Added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005

The E. Clem Wilson Building dominates the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. It’s a perfectly impressive looking thing, if you can ignore the ghastly red signage that crowns its top like a karate bandana. At 12 stories tall, it almost overshadows the two-story former bank, attached to its eastern edge like an art deco barnacle. 

Almost. Because the two-story building next to it is a whizbang marvel of a historic structure, the kind of thing that inspires double takes and near-crashes for the more design-focused among us. Called The Deco Building, this thing was designed by the prolific Stiles O. Clements of the firm Morgan, Walls & Clements (El Capitan, Adamson House, Citadel Outlets). It’s one of just two buildings in all of LA covered in black tile and gold ornament (the Selig Building on 3rd and Western is the other). That alone would make it worthy of visitation, but there are some killer Indonesian treats and wares to be had there these days, and it’s also a rare human-scaled connection to the Miracle Mile’s exciting early days. Before we get to the building itself, let’s set the stage with a quick primer on Wilshire Boulevard and the dawn of deco.  

The 1920s were boom years for Los Angeles. The city’s population more than doubled between 1920 and 1930, to more than 1.2 million. The film and oil industries were doing gangbusters, and new neighborhoods sprouted up regularly, gradually tugging the center of gravity away from downtown.  

Even with well-to-do Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Hancock Park and other neighborhoods within a few mile radius, it was far from inevitable that the part of Wilshire where The Deco Building now stands would blossom into the commercial mecca that it became in the ‘20s. At the dawn of the decade the present day “Miracle Mile” was still a rural road, only partially paved, and surrounded by barley fields and oil derricks. The area wasn’t even served by the electric railway lines that had contributed so much to LA’s residential sprawl. Noxious tar occasionally seeped above ground from the tar pits at Wilshire and La Brea, and a pair of private air fields owned by Cecil B. DeMille and Charlie Chaplin’s half-brother Syd would’ve made earplugs mandatory.

Then real estate developer A.W. Ross came along with a wild vision for Wilshire’s future as a western retail center, one where shoppers arrived not via streetcar, but in their personal automobiles. Ross paid $54,000 for 18 acres of land surrounding Wilshire between La Brea and Fairfax, and started offering retail lots for the lowly sum of $100 per foot of frontage. At first, potential investors scoffed at the idea. “Ross’s Folly” they called it. Sales were slow early on, but a few early businesses had set up shop by mid-decade. Small one-to-two-story enterprises, a fruit market. But it was something. 

As the decade progressed, Ross’s vision started to become a reality. More and more businesses moved in to serve the residential neighborhoods that kept filling in the undeveloped land to the north, south and west. The street was widened and fully paved. One investor, impressed with all the activity that Ross had attracted, dubbed his stretch of Wilshire the “Miracle Mile.” As historian Richard Longstreth writes in his book City Center to Regional Mall, “The ‘miracle’ lay neither in its physical character nor in the complexion of its few, small retail outlets, but rather that it existed at all.”

The success of the Miracle Mile seems even more miraculous when you consider that, when Los Angeles annexed Ross’s land in 1925, it was zoned for residential use only. Which meant that every single commercial project required its own zoning variance, usually secured by Ross himself. Must have been a royal pain in the patoot, but it also gave Ross more control over the kinds of buildings erected there, and the types of tenants that occupied them. 

Miracle Mile entered its heyday in the late 1920s, as new businesses brought a newfound architectural flair to Wilshire Boulevard. The pioneering supermarket chain Ralphs Grocery built a distinctive outlet on Wilshire at Hauser Boulevard in 1928, also designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements in the style of a Spanish castle. And then in 1929 came the Wilshire Tower (designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood), a massive 10-story office building with retail wings on the bottom two floors that housed Desmond’s and Silverwoods department stores. The building was done up in a combination of au courant art deco styles, and set the tone for many significant Miracle Mile buildings to come. 

