Building 51 | Building 51 | rare c. 1920’s american art deco machine age pacific stock exchange building interior elevator lobby floor indicator panel – samuel e. lunden, architect
9756
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rare c. 1920’s american art deco machine age pacific stock exchange building interior elevator lobby floor indicator panel – samuel e. lunden, architect

51-17218-13

Category

Non-Chicago Artifacts

About This Item

remarkable c. 1929 american art deco wall-mount ornamental cast bronze elevator floor indicator salvaged from the pacific stock exchange building while undergoing extensive interior renovation. the “stepped” profile backplate retains the original multi-faceted pressed glass indicator or directional arrows with a baked amber enameled finish. the highly stylized elevator backplate contains a darkened surface patina left untouched. the exact fabricator is not known. built in 1929, the eleven-story pacific stock exchange building was designed by samuel lunden in the moderne (art deco) style. ground was broken in october 1929, just as the great depression hit, and when the los angeles stock exchange opened its doors there in 1931, the country was deep into the depression. there are three bas-relief panels carved by salvatore cartaino scarpitta into the granite above the building’s entrance. the panels portray the elements of a capitalist economy. the large central panel, “finance”, displays capitalists. the “production” panel shows an aircraft engine, a steel worker pouring molten metal and a worker stirring it. the “research and discovery” panel shows oil derricks, factories, a chemist conducting an experiment and a man kneeling in a library reading a book. the interior is wonderfully preserved, and features native indian influences by the designer julian ellsworth garnsey. on the entrance lobby’s ceiling the wilson studio created four sculpted figures representing: speed (mercury), accuracy (the archer), permanence (a figure contemplating the universe), and equality (the figure bearing scales). the highlight of the interior was its massive balconied trading floor with a forty-foot ceiling and sixty-four booths. offices occupied floors six through nine, and the top two floors included: a club with a library, a card room, a billiard room, and reading rooms. the basement held a printing room and a vault. in late 2008, the building underwent extensive renovations and reopened in 2010 as a night club. measures approximately 8 x 3 1/2 inches.