The Victor Clothing Co. had not made a profit in years, but Ramiro Salcedo couldn't shut the business down. He had to find someone to save the murals.
The huge paintings dominate the exterior of the Victor Clothing building on Broadway near 3rd Street.
They are recognized as symbols of downtown Los Angeles in art circles locally and worldwide; the somber bride and groom, the glowing Olympic athletes, the speeding horse and, most notable, "The Pope of Broadway," a dancing tribute to Eastside actor Anthony Quinn.
The murals were born of a deep friendship between Salcedo and one of the men who hired him, Paul Harter. When they met in 1956, Salcedo was a shy 17-year-old, freshly immigrated from Mexico and looking for work.
Harter, then 40, was more outgoing, an avid traveler and dancer, the son-in-law of the company's founder. In time, Harter would make his young protege co-owner of the building.
The men were clothes sellers by trade but, as they would discover, art lovers at heart.
"It was one of those things that metamorphoses into a relationship," recalls Harter, now retired and living in Coronado. They became like brothers, he says.
So, as they toiled in the building through the decades amid shirts and pants, they also commissioned artworks that became synonymous with the Los Angeles mural scene. They rented space to artists, often young and Mexican American, looking for studios. Some of those artists became famous.
The murals became famous too. Photographs of them appeared in everything from ads pitching L.A. vacations to foreigners to textbooks teaching Chicano history to American students. Salcedo and Harter declined to be photographed themselves, preferring to let the spotlight shine on their murals.
When the clothing company's fortunes faltered, it became clear that the building would have to be sold. But could the murals be saved? If a new owner erased them, "they would erase a part of my life, really," says Salcedo. So the search began, even as the company's losses mounted.
At one point, a potential buyer stepped forward. He wanted to level the building for a parking lot.
The five-story structure was built in 1923. It houses Victor Clothing on the first floor and a dozen artists--along with a law office--in the upper four stories.
Roots Dating to 1920
