0PERSHING SQUARE (current design) PACIFIC BELL … · Architect: Ricardo Legorreta is an internationally acclaimed architect

0PERSHING SQUARE (current design) 1993, Ricardo Legoretta (architect), Laurie Olin (landscape architect), Barbara McCarren (artist)

MILLENNIUM BILTMORE HOTEL

1923 & 1928 Schultze and Weaver

Biltmore Tower: 1987, Landau Partnership Architects

INTERNATIONAL JEWELRY CENTER 1981, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

CITY NATIONAL BANK BUILDING 1967, Dan Saxon Palmer

HERON BUILDING (Pacific Finance Building) 1921, Dodd and Richards

SECURITY TITLE INSURANCE BUILDING 1927, Walker & Eisen

PACMUTUAL originally Pacific Mutual Building

1908 six-story building (Parkinson and Bergstrom)

1921 12-story building (Dodd and Richards)

1926 Garage on north side (Schultz& Weaver)

1936 Moderne alteration to 6-story building (Parkinson and Parkinson)

HILTON CHECKERS HOTEL (Mayflower Hotel) 1927, Charles Whittlesey

CALIFORNIA CLUB BUILDING 1930, Robert David Farquhar

CENTRAL LIBRARY 1926, Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow Tom Bradley Wing: 1993, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer

U. S. BANK TOWER (Library Tower) 1990, Henry Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

BUNKER HILL STEPS 1990, Lawrence Halprin

CALEDISON BUILDING (So Cal Edison) 1931, Allison & Allison

THE GAS COMPANY TOWER 1991, Richard Keating of SOM

PACIFIC BELL MICROWAVE TOWER 1962, Woodford and Bernard

TITLE GUARANTEE LOFTS 1930, John and Donald Parkinson

PERSHING SQUARE BUILDING 1925, Curlett and Beelman

HOTEL CLARK 1913, Harrison Albright

METRO 417 (Subway Terminal Building) 1926, Schultze and Weaver

ANGELS FLIGHT™ RAILWAY 1901, Col. J. W. Eddy, builder

GRAND CENTRAL MARKET The market covers the ground floor of two structures, located back to back

The Homer Laughlin Building (Broadway), 1897, John Parkinson

Laughlin Annex/Lyon Building (Hill Street), 1905, Harrison Albright

PAN AMERICAN LOFTS originally Irvine-Byrne Building 1894, Sumner Hunt

MILLION DOLLAR THEATRE 1917, Building architect: Albert C. Martin theatre designer: William Lee Woollett

BRADBURY BUILDING 1893, Sumner Hunt and/or George Herbert Wyman

BIDDY MASON PARK “Biddy Mason Time and Place” Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, 1990

JUNIPERO SERRA STATE OFFICE BUILDING originally Broadway Department Store

1913, Parkinson and Bergstrom

1924 addition, John Parkinson

HIL

L S

RE

ET

GR

AN

D A

VE

NU

E

Avenue

BR

OA

DW

AY

OL

IVE

ST

RE

ET

Grand Central Market

Milano Lofts (Edwards & Wildey

Bldg. )

Former site of Metropolitan (Paramount) Theatre

Pacific Finance (Heron) Bldg.

PacMutual (Pacific Mutual

Buildings)

L.A. Central Library

Hilton Checkers (Mayflower) Hotel

Millennium Biltmore Hotel

Pershing Square Bldg.

U.S. Bank Tower (Library Tower)

Gas Co. Tower *

Title Guarantee Bldg.

Hotel Clark

Metro 417 (Subway Terminal

Bldg).

Junipero Serra State Office Bldg. (Broadway Department Store)

Angels Flight

Biddy Mason Park

Oviatt

Bradbury Building

Pershing

Square

FOURTH STREET

FIFTH STREET

SIXTH STREET

THIRD STREET

Former site of Temple (Philharmonic) Auditorium *

Pacific Bell Microwave

Tower * Cal Edison (Edison) Bldg.

Pan American Lofts (Irvine Byrne Building

Million Dollar Theatre

Irvine Byrne Building

City National Bank

California Plaza

International Jewelry Center

Wells Fargo

Center

400 S. Hope

Historic Downtown Tour Manual Page 3

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HISTORIC DOWNTOWN

DOCENT REFERENCE MANUAL

© 2018The Los Angeles Conservancy. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the Los Angeles Conservancy. Originally written 1998. Last revision 2018.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pershing Square (Historical) 6

