Brick House

In researching the year my building was built for renter's insurance, I ran across a bit of interesting history. For one thing, my building was built over 100 years ago. You don't find that as often on the west coast- especially in earthquake country. I knew it was old, but hadn't really thought in terms of much before the 1920s.

Apparently, my building is one of the oldest in the neighborhood. It was built as the Somerset House Hotel, later becoming a residence hotel, housing many Vaudvillians and Broadway actors of the 1930s. Here's a photo of what it looked like at the time. You'll notice the lack of neon anywhere in the background:



It looks a bit differently now, obviously, especially with Times Square surrounding the place, but some of the character remains.