BoA_MRosalindSagara

Designed by Gilbert Leong and Richard Layne Tom in the 1970s, this building uniquely blends Asian Eclectic and Late Modern styles, and was the first national bank to open in L.A. Chinatown. In 2022, the L.A. Conservancy successfully listed it as City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1269.

The bank’s design features Modernist horizontal orientation, minimal ornamentation, and flat roofs with “classical Chinese elements,” including a roof built from imported jade green tile over wood beams, modern Asian-beamed ceilings, and contemporary designs of Chinese characters. Leong and Tom’s design departs from the more common Early Modern Slab style used in other Bank of America branch designs.

In the 1970s and 80s, L.A.’s Chinatown was the geographic center of the Chinese American community, concentrating important cultural and commercial resources. Banking was an essential component of neighborhood growth, facilitating the development of new Chinese and Chinese American-owned businesses.

As the first national bank to open in Chinatown, the Bank of America Chinatown Branch solidified the increasing strength of the local Chinese American community. By 1974, the bank was the fastest growing branch of Bank of America in Los Angeles. Over 250 credit cards were approved, which for many of the Chinese clients was the first time they had been approved for credit.