LA’s architecture and design worlds were gobsmacked by art deco in the late 1920s. Its accent on scale and verticality, its decorative pizzazz, its disconnection from all the revival styles that predominated at the time – this was an exciting, modern approach to design that captured the momentum of LA in the 1920s. 

By the early ‘30s you could drive down the boulevard and marvel at the Wilshire Tower, the E. Clem Wilson Building (Meyer & Holler) or the Dominguez-Wilshire Building (Morgan, Walls & Clements again!), each one a monumental deco sky-tickler that defined the Miracle Mile’s skyscape. Art deco was particularly well-suited to the spirit of the Miracle Mile – all those castle-like masses lent an air of imperious luxury to Wilshire, and the glowing neon signs that topped them became beacons to the drivers that dominated the boulevard.

Miracle Mile’s art deco high-rises tended to be monochrome white on the outside. For a brief window though, from around 1928 – 1931, polychromatic art deco was having a moment in LA’s commercial corridors further east. The turquoise Eastern Columbia Building and emerald green Sun Realty Building (both designed by Claud Beelman) enlivened downtown with flamboyant color; the Pellissier Building/Warner Bros. Western Theater, now known as The Wiltern, brought a shimmering blue-green facade to Koreatown. That one was steered by – you guessed it – Stiles O. Clements for Morgan, Walls & Clements. 

To my mind though, the most impressive product of LA’s multi-hued art deco phase was the Richfield Tower at 6th and Flower Streets. It was yet another Clements design, and his favorite of his own works, according to his daughter Mary. Built in 1928 for the Richfield Oil Company, this behemoth was slathered in black terracotta tiles with gold accents, an homage to the “black gold” sold by its owner. Mounted above the building, a 130-foot sign shaped like an oil derrick spelled out “RICHFIELD” in giant neon letters. Lighting elements up at the top were designed to look like the building had just hit a gusher. In one of the greatest travesties in LA architectural history, the Richfield was torn down in 1968; its massive bronze elevator doors are still on display outside the faceless City National Plaza skyscraper that replaced it. 

The Security-First National Bank was also credited to Stiles O. Clements, and went up in 1929, just a year after the Richfield Tower. Clearly, Clements was in his black and gold phase. Though the scale of the two buildings couldn’t have been more different – the Richfield was 12 stories tall, Security-First National just two – the black terracotta tiles and gold accents evince the same impact on both. Both facades feel regal, ancient even, like you’ve stumbled upon a perfectly-preserved Egyptian tomb. The thin vertical scoring surrounding the bank’s front entrance suggests the texture of crackling papyrus. Inside, the simple geometric designs on the skylights echo the railings on the Richfield Tower’s staircases. Security-First National is like the kid sister of the Richfield, cut from the same cloth but with its own energy, compacted into a much smaller form.

This branch at Wilshire & La Brea was one of four new LA branches constructed in 1929 by Security-First National Bank (including a Westwood branch also designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements – did they ever sleep??). The new bank had just formed in April by the consolidation of the Los Angeles-First National Trust & Savings Bank and the Security Trust & Savings Bank of Los Angeles, “two of the oldest and foremost banks in California” according to the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. For several years before, Security Trust & Savings had operated out of a different building at the same 5209 Wilshire Boulevard address, which was razed after the merger to make way for the new black and gold one. In the below photo you can see the original Security Trust & Savings building at left, with a hipped roof and double awning.

The new Security-First National branch was built by the PJ Walker Company, the same builders responsible for the Oviatt Building and the Subway Terminal Building earlier in the 1920s. The below sequence of four construction photos shows a pretty zippy bank-raising, going from a dirt lot on March 31 to a nearly-done exterior in late June of 1929. By mid-August, the branch was open to the public. Woe to the residents of the charming bungalow just to its left, who had to put up with loud banging and scaffolding in front of their window for months. 

