Boyle Heights-- The days may be numbered for the giant Sears store that has loomed over Soto Street and Olympic Boulevard for more than 80 years.. Boyle Heights’ history dates back to the late 19th century when Los Angeles was still divided into 9 wards. Upon its … your own Pins on Pinterest Boyle Heights Brief History. This area that encompassed Brooklyn Heights, Euclid Heights, and others, was named after Andrew Boyle, an Irishman who purchased 22 acres of land after fighting in the Mexican-American War. The L.A. Times reports that the Boyle Heights department store is one of 10 Sears stores that are currently being offered for lease by JLL, a real estate services firm working for Transformco, the company that owns Sears and Kmart. Discover (and save!) The approximately 1.7-million-square-foot complex, built in phases between 1927 and 1970, was designed by architect George C. Nimmons in the Art Deco style. The Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building, located in Boyle Heights, was built in 1927 as a distribution center for the company's mail order department. Oct 3, 2014 - This Pin was discovered by David B. Read about Sears, Roebuck and Company, Catalog Distribution Center and Department Store, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA -- historical significance, designers, and related information (structure type: built works - commercial buildings - department stores) . The 110-story building cost $100 million to build. The space has gone empty and unused for 22 years. It was designed in the Art Deco style by the architectural firm of George Nimmens Company and was constructed by Scofield Engineering-Construction Company in record-breaking time: a mere 6 months, at a cost of $5,000,000. Developer Izek Shomof, who acquired the historic Boyle Heights Sears complex in 2013, plans to reposition the behemoth retail-warehouse structure as a residential mixed-use development. A History of Determination A stronghold in the pioneering efforts of an expanding economy, the Sears Mail Order Building, built in 1926, put a defining stamp on the legacy of American consumerism. Sears reached new heights in 1969 by breaking ground on the Sears Tower in Chicago. An icon of Boyle Heights, the Sears Mail Order Building had been a source of community pride. Last month, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission gave positive feedback to the proposed adaptive reuse of the landmark Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building in Boyle Heights.. Slated for redevelopment, Sears anchors a 23-acre property that used to house a now iconic mail-order retail distribution center in East L.A. The Sears, Roebuck & Company product distribution center in Boyle Heights first opened in the 1920's. During its heyday, from 1930 to 1960, this Art Deco-style building provided as many as 700 jobs, making it one of the larger employers in the area.