The Street Seen: Parkhurst Building
2940 Main Street @ Pier
The Parkhurst building was designated as a City Landmark on December 1977, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.
The building is built for Clinton Gordon Parkhurst. Parkhurst, a prominent realtor in the Ocean Park - Venice area, becomes at the age of 20, ‘boy mayor’ of Venice in 1912. Parkhurst dies (age 39) in Santa Monica 90 years ago yesterday (December 27,1931).
The Venetian Renaissance (?) style building has host of architectural features that somehow form a cohesive whole. It is constructed in 19271 from a design by prominent architects Marsh, Smith & Powell - although there is some disagreement about whether Herbert Powell or Norman F. Marsh is primarily responsible.
The Red Car (Santa Monica Airline Line) right of way ran behind the building.
From 1992 to 2004, Armani Exchange occupies the ground floor. From 2005 to 2020 Planet Blue, the Los Angeles-based chain of beach-boho style women’s wear boutiques, occupies the entire ground floor. In 2021, Aviator Nation moves in.
While the street address on the building is 2940 Main (and also 181 - 185 Pier), the official Los Angeles County Assessor (APN 4288-008-007) address is 2942 Main on a 70 ft x 78 ft lot (5,660 sq-ft).
The 2-story building has 11.200 sq-ft of building floor area. The wood floor on interior steel columns and perimeter brick masonry walls building had an extensive interior remodel in 1979 - fire sprinklers were added and the unreinforced masonry (URM) structure seismically strengthened. Additional seismic strengthening was performed in 1992 during the Armani Exchange interior remodel.
The building was built following the 1926 widening of Main St.
