 These arrangements may have been entered into to facilitate mortgages or they may simply have reflected the fact that the Muellers preferred to let others manage the property.According to the limited information that has been located, none of the Muellers were actively involved in real estate management or development.The Metropolitan Building contributes to the significance of the historic district under criterion C, possessing high artistic value for its use of the Beaux Arts style in a district that contains some of the “best examples of commercial... architecture in Southern California".