International Savings & Exchange Bank Building

International Savings & Exchange Bank Building
The International Savings & Exchange Bank Building, which stood at the corner of Temple & Spring in downtown Los Angeles
General information
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival/Italianate
Address	226 North Spring Street
Town or city	Los Angeles, California
Country	U.S.A.
Coordinates	34°03′15″N 118°14′36″W / 34.0542°N 118.2433°W / 34.0542; -118.2433Coordinates: 34°03′15″N 118°14′36″W / 34.0542°N 118.2433°W / 34.0542; -118.2433
Construction started	1906
Completed	1907
Demolished	after 1954
Client	International Savings & Exchange Bank, Inc.
Technical details
Structural system	steel frame
Floor count	10
Design and construction
Architect	H. Alban Reaves

The International Savings & Exchange Bank Building (also known as the International Savings Building), was built in the Spring Street Financial District of Los Angeles in 1907. Standing ten floors, it was designed in the Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles by architect H. Alban Reaves (some sources spell Reeves), who had previously designed several structures in New York, including what is now the south building of the historic Schuyler Arms.

It stood at 226 North Spring Street, the intersection of Temple and Spring (sometimes referred to as Temple Square) across from the Main Post Office, and was featured in several postcards from the 1920s. Occupying the ground floor was the International Savings & Exchange Bank, “an institution much in favor among foreign born and descended residents,” which had been incorporated four years earlier in 1903.

In 1928, the building was dwarfed by the new 30-story Los Angeles City Hall, and soon after calls for its demolition increased, resulting in its razing sometime after 1954. The portion of Spring Street that its front entrance faced no longer exists.

This building is one of three that was featured in the 1923 Harold Lloyd film, Safety Last!. The ten-floor International Savings Building is presented in the film as “the 12-story Bolton Building” and is the setting for the story’s “DeVore Department Store.” The interior store scenes at ground level were not filmed at the International Savings Bank Building but at Ville de Paris, a department store at 712 South Olive at 7th Street.

For several years it has been incorrectly reported that the building shown in both the film and photo stills was the 12-story Beaux Arts-styled Brockman building, designed by St. Louis architects Barnett, Haynes & Barnett in 1911 (some sources say 1921) and still standing today at 530 West Seventh Street at Grand Avenue. Only the roof of the Brockman Building was used for Safety Last!, but the Brockman itself is not seen in the movie. Although the two buildings look nothing alike, this erroneous understanding has appeared in numerous sources, including The Los Angeles Times, Daily Variety, Los Angeles Business Journal, and countless real estate websites.