The historic Walker Building was built in 1929 and designed by Meyer & Holler Inc. of Los Angeles, who also designed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The property was built to house Walker’s Department Store, which remained a solid downtown Long Beach retailer for decades. Sav-On Drugs was the only other establishment to utilize the building until they eventually pulled out. With the trend in the 1980s toward large, enclosed malls, retail in downtown Long Beach suffered and the area became blighted. The Walker Building has been vacant and abandoned for over two decades.

In September 1990, Harold Provin of MC&D Capital Corporation purchased the property. Provin’s conceptual plans included retail, restaurant, and offices/lofts. Work began in August 1991 to complete the Sub 80 Earthquake Retrofit work required by the City, which was funded through a special bond issue. However, Southern California entered a severe real estate depression and MC&D Capital defaulted on the bond in December 1991.