The Stowell Hotel is a twelve-story reinforced concrete building covering an inside lot of 60x160 ft. area and containing 264 guest rooms. The street front presents a facade, which by its originality in architectural embellishments and by its pronounced contrasts in coloring instantly attract attention and refresh the eye.
The first story, above the lobby entrance and storefronts, is faced entirely with white terra cotta carved in leaf patterns with side panels of a harmonious but more conventional design.
The second, third and fourth story fronts are broken with balconies faced in white terra cotta following a similar design, and white terra cotta ornaments set in the green enameled brick background of the two side panels.
The next five stories are practically unbroken with ornament, the height and dignity of the structure being emphasized by the wall of bright, shining green enameled brick offset by panels of white terra cotta, the latter almost plain except for its upward sweeping lines.
Above the tenth story with its balcony and heavily overhanging cornice, the treatment with profusely carved terra cotta ornamentation is even more marked. The design is highly original and follows the growing tendency among Los Angeles architects to break into a new field, aided by liberal use of coloring a tendency which may yet develop a distinctive type of architecture for which America has been looking.
The interior of the hotel is equally unique in treatment.
In building the hotel, Mr. Stowell endeavored to patronize home industry exclusively and a name plate “Made In Southern California” might appropriately be placed on its corner stone. Practically the only materials which were purchased from a distance were some floor tiles, the obtaining of which from the East occasioned annoying delays in the completion of the lobby interior as some of the packing cases containing a portion of the tiles employed remained mislaid at Panama for several weeks, thereby delaying the work of completion.
Source: Southwest Contractor, October 17, 1914
Form Object
The El Dorado Lofts are listed by Downtown Properties.
