In April 1956, a groundbreaking ceremony took place for a new Los Angeles Furniture Mart building on a site at the corner of
Broadway and
Washington Boulevard. The facility replaced its previous iteration which was located at 2155 E 7th Street. The
Los Angeles Times reported a construction cost of $7,000,000 and that the new furniture mart would be one of the largest in the United States upon completion. Earl Heitschmidt designed the building, J. A. McNeil Company of
Alhambra, California, served as general contractor for the project, and
Bank of America financed the construction.
Prudential Insurance was its first owner. The facility, with space for 600 retailers and costing a total of $7,350,000 ($ in ), was dedicated at a May 28, 1958, ceremony
emceed by Furniture Manufacturers Association of Southern California president Henry Brandler and attended by Los Angeles mayor
Norris Poulson. On March 17, 1959, less than a year after opening, the facility's name was changed to Los Angeles Home Furnishings Mart. In 1978, International Fastener Research Corporation (IFRC) purchased the building for $1,500,000 ($ in ), undertaking renovations of the space and expanding the facility's scope into the
giftware industry. Changes included new lighting and safety improvements on the fire suppression system and elevators. Brandler, a founding executive, remained on as the mart's president after the purchase. In 2020, LA Mart owner Ara Tavitian installed large
digital billboards on three sides of the top of the building, each several stories tall and spanning the entire width of each frontage. The project faced pushback from city planning commissioners and generated backlash from the surrounding neighborhood. Residents nearby complained of the harsh glare from the billboards that made sleeping difficult. Jorge Nuño, a former city council election opponent against
Curren Price, said that the advertisements create a dangerous distraction for motorists on nearby
Interstate 10. Price received criticism for alleged corruption in connection with the billboards, as he had secured approval for the installation and later received a $75,000 campaign contribution from Tavitian through an associated
political action committee. ==References==