Bullocks Wilshire Building

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Located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, the Bullocks Wilshire is a 230,000-square-foot Art Deco building.

Area: 4 acres (1 ha)
Opened: 1929
Architectural style: Art Deco
Architects: John Parkinson, Paul László, Frank Donald D. Parkinson

Conceived by business partners John G. Bullock and P.G. Winnett, the Bullocks Wilshire Building operated as a luxury department store for more than 60 years.

In 1994, the Southwestern Law School purchased the Art Deco landmark and set out to convert it into a dynamic academic venue, while retaining its historic character. Through its adaptive reuse, the law school now utilizes the building for cutting-edge scholastic, professional and social resources that represent the heart of the Southwestern community.

The school’s Leigh H. Taylor Law Library, which occupies about one-third of the building, is the second-largest private academic law library in the state. The Julian C. Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center, located on the first floor, is the most technologically advanced facility of its kind. The legendary Tea Room on the fifth floor, once a destination for the city’s elite, is now a dining area and cafeteria for students and faculty. Tiered classrooms and seminar spaces wired with multimedia technology, faculty offices with floor-to-ceiling windows, student lounges and study areas, as well as garden terraces with panoramic views round out the edifice’s astonishing upgrade.

Because it is part of the Southwestern campus, the Bullocks Wilshire Building is not open to the public on a day-to-day basis. However, once a year, the building is open to the public for special Open House. Currently, this event is scheduled during the summer – a period when regular classes are not in session – and reservations are required to accommodate the high demand.