In the May 8 issue of the Signal Tribune, we asked readers if they recognized the place in the photo above or knew when the photo was taken.
Marv Haney called in and said he recognized that the building was Buffums on Broadway and Pine, which was later torn down. His wife had worked at Buffums as a bridal coordinator and was pregnant with her first child while she worked there.
Grant Gustafson emailed and said, “The photo, most likely taken in early May, 1985, shows part of the demolition of the six-story, 1924 annex of the Buffums Department Store in downtown Long Beach. The building was designed by W. Horace Austin and the contractor was William G. Reed. The photo was taken from the southwest corner of Pine and Broadway, looking toward the south. I’m quite familiar with the history of this building, as I’ve done considerable graduate-level research on Austin and some of his more prominent local 1920s-era projects.”
