THE ORIGINAL LOS ANGELES FLOWER MARKET
EXPLORE THE MARKET HISTORY
Since 1919, our flower market has been a trusted supplier of floral goods from California and beyond
THE BEGINNINGS
Our Origins
The Original Los Angeles Flower Market was founded in 1919 as the American Florists’ Exchange by a group of 30 enterprising European-American growers.
Seeking a more efficient way to sell and distribute freshly grown, highly perishable flowers to local florists and nurseries, the fledgling American Florists’ Exchange set up shop in a garage on Winston Street near Fifth, close to the Southern California Flower Growers.
L.A.’s flower markets grew and prospered in the early 1920s and relocated to more spacious quarters—across the street from each other—with the American Florists’ Exchange relocating to its current location on the 700 block of South Wall Street.
SETTLING DOWN & GROWTH
Finding a HOME
It all started with a five-hundred-dollar loan and the vision of the first board of directors, and it has since blossomed into the legendary floral destination that it is today.
Years of innovation and expansion followed, with breakthroughs in horticulture and greenhouse technologies, refrigeration, transportation, and communications transforming the floral industry into a truly global enterprise. In a similar vein, these trailblazers established floral traditions and practices that have been carried down through generations shaping the OLAFM into a universally recognized landmark.
Today, The Original Los Angeles Flower Market’s 35+ vendors offer millions of cut flowers, an impressive portfolio of related foliage, and floral accessories. In total, The OLAFM includes a 55,000 sq. ft. main sales floor plus dozens of member merchants in surrounding facilities.
Established over 100 years ago, the Southern California Flower Growers and the Los Angeles Flower Market of the American Florist Exchange, Ltd., has grown to become the single largest and most successful wholesale flower market in the entire United States. The Original Los Angeles Floral Market has not only set the standard for the floral industry over the decades, but it has also weathered the changes in commerce and culture by embracing them. The result is a storied heritage that carries on today as a vibrant and integral part of Los Angeles’ floral tapestry.
HERE & NOW
THE CURRENT MARKET
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