Sears Roebuck Santa Monica
Sears, Roebuck and Co. opened a large, new store in Santa Monica in 1947. It was designed in the Late (Streamline) Moderne style by architect Rowland Crawford, who was known at the time for his design of the Times-Mirror building in L.A. The Sears building was the sole surviving large retail establishment of the early postwar years operating in Santa Monica when it closed in 2017. As part of an adaptive re-use project to create “an innovative new retail and office space”, the building was renamed the Mark 302 and got a $50-million makeover. The complex is ready for tenants to build out their own spaces, but the pandemic has stalled the project. It is a City of Santa Monica Landmark and eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Santa Monica, Los Angeles County
Images by Andrew Schmidt