This building got a good amount of attention, both before and after it was finished. The Los Angeles Times real estate section featured pictures of both this one and the San Pedro branch (with the images mistakenly swapped) in a front page spread on November 3, 1929, along with a story about the $1,185,000 in new bank construction that Los Angeles had undergone that year. The architecture trade was also impressed: Morgan, Walls & Clements also earned an Honor Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for their work on the bank, plus another for the Mayan Theatre. 

The Wilshire & La Brea branch of Security-First National kept chugging along for more than 40 years. After purchasing Pacific National Bank of San Francisco in 1967, Security-First National was renamed Security Pacific National Bank, and by the mid-’70s they had vacated their black and gold digs. While the exact reason for the bank’s departure from the building at 5209 Wilshire isn’t clear, I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence that we start seeing ads for different businesses at 5209 Wilshire in 1974, the same year that Security Pacific built a new skyscraper for themselves downtown (the Security Pacific Plaza, now known as Bank of America Plaza). 

The old bank building on Wilshire had a tough time keeping a tenant after that. In early 1974 a gold and silver dealer called C&H moved in, but by 1975 realtors were advertising an “Empty Bank Building” again, for $60,000 cash down plus a $90,000 loan. In the late ‘70s an “oriental rug and tapestries” dealer called Shah ‘n Shah took over, followed soon after by Khorram Enterprises, specializing in antique bronzes and Persian rugs. 

In 1983, the Los Angeles Times reported that the old bank building would be restored and transformed into a new operation called Zephyr, with a full-service bar and cafe downstairs, and a private membership club upstairs. What little evidence I could find of Zephyr’s goings-on suggests the place was a hoot. They ran a gay, self-entry “Mr. Zeus Contest” for “hot, muscular contestants,” with $500 going to the first prize winner; in 1984 a Friday-night club called Fetish moved to the Zephyr, featuring “lots of Cramps, Bauhaus, Siouxie [sic], Sisters of Mercy, Sex Gang Children and other records.” But as of 1985 the building was once again for sale. 

The mid-’80s to the early 2000s are an information dead zone for 5209 Wilshire Boulevard. From the scraps I’ve found, it seems that 5209 Wilshire was leased out as an event space during that era. One source told me it was a wedding chapel for a while. Others claim that it was a Christian center (big swing of the pendulum from the Fetish club, right?). The scant evidence I could find to back up that claim includes a 1986 filing with the California Secretary of State filing for a business located at the 5209 Wilshire address, under the name “Gene Scott Travel, Incorporated.” Gene Scott was a famous televangelist with the Wescott Christian Center, which had a penchant for buying up historic properties. Then in 2004 there’s a building permit for a re-roof, taken out by Wescott – so it’s possible that he owned the building for a couple decades, and leased it out to other operations.

The building’s modern era began in 2004, when designer and architectural conservator  Xorin Balbes took over and renovated it into office space. The biggest change was adding a mezzanine level down both sides of the interior, with small office spaces below, and two new staircases. New lighting fixtures were added, including the impressive pendants with zigzag patterns that perfectly complement the original skylights. Four new windows were added to the north side, and a massive saltwater fish tank now sits in the middle of the mezzanine level. 

Sure, the new plate glass entrance doors aren’t nearly as distinctive as decorative glass and metal ones from 1929, and much of the flooring and plate glass on the facade is new. I miss the zigzag pattern that used to be carved into the concrete on the sidewalk, which was there during the renovation, and now…isn’t.

But there is so much unique detail that’s been preserved here. You can still see the same molding, decorative grilles and skylights today that were there in the 1930s. The pressed aluminum panels above each door and window bay are straight out of the art deco era, too – in fact the the entire upper third of the facade has stayed intact for over 90 years. The renovated Deco Building fully embodies its new name.

In my humble opinion, the most inspired preservation move was morphing the two old bank vaults at the back of the property into a conference room. The heavy doors still bear the imprint of their makers, the Mosler Safe Company. 

