Called Braly Block, the building was one of LA’s first “skyscrapers”
The owners of a Historic Core building known as the Continental Building have filed plans with the city to turn the rental lofts into a hotel.
The plans call for 140 guest rooms, plus a restaurant, bar, and a rooftop bar with outdoor dining.
The Continental Building, also known as the Braly Block, was completed in 1904 and designed by architect John Parkinson, described as “a sort of a founder of Los Angeles in the 1920s” by noted historian Kevin Starr. Parkinson’s work can be seen across Downtown and beyond, and includes City Hall and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
At the time it opened, the 12-story Continental Building was considered one of the city’s first skyscrapers, says the Los Angeles Conservancy.
The Beaux Arts-style building was purchased by Downtown developer Tom Gilmore in 2000 and converted into 56 apartments. Gilmore notably bought up a number of Historic Core buildings in the early 2000s, turning them into lofts and leading the way for a kind of first wave of investment in the area.
Gilmore sold the property in 2018 to Continental DTLA, an LLC connected to Rebel Hospitality, which owns multiple hotels in Chicago, the Downtown News reported at the time of the sale.