Lost in the heart of Boyle Heights stands a testament to a bygone era. It is the Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building. This isn’t just a building. It’s a portal to a time when mail-order catalogs reigned supreme. Richard Sears established Sears, Roebuck & Company in 1886. It became a retail giant. By 1927, Sears served eleven million customers. That was one in three American families.
Imagine this colossal structure rising in just 146 working days. It cost $5 million. That was a record-breaking feat in 1927. The Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building became a vital distribution hub. It served the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states.
The building’s architecture is a sight to behold. The George Nimmons Company designed it. It has nine stories plus a basement. The building covers approximately 11 acres. The Sears Mail Order Building is one of nine such centers built between 1910 and 1929.
Picture employees on roller skates zipping through the facility. They filled orders. They dropped items onto corkscrew slides. These items were delivered by truck or rail. In its first month, the Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building attracted over 100,000 visitors.
Its 226-foot Art Deco tower and ‘Sears’ sign became iconic. The Los Angeles Conservancy called it one of the dominant visual icons of the Eastside. For many, it was a beacon guiding them home.
The Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building’s construction used mostly local materials. Only the steel window sashes came from elsewhere. Six steam shovels and a large labor force worked day and night. They delivered twenty carloads of rock and sand daily for cement work.
The distribution center closed in January 1992. This eliminated jobs for many. The retail store remained open until April 2021. The general manager, Francisco Medina, mentioned that this center was the least expensive for Sears to operate. This was partly due to their 99-year lease.
In 2004, MJW Investments acquired the Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building. They planned a $350 million redevelopment project. The plan included condominiums, apartments, stores, and restaurants. But the community feared gentrification.
Oscar De La Hoya, a Boyle Heights native, tried to revive the project. He remembered shopping at this Sears store with his mother. But no deal was consummated.
Izek Shomof bought the property in 2013. He planned to revitalize it with housing, offices, and stores. In 2022, he proposed turning it into the Life Rebuilding Center.
The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission designated the Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2004. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building stands as a symbol of innovation. It stands as a symbol of community, and resilience. It connects us to a time when a catalog could bring the world to your doorstep.