San Fernando Building

The San Fernando Building is an Italian Renaissance Revival style building built in 1906 at 400–410 S. Main Street in the Historic Core district of downtown Los Angeles, California. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, converted into lofts in 2000, and declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002.
Architecture and construction.
James Boon Lankershim (1850-1931), a wealthy wheat farmer and miller whose father owned much of the San Fernando Valley in the late 19th century, hired architect John F. Blee to design the building. Constructed at a reported cost of $200,000, the building opened in 1907 and was considered one of the finest office buildings in the city. The lobby has a 22-foot ceiling, and the exterior is decorated with elaborate cornice work and spandrel panels with an incised diamond motif. Originally a six-story structure, two additional stories designed by Robert Brown Young & Son were added in 1911.
Illegal gambling and police raids.
The building's history includes multiple reports of illegal gambling. The current building web site notes that the building was the site of gambling activities around 1910, resulting in several raids by the police. In each case, however, the gamblers were tipped off to the impending raids and no evidence of gambling was discovered. In 1930 police raided the San Fernando Building again, and arrested eleven men for conducting illegal lottery operations at the building; police also arrested a woman for possession of eight quarts of liquor. The "Los Angeles Times" described the building as "local headquarters for various well-known lotteries." Police said they found thousands of tickets for the "Army and Navy Veterans of Canada Sweepstakes," the "Cuban Sweepstakes," and other chance-taking ventures, including baseball pools and "bank-clearings guessing ventures." Police also said one of the gamblers had robbed a Los Angeles bank, and had hidden the money somewhere in the building. The money has never been found.
Other points of interest in building's early history.
In addition to its association with gambling and lotteries, the San Fernando Building was known for the many legitimate businesses operating there. Other highlights from the building's early history include:
Historic designations.
The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM #728) by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission in 2002.
Conversion to loft space.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the area surrounding the San Fernando Building had become part of skid row. In 1998, Gilmore Associates announced plans to convert the San Fernando Building and two other early 20th-century buildings located nearby (the Hellman and Continental Buildings) into 230 lofts. Gilmore's plan to convert a block of skid row into upscale lofts was initially met with skepticism; one expert described the location as desolate, and opined that the lack of such amenities as a grocery store nearby could make the project "a tough sell." However, the "Los Angeles Times" saw the project as having the potential to change the downtown area: "That distant sound of hammers you hear is coming from the corner of Spring and 4th, where developer Tom Gilmore has initiated an amazing project...Gilmore has assembled an entire block of buildings extending along 4th Street, from Spring to Main. It includes the 12-story Continental Building, generally regarded as the city's first skyscraper; the Farmers and Merchants Bank complex, and the San Fernando Building, built by potentate developer James B. Lankershim."
The San Fernando Building was the first of the three buildings to reopen in August 2000, and by March 2001, the building was 93% leased to tenants paying rents between $790 and $6,000 per month. The converted buildings consisted of large, open lofts with high ceilings and no interior walls except for the bathrooms. The conversion was designed by architect Wade Killefer, who noted, "What lends these buildings to residential use is lots of windows and high ceilings, offering wonderful light." The combined project became known as the Old Bank District lofts.
The gentrification of skid row has drawn criticism from homeless advocates. Alice Callaghan of Las Familias Del Pueblo said, "Skid row is the last place in the community where a person can go if they have no money and no family." Callaghan criticized developers swooping in to buy the area's affordable housing stock: "For them to come and take irreplaceable housing stock for people who have no choice about where to live, so they can have some Disneyland Manhattan experience, is outrageous and immoral."
Baco Mercat, an upscale bar and restaurant, operates on the ground floor of the building in space occupied during World War I by the Army's recruiting station.

Initially branded Stagecoach Burnley & Pendle in May 2000 it was incorporated into the Stagecoach Ribble business. In 1997 Stagecoach purchased 10 Volvo B10Ms and 10 Volvo Olympians to upgrade the run down fleet.
In April 2001 Stagecoach sold its East Lancashire operations to the Blazefield Travel. Soon after the business was split in two. What had been Burnley & Pendle once again became Burnley & Pendle while the former Ribble Motor Services became Lancashire United. Before the sale many of the newer buses were transferred to other Stagecoach subsidiaries being replaced by Dennis Javelins, Leyland Atlanteans and Leyland Lynxs. Blazefield Travel purchased 15 Volvo B7TLs and 25 Volvo B10BLEs to commence a fleet renewal program.
In January 2006 Burnley & Pendle was included in the sale of Blazefield Travel to Transdev. Burnley & Pendle was rebranded as Transdev in Burnley & Pendle.
In January 2007 Blackburn Transport was purchased followed in August 2007 by Accrington Transport and Northern Blue of Burnley with 65 buses. In September 2009 Transdev Northern Blue was integrated into Transdev Burnley & Pendle.
In July 2017 the business was again rebranded as the Burnley Bus Company.
Routes and Brands.
Burnley Bus Company.
A rebrand of the company commenced in 2017, beginning with the introduction of a new fleet of Optare Versas for their MainLine Services, vehicle 273 was liveried in the new two tone orange brand, followed shortly after by a revitalized fleet of Volvo B10BLE Renowns in this new branding. 
Local services operating around Burnley and Pendle operate under this brand including services 1 to Stoops Estate, 2 to Higherford, 3/4 to Pike Hill then Worsthorne, 5 to Rose Grove and Harle Syke, and 9 to Accrington.
MainLine.
The brand for services traveling between Padiham, Burnley, Nelson, and Colne. Services include M1 to Accrington, M2 to Clitheroe, M3 to Trawden, M4 to Keighley, and M5 to Barnoldswick. These routes are operated by 29 Optare Versas in orange and burgundy Mainline Livery, offering free Wifi, USB and wireless power, and next stop information.
