Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928)

Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, 2008
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928) is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928)
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928) is located in California
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928)
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928) is located in the United States
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building (1928)
Location4261 S. Central Ave., South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°0′23″N 118°15′21″W / 34.00639°N 118.25583°W / 34.00639; -118.25583
Built1928
ArchitectGarrott, James H.; Blodgett, Louis
Architectural styleMission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.98000712[1]
LAHCM No.580
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 26, 1998
Designated LAHCMJune 29, 1993[2]

The Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building was built in 1928 and for many years housed one of Los Angeles's most successful African American-owned businesses, the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company. The building is located in the heart of the city's Central Avenue commercial district that was a center of the jazz world in the 1930s and 1940s. The two-story building was designed by architect James H. Garrott and constructed by Louis Blodgett (both African Americans) in the Mission Revival style.[3] The company occupied the second floor, while the first floor was rented out to local merchants.[4] The noted Dunbar Hotel is located on the next block to the north.

In 1949, the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company moved to its new headquarters at 1999 West Adams, now also an historic building. The structure was later converted into a child development center known as the Dunbar Child Development Center. In 1998, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ Department of City Planning. "Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments". City of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  3. ^ "Blackpast.org / Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company". Blackpast.org. 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. ^ Spurlock Wilson, Dreck (1994). African American Architects - A Biographical Dictionary 1865 to 1945. New York: Routeledge. ISBN 0-415-92959-8.