1922
Photo depicts the historic Kress building under construction and a glimpse of Clarks Drug Store on the corner of Fourth and Pine, where the Walker Building would be built six years later.

1929
Photo shows the Walker Building under construction, this is the oldest photo that we have found regarding the development of the building. A note of interest, the building was originally built to house the expansion of Marti’s Department Store, one of the most successful Long Beach retailers. The investment group hired the well-known Architecture and Construction company of Meyer & Holler to design and build the structure. The building would be designed and constructed as a six story concrete structure. Due to the economic times, only the first four floors would be completed; the structural design allowed for the expansion of two additional floors in the future. The large rooftop sign would be located at the top of the Kress building with an arrow pointing to Fourth and Pine, Marti’s Department Store. However the great depression ended the stores operation and shortly after, Walker’s Department Store would become the signature store of Pine Avenue.

1930
The annual “Parade of New Cars” in 1930 shows a vibrant Pine Avenue. Thousands line the street for this annual event. The Pine Avenue Trolley, shown in this photo, carried shoppers up and down the Pine Avenue shopping district and to the Pike amusement park.

1931
The oldest photo showing the thriving Walker’s Department Store, Fourth at Pine. The store was noted to be “The Friendly Store” which was used as a slogan throughout the store's history. The historic rooftop Walker’s sign and integrated crest logo was our inspiration to reutilize these in the building's second life as a loft condominium development.

1960
This photo depicts a still energized Pine Avenue. The building had been modernized over the years to accommodate the addition of escalators and other features to compete with newer stores of the times. The rooftop crenellations would later be removed and a flat, poured-in-place concrete cap, would give the building a boxier “modernized” look for the times.

1970
This photo shows the eventual decline of the Pine Avenue shopping district. Most stores in urban environments began losing shoppers to large interior mall complexes. The Pine Avenue shopping district was hit hard by this trend and most large retailers would eventually pull out from downtown Long Beach. Pine Avenue would be lost for decades until urban renewal began in the mid 1980’s and people began rediscovering the unique experiences of urban living and renewal.