Pershing Square (Current) 7

Title Guarantee Lofts (Title Guarantee and Trust Building) 10

Millennium Biltmore Hotel 13

City National Bank Building 15

PacMutual (Pacific Mutual Building) 17

Central Library 21

Tom Bradley Wing 26

U.S. Bank Tower (Library Tower) 28

Bunker Hill Steps 29

Cal Edison 30

Pershing Square Building 33

Metro 417 (Subway Terminal Building) 34

Angels Flight Railway 37

Grand Central Market 39

Million Dollar Theatre 41

Bradbury Building 45

Biddy Mason Park 48

International Jewelry Building 50

Hilton Checkers (Mayflower Hotel) 51

Pan American Lofts (Irvine-Byrne Building) 53

California Club 54

Hotel Clark 56

Gas Company Tower 58

Pacific Bell Microwave Tower 60

Bank of America Plaza 62

Wells Fargo Plaza 63

California Plaza 64

Appendix A: A Brief History of Los Angeles 66

Appendix B: Buildings of the Past: The Architecture of Additions 67

Appendix C: Adaptive Reuse 68

Appendix D: Advocacy for the Recent Past 68

Appendix E: Los Angeles Height Limits 69

Appendix F: Percent for Art 70

Appendix G: History of Bunker Hill 70

Appendix H: Cultural Landscapes 71

Appendix I: Modern Buildings and Preservation 72

Appendix J: Tax Credits 72


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Appendix K: A Short Summary of Modern Architecture Styles 72

Appendix L: What is Art Deco? 73


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PERSHING SQUARE - HISTORY SHORT FACTS:

Dates: Established 1849. Significant redesigns in 1886, 1911, 1951, 1994

Architects: Fred Eaton (1886), John Parkinson (1911), Stiles O. Clements (1951), Ricardo Legorreta (1994)

Style: 1911-1950: European; 1951-1992: Modern; 1993-current: Postmodern

SIGNIFICANCE and relevance to tour

Architectural: Ongoing redesigns of the park reflect changing tastes and needs of Downtown regarding design and public space.

Cultural/Historical: Pershing Square has been dedicated public space since 1849.

DETAILS: Early History: The five acres that make up Pershing Square are part of the original Pueblo lands and can be traced back to 1781 when Spain gave the land to the City of Los Angeles. This parcel of land was listed as Block 15 in the first American survey done by Lieutenant Edward O. C. Ord in 1849. Over the years, the Square has gone through many designs and a variety of names. Here is a short history of the major changes:

1866: the parcel is officially designated a public park. At that time the block was known as La Plaza Abaja (Ah-BAH-ha), or “Lower Plaza.”

1886: Fred Eaton, then city engineer and later the city mayor designed the first official park desing, with graveled pathways dividing ornamental plots of grass. In the early 1890s the park was named Central Park.

1911: The park is redesigned in the European style by architect John Parkinson

1918: The park is renamed Pershing Square, in honor of General John Pershing, the commander of the American forces in Europe during World War I.

1951: To help alleviate parking issues downtown, an 1800-car underground garage is constructed on the site, designed by Stiles O. Clements (famed for his Art Deco designs as the principal designer for the firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements during the 1920s and 30s). Clements also redesigned the park. In keeping with a modernist ethic of simplicity and modular forms, the park was a large expanse of grass. Two large fountains were added later.

1964: The park was redesigned again to discourage loitering by “panhandlers, deviants, and criminals” (L.A. Times, 1964). Trivia: several sources mention that the trees removed from Pershing Square were purchased for Disneyland, providing


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mature tree cover for New Orleans Square when it opened in 1966.

1994: The current design by renowned architect Ricardo Legorreta opens (see following page)

2014: A task group is formed to explore redesigning the park.

2016: Paris-based firm Agence Ter was selected for the next redesign of the park

PERSHING SQUARE (current design)___ ___________________ SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1994

Design Team: Ricardo Legorreta (architect) Laurie Olin (landscape architect) Barbara McCarren (artist)

Style: Postmodern

SIGNIFICANCE and relevance to tour:

Architect: Ricardo Legorreta is an internationally acclaimed architect.

Architecture: Legorreta’s Pershing Square redesign received national notice for its Post-Modern design.

Cultural/Historical: see previous entry on history of Pershing Square. _______________________________________________________________________________ DETAILS: Architects/Designers: Architect Ricardo Legorreta (1931-2011) was born in Mexico City and established his own practice in 1960. In opposition to the international style of architecture that thrived in postwar Mexico, Legorreta’s designs harken back to traditional native architecture based on thick wall systems. His work is typified by the use of vivid color. (Mr.) Laurie D. Olin (1938 - ) is an internationally recognized landscape architect and was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. His firm, OLIN, designed the gardens at the Getty Center, as well as many other museum, park, university, and urban landscapes. Artist Barbara McCarren studied at UCLA and USC. She works mainly in Southern California. She is married to Jud Fine (one of the artists of “Spine” at the Maguire Gardens). Architecture/Design: The design features a purple carillon tower that rises 125 feet above Hill Street, with a big fuchsia globe dangling from its pinnacle. It has a digital sound installation for chimes. Extending outward from this tower is an elevated aqueduct from which a waterfall cascades into a wide low pool of black riverbed pebbles. The flow of water is controlled so that the pool simulates the ebb and flow of the ocean tides. (NOTE: due to the drought, in 2015 all city owned/operated fountains were turned off by order of the mayor.) Canary yellow walls enclose an outdoor café (currently without a tenant).


