Art-deco clock has been broken since Northridge quake
Frozen since the minute the last major earthquake hit the LA area nearly 10 years ago, the clock atop the art deco office building in downtown Santa Monica will soon begin ticking once again.
The 12-story building, built in 1929, is nearing the end of a two-year, $8 million renovation, which owners are describing in glowing terms.
“It’s going to be a beautiful, beautiful top-class building,” said Kevin Green, owner of Elkins Property Management and one of the investors in the building, which was bought for $7.5 million in 2000.
“It’s really difficult to explain — or for anyone to comprehend — how cool it’s going to be.”
Owners expect to tear down temporary construction walls and unveil a granite-clad masterpiece Sept. 15.
The first phase of the remodel was bringing the building, located at 225 Santa Monica Blvd., up to code, Green said. A complete seismic retrofit was done, sprinkler and air conditioning systems were installed and the elevators were upgraded.
Next up is repairing the clock, which has been stuck at 4:17 since Jan. 17, 1994, when the Northridge earthquake shook southern California early in the morning. Green said the clock will be completely refurbished in the building’s art deco style.
The exterior of the two-story lobby will be wrapped in granite, as will the interior, which is marked by 20-foot ceilings.
No detail is being overlooked, said Green, who traveled to South Beach Miami over the holiday weekend to take pictures of other classic art deco buildings. He plans to replace every window and windowsill in the building, while keeping them operable.
Many modern office buildings are climate-controlled and the windows do not open to let in outside air.
Neighbors and residents said they’re pleased the old clocktower — once called the Crocker Bank Building after the bank that occupied its lobby for decades — will once again be open.
“It’s a great building,” said Santa Monica City Councilman Herb Katz. “It’s a classic job and it’s really quite well done.”
Carl Schober, owner of the Mayfair Theater across the street, said he’s watched the clocktower go through a succession of owners since it was built in the depression era.
He said the building’s bathrooms were originally built between the floors, so that office workers would have to travel either down or up half a flight. Because of current zoning requirements, each floor had to have bathrooms accessible to the handicapped.
But that’s not the only reason the old building couldn’t be built again today, said Tony Kim, an associate planner for the city. There is also no parking allocated for workers in the building.
Of the current owners, the most prominent investor is a pension fund for a group of Delta Airlines pilots.
Green said the group is still looking to fill the one retail spot in the building’s 4,600-square-foot lobby. He said he hopes for a unique retailer, either a restaurant or merchant, to lend even more character to the old building.
In the meantime, none of the open space in the building is being advertised, though Green said the group will eventually charge between $2.50 and $5 per square foot, depending on floor level.
“We don’t want to lease it until you can tell how great the building is going to be,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 7, 2003. Read the original PDF.