Benjamin Platt

Benjamin Platt
Born	Ukraine
Died	April 18, 1960 Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Children	Herman Platt
Relatives	Josh Flagg (great-grandson)

Benjamin Platt (died April 1960) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Platt Music Corporation, which he started in 1905.

Benjamin Platt was born in a small town near Kiev, Russia (now a part of Ukraine). He moved to the United States in 1905, when he was twenty years old.

He started his career as a salesman in New York City, for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He moved to Los Angeles later that year and started The Platt Music Company; he began the company by selling pianos door-to-door.

Platt Music Corporation was a private company that leased space in department stores and sold consumer electric products. By 1926, its annual sales volume was in excess of $3,000,000 and the company's total assets were approximately $2,700,000. Platt owned three buildings on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles: 830 Broadway, 840 Broadway, and 620-622 Broadway, next to the Orpheum Theatre. Walker & Eisen was the architectural firm that designed the 840 Broadway building. (Walker & Eisen is best known for the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.) Lange and Bergstrom were the contractors for 840 building.

By 1928, Platt Music was one of the largest retailers of its kind in the world. In 1929, the stock market crashed and Platt Music went into receivership. Because of Platt’s good relationship with Tom May of the May Company, Platt rebuilt Platt Music to be bigger than ever. Platt Music contracted with the May Company to sell appliances in all of their stores.

By 1955, Platt Music was the largest retail business of its kind in America. Platt was honored at the Ambassador Hotel in 1955, on the anniversary of his 50th year in business. Some of the biggest names in Los Angeles attended this event, some from as far as Mexico.

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