The Witch Way.
This is one of Blazefield's flagship services, serving Burnley, Rawtenstall, and Manchester along the M66. This service is operated by a brand new fleet of ADL Enviro400 MMCs in a bold new Orange and Black Livery, offering free Wifi, USB and wireless power, group tables, and next stop information by Coronation street start Jennie McAlpine. This host of new features has been marketed as a new SkyClass.
Pendle Wizz.
This is the new brand for the Burnley to Skipton section of the X43. The decision to separate this section of the route from the WitchWay came after increasing congestion in Manchester was impacting timekeeping, it was decided to split the two halves so as not to impact the second half of the route, improving timekeeping. This service is operated by 3 Volvo B7TL Geminis in the new orange and purple branding, offering free WiFi and USB power.
Since Blazefield's acquisition of Blackburn Transport, Northern Blue and Accrington Transport, some routes formerly run by these companies have been taken over by Burnley & Pendle Travel. These include several Blackburn Transport school services and all of Northern Blue's operations.
Fleet.
Current Fleet.
244-273 - A fleet of 30 new Optare Versas went into service in 2017 for Mainline following a £4.6M investment in the service. These vehicles came as replacement for the Volvo B10BLE renowns and B7RLE Eclipse 1/2s formerly operating the service. 29 of the 30 vehicles received a brand new MainLine livery in orange and burgundy, replacing the old red and maroon colours. 273 received the brand new Burnley Bus Company identity in two tone orange, replacing the Burnley Connect as part of a re-branding programme taking place across Blazefield. All 30 vehicles offered brand new features including 4G Wif, USB power at every seat, wireless charging tables, as well as visual and audio next stop information. In 2020, 273 received a one-off Burnley Heros livery to thank the keyworkers of the Burnley area for their dedication through the Coronavirus Pandemic.
569 - New to Keighley and District, this B10BLE Renown was transferred to Lancashire United in 2011 where it was re-liveried into the Spot On branding. Shortly after in 2014, it was moved to Harrogate and District where it was refurbished and re-trimmed before getting liveried into the Harrogate Connect branding. 9 months later in November 2014, it was sent back to Blackburn and received a plain white livery with the red Transdev logo on either side. It stayed in Blackburn a further 4 years before joining Burnley in 2018.
708/9 - New to Keighley and District, these Transbus Dart Pointers were transferred to Burnley in 2013 where they received the Starship livery for the local Burnley routes. Following a re-brand, they were further re-liveried in 2015 into the Burnley Connect Livery, 709 also had Burnley Clarets branding in place of the red crescent at the rear of the bus. These are now the two last buses to hold the Burnley Connect Livery following a further re-brand in 2017.
1042/3/6, 1053/8, 1071/2 - These 7 Volvo B10BLE Renowns are Burnleys last remaining from a large batch purchased in 2001, shortly after the company being purchased by Blazefield Holdings. 6 of these 7 vehicles carried the original MainLine branding in cream with red skirt in Blazefield standard design whilst 1072 was branded for the X43 Manchester service. As part of a re-brand for MainLine in 2009, these vehicle were all refurbished and received new red interiors, Multi-Colour LED destination blinds, LED Break and Headlamps, as well as the new MainLine livery. In 2017, with the arrival of the new MainLine vehicles, these B10s were withdrawn from service where a number of sister vehicles were sold off. However the following year, they were brought back out of storage and were further refurbished into the new two tone orange Burnley Bus Company livery and re-registered as B2,4,5,6,9,10 TDV, to operate the local town services, taking place of the Wright Streetlites that had been relocated to Rosso.
1087 - New to Lancashire United in 2001, this Volvo B10BLE Renowns ran 6 years running the Hyndburn Circular service in and around Blackburn before being transferred to Harrogate and District in 2007. Here its branding was removed and skirt changed to Red with the Harrogate and District branding applied. Following a re-brand in 2010, Livery was changed to Transdev in Harrogate. In October 2013, it underwent extensive refurbishment which included the new Harrogate Connect branding, a new red interior, new LED destination blinds, and new break and headlamps. In 2019, it was moved to its current home in Burnley, where it was re-liveried into The Burnley Bus Company, and now serves local routes in and around Burnley.
1091 - New to Lancashire United in 2001, this Volvo B10BLE Renowns ran 6 years running the Hyndburn Circular service in and around Blackburn before being transferred to Burnley in 2007. Here its branding was removed and skirt changed to Red with the MainLine branding applied. In 2010, it was relocated to Harrogate and District where it received temporary branding on the existing livery. Shortly after, it was re-liveried into the new Transdev in Harrogate branding. In 2014, it underwent extensive refurbishment which included the new Harrogate Connect branding, a new red interior, new LED destination blinds, and new break and headlamps. It spent at short time with York and County in 2018 with temporary branding before moving to Burnley the same year. in October 2019, it was finally re-liveried into The Burnley Bus Company branding.
Liveries.
Burnley & Pendle's buses were originally painted in a red and cream livery although can now be seen in a wide variety of liveries.
These include:
Past Liveries.
The Witch Way (v1).
Introduced over Halloween weekend in 2005 with a fleet of 16 new Volvo B7TL Geminis in a Black, Red, and Silver livery to match that of the other Blazefield Flagships (E.g. Harrogate 36) along with a silhouette of witch flying a broom. This was the first fleet to receive "The Witch Way" brand with buses named after the Pendle witches from the 17th century, and was advertised with the slogan "business class as standard".
The Witch Way (v2).
Introduced over Halloween weekend in 2013 with a fleet of 15 new Volvo B9TL Geminis in an iconic Black and Grey livery, featuring a attractive witch flying a broom.