For a few years after the restoration, The Deco Building was headquarters for the now-defunct LA Citybeat newspaper. Today, it’s owned by an Indonesian humanitarian organization called the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation. Since 2022 they’ve leased it out to House of Explore Indonesia (HEXI), a collective of Indonesian vendors that sell clothing and accessories, homewares and snacks from the office compartments downstairs. There’s a small cafe cart that serves Indonesian-style coffee and street foods (the fishcake & egg dish is sublime), and upstairs there are co-working spaces, no fee or reservations required. It’s a great place to while away a few hours with your laptop and a caffeinated beverage. 

Plenty has changed about the Miracle Mile since the late ‘20s. It’s no longer a commercial epicenter, though droves of tourists and locals still flock to the museums that line this stretch of Wilshire. The storefronts that stood just east of the bank for over 50 years were demolished in 1996 to make way for a Jack in the Box drive-thru. And then in 2026, LA Metro finally opened a subway stop at Wilshire and La Brea, after 60+ years of championing a tunnel to the westside. HEXI is hopeful that the new stop will attract new customers. 

Not all change is for the better, but in the case of this old Security-First National Bank, adaptive reuse has helped it survive. Just think about all the bank tellers, developers, shoppers, antique dealers, clubgoers, televangelists and Indonesian vendors that have played a role in keeping this architectural gem intact. It’s a minor miracle on the Miracle Mile. 

Thank you to HEXI Los Angeles founder Melany Lintuuran for inviting me in and giving me the run of the place.

Sources & Recommended Reading

+ “3 Prime Commercial Buildings” (AD – Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1985 – via newspapers.com)

+ “5209 Wilshire Blvd” (Loopnet.com)

+ Architect & Engineer, Volume CI, Numbers 1-2, April-May 1930 (via USModernist.org)

+ “Architectural Awards Given” (Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1930 – via newspapers.com)

+ Architectural Forum, March 1930 (via USModernist.org)

+ “Art Deco Building to Be Restored as Home for New Cabaret, Club” (Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1983 – via newspapers.com)

+ “The Deco Bldg” (hexilosangeles.com)

+ “Fetish Club” (LA Weekly, May 31, 1984 – via newspapers.com)

+ “Khorram Enterprises, Inc.” (AD – Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1978 – via newspapers.com)

+ “L.A. Dee Da on the Streets” (LA Weekly, May 24, 1984 – via newspapers.com)

+ Longstreth, Richard: City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950 (The MIT Press, 1997)

+ “Los Angeles Banks Build Eleven Branches” (Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1929 – via newspapers.com)

+ Masters, Nathan: “How the Miracle Mile Got Its Name” (PBSSoCal.org, April 11, 2012)

+ McAvoy, Christy Johnson & Jessica N. Ritz, Historic Resources Group: Security-First National Bank’s NRHP nomination form

+ Miracle Mile Residential Association: “A Brief History of the Miracle Mile” (miraclemilela.com)

+ “Mr. Zeus Contest” (LA Weekly, February 23, 1984 – via newspapers.com)

+ “Mutual Building, Loan Leases Wilshire Office” (Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, August 30, 1929)

+ Peay, Malik: “15 L.A. cafes to visit for remote workdays” (Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2025)

+ Roderick, Kevin with J. Eric Lynxwiler: Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles (Angel City Press, 2005)

+ “Rugs, Cpts, Linoleum” (AD – Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1976 – via newspapers.com)

+ “Security Bank Fetes Formal Opening of Wilshire Branch” (Los Angeles Evening Express, August 17, 1929 – via newspapers.com)

+ “Security, First National Bank Merger Is Completed” (Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, April 1, 1929 – via newspapers.com)

+ “Silver Buyers!” (AD – Los Angeles Times, January 16, 1974 – via newspapers.com)

+ Various building permits for 5209 Wilshire Boulevard (LA Department of Building & Safety website)

+ “Wm. E. Doud & Co.” (AD – Los Angeles Times, September 28, 1975 – via newspapers.com)