the building not visible externally.

(Ord. C-6665 § 1, 1989)