Its historic brick buildings, once a furniture factory, are the working studios and homes to more than 70 artists. The Santa Fe Art Colony was established with public funding in 1986, and opened to residents in 1988, to develop the creative life of the city. SFAC is the City’s only rent-restricted Artist-in-Residence property and the largest publicly sponsored artists’ community in California. For over 30 years, its residents have played a critical role in shaping the city’s cultural landscape and contributing to the renaissance of downtown, now a primary driver of the city’s economy. The original 1916 structures were built by Charles B. Van Vorst, a furniture and mattress manufacturer who established the upscale C. Van Vorst Furniture Manufacturing Company plant on Santa Fe Avenue, south of downtown. The factory was built on a three-acre plot where the famous Vernon boxing arena had recently burned to the ground. The project was the first major work of notable architect John Montgomery Cooper, who went on to design dozens of commercial buildings in the Los Angeles area during the 1920s and 1930s; four of them have gained historical designation, including downtown’s Grether & Grether Building and the Art
Deco Roxie Theatre on Broadway. Van Vorst Company complex was also assessed by SurveyLA, a partnership of the Getty Trust and the City of LA to identify potentially historic properties. The 2016 SurveyLA report called SFAC architecturally and historically significant and eligible for National Register of Historic Places, California Register of Historical Resources, and Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument designation.
