Found Alive: Dutch Chocolate Tiles in DTLA

January 27, 2009 at 5:05 pm in Downtown, History

The hidden treasures in downtown LA never cease to amaze me. Over on Dinosaurs and Robots, current guest blogger Kevin Kidney has pointed out this old Dutch Chocolate Shop that was built around 1913-14. The place looks amazing, with custom tiles from floor to ceiling. Things like this weren’t too uncommon way back when, but new one off businesses rarely throw down the loot to build out something like that these days. The coolest thing however, is that this place still exists. Unfortunately it’s not being used as a kick ass Dutch Chocolate Shop as much as a rundown storage space for boxes and grocery crap. There’s a few more recent photos on GiddyGirlie’s flickr stream which are both awesome and depressing at the same time. Check out Kevin’s post for more details on this place, and I echo his call for someone to step in with some cash and restore the place before it gets ruined for ever.

7 Comments »

http://www.myspace.com/suprdave89 David

Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone re-opened that place? From the few pics on the flickr stream it looks to be in pretty damn good shape!
http://snarkydork.com Jodi101

It’s depressing to see a once beautiful storefront like this being used for storage or a crappy store. Hopefully a wealthy benefactor will step up.
Bert Green

Downtown is full of stuff like this, although this one is pretty special. Suburbanization was the downfall of downtown. It’s coming back, though, and the benign neglect of these buildings has actually ended up being a blessing in disguise. They were not torn down or gutted, and it’s unlikely in this day and age that they would be so easily destroyed.
http://fadein.la Jason Burns

This is AWESOME. I want in. My rebel XT wants in.

This space is begging for an ice cream parlor.
http://frazgomeanders.blogspot.com frazgo

I would love to get in and just shoot. The place is begging for the surreal look of HDR.

I really hope it is somehow saved and put to use.
http://angelcityart.blogspot.com/ angelcityart

I love finding treasures like this! It would be a cool ice cream shop or candy store. Or better yet a museum.

It belongs on a historic register. Batchelder (a Pasadena artist) is famous the world over for his tiles. I want in with my camera too! And sign me up for the restoration committee!
http://safetygraphicfun.com Julia Frey

When I first saw that title I thought the tiles were made of Dutch Chocolate and was intrigued. When I finally figured it out (really it didn’t take long) it was even better. I want to go there…

Found Alive: Dutch Chocolate Tiles in DTLA

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