General Plan Update - City of Inglewood

5.5 Historical and Cultural Resources
early 1920s, George Lepper, originally from Pittsburg, purchased property at 314 South
Market Street, as shown in Figure 5.5-1, with the intention of building a shoe store for his
son. Other citizens derided his expectation that Market Street would become prominent.
Along with Sanford Anderson, Lepper was a prime mover in organizing the local
People’s Federal Building and Loan Association. They established their first office in one
of the units of the Market Street building, but eventually outgrew the facility and
constructed a new building at the northeast corner of Market and Manchester. At the
northeast corner of North Market and Queen Streets, the Bank of Inglewood erected a
Mediterranean style bank building in 1927, as shown in Figure 5.5-1. This was sold to the
Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association in 1936, and currently functions
as a bookstore.
By the early 1920s, signs of the impact of the automobile were showing in Inglewood, as
was true for other Southern California cities. Automotive repair garages and corner
service stations were sited at the northern and southern edges of Commercial and Market
Streets. Detached automotive garages were built to the rear of the dwellings, particularly
the newer housing constructed east of the commercial blocks, along Locust Street and
Hillcrest Boulevard. By this period a movie theater had been constructed at the northwest
corner of Commercial and Queen Streets. On Market Street, the Granada Theater was
constructed in 1923, and it was later replaced by the Fox Theater, 1948-49, as shown in
Figure 5.5-1. The new city hall (replacing its predecessor) was constructed to the east, at
the corner of Grevillea and Queen Streets.
The 1920s saw the advent of the chain stores in outlying areas and smaller downtown
districts such as Inglewood’s. These were companies comprised of two or more stores.
Chain stores enjoyed greater buying power and could therefore demand lower prices
from manufacturers and retailers. The chains could afford to lure well-trained personnel
away from other establishments, and they had the means to advertise in local newspapers.
The chain store helped validate the mercantile strength of the areas selected for their
development. In downtown Inglewood, the S.H. Kress Variety Store at 233-239 South
Market Street (see Figure 5.5-1) was a product of the chain store phenomenon. California
was a significant area for S.H. Kress & Company. Their first store in the state opened in
San Diego in 1918 and by 1928 there were 28 stores statewide, with more to come.
J.C. Penney, another nationwide merchandiser had established a store at 139 South
Market Street (see Figure 5.5-1) in Inglewood by 1940. In 1954 they remodeled and
expanded their store. The new two-story facility, with its deep canopy and single-glazed
terra cotta column shared a number of features with other Penney stores.
The branch bank was another aspect of the chain store phenomenon. It provided services
previously only available in a major urban center, and in so doing functioned as a stimulus
for local development. Established banks might construct new branch banks or they
would purchase or lease existing bank buildings. For years the most formal building in
downtown Inglewood was the First State Bank (later the First National Bank) located at
the southeast corner of Commercial and Queen Streets, as shown in Figure 5.5-1. This
City of Inglewood General Plan Update Technical Background Report
5.5-7