NEW BROADWAY DEPARTMENT STORE

by Wayne Bednersh




This is an interesting sterling spoon which appears to be commemorating the opening of a new Broadway Department Store
in downtown Los Angeles.

However, the handle of this spoon is from the  PPIE (Pan Pacific International Exhibition) which was held in
San Francisco and San Diego.

This is the first PPIE spoon from the Los Angeles area which I have seen.



This store did indeed open in 1915 while the expo was occurring, however I could not find any other relationship between the two events.
I suspect that the owner of the Broadway Department Store helped finance the exposition, since he was involved in many civic affairs.




This handsome art deco style building was built at the corner of 8th Street and Broadway
in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
The building featured a roof top restaurant with stunning views as well as a well stocked series of departments
and of course a 'bargain basement'.

Various department stores dominated downtown Los Angeles until the 1960's when they gradually succumbed to the influence of the suburban malls.
By the late 1970's all of the huge  major downtown department stores had closed, but smaller versions retained a presence in the area.

This building is now known as the Junipero Serra Building (named after Father Serra who founded the California missions) and it has been
converted into an office building.

The back of the handle on this spoon has three small pictures which I have never seen on a souvenir spoon



The top picture is the flagship store for Broadway founded in 1896



This picture shows the Owen River aquaduct (completed in 1913) which was the primary source of water for the Los Angeles area.
The importance of this project cannot be overstated. Without it Los Angeles would never have become a major city.
This is the only time I have seen this on a silver spoon


The third picture pays tribute to the Los Angeles harbor.

This 193 sq. mi. harbor area is the largest shipping container port in the USA and a major source of Los Angeles' wealth.

 

There is no manufacturer mark.

For more spoons related to the PPIE click here.

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