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Development: To pay for the cost of redesigning the park, eighteen nearby property owners assessed themselves $8.5 million in a 30-year bond issue, and the Community Redevelopment Agency contributed another $6 million. Pershing Square was completed and reopened to the public in February 1994. Pershing Square was considered an important landscape in the Postmodern style when it opened. With considerably more programming in recent years (Pershing Square is currently home to a year-round Wednesday Farmers’ Market, concerts and events in the summer, a skating rink in the winter, and numerous other special events throughout the year) the design is used to better advantage. Recent History: In 2014, the nonprofit Pershing Square Renew, Inc. was organized as a collaboration among government, community, and business leaders in Downtown LA, with the goal of redesigning the square. A design 2015-2016 competition is expected to result in a complete reconfiguration of the landscape. Costs are likely to be in the tens of millions of dollars, and may take years to accomplish. NOTE: Renew is independent of the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, which currently oversees and manages Pershing Square. Contemporary Public Art in Pershing Square: The collective name for the art integrated into the design of Pershing Square is “Hey Day” by artist Barbara McCarren. Elements include:

A conceptual earthquake fault line near the southwest corner.

Terrazzo versions of constellations near the center of the park referencing Hollywood and celebrity.

Three telescopes near the café area with views of three eras 1888, 1943 and the 1990s.

A small orange grove planted in recognition the area’s citrus growing history.

A quote by writer Carey McWilliams incised on the bench back near the fountain.

Porcelain tiles of postcard images near imbedded in the wall at the northeast corner.

Artist Mark Walsh curates a rotating art exhibit called Art Squared. Original art works are transferred onto enormous canvas banners and displayed on the wall at the southeastern side of the park. Historic Public Art in Pershing Square: A number of monuments have been added to Pershing Square over the years. These have care now placed together on the Hill Street side of the Square.

Spanish-American War Memorial (1900), by S. M. Goddard, depicts an infantry soldier holding the muzzle of his rifle while standing at parade rest, symbolizing the final resting place of the dead. Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #480.

The Doughboy (1924), by Humberto Pedretti, is a monument to the veterans from Los Angeles who served during World War I.

Beethoven (1932), by Arnold Foerster. Commissioned by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932 as a memorial to William Andrews Clark, Jr. (1877-1934), who founded the orchestra in 1919. Legend has it that Clark objected to a monument portraying him and suggested instead that it should depict


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Beethoven, his favorite composer. The statue was originally placed at a site across from the now-demolished Philharmonic Auditorium.

Cannon (1797, placed at Pershing Square 1935) from the U.S.S. Constitution, better known as “Old Ironsides.” It was donated by the American Legion and dedicated to veterans.


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TITLE GUARANTEE LOFTS originally Title Guarantee and Trust Bldg. 401 W. Fifth SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1930

Architect: Parkinson & Parkinson

Style: Art Deco

Use: Originally commercial office space, now residential, with ground floor retail

Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #278

National Register of Historic Places

BUILDING’S SIGNIFICANCE and relevance to tour

Architects: John and Donald Parkinson built many important buildings in Los Angeles.

Architectural: Excellent example of an Art Deco-style height-limit office building.

Preservation: Adaptive reuse residential project.

DETAILS: Architect: One of the most prolific architects in Los Angeles, John Parkinson (1861-1935) was born in England, coming to America in 1883 at the age of 22. By 1894 he had opened a practice in Los Angeles. One of Parkinson’s first important buildings in Los Angeles was the Homer Laughlin Building (1897), considered one of the city’s first steel frame buildings. Five years later he designed the Braly Block (1904), which was to remain one of the city’s tallest buildings for sixty years. Many of the buildings on Spring Street were designed by John Parkinson, including all four buildings at the intersection of Fifth and Spring. His works also include the concept and design for City Hall (1928). During his forty-year career, either working alone or in partnership with others, such as Edwin Bergstrom or his own son, Donald, he designed some of the city’s most prominent landmarks. Parkinson’s son Donald (1895-1945) joined his father’s firm in 1920 and together with his father is responsible for such landmarks as Bullocks Wilshire (1929) and Union Station (1939). Donald successfully carried on the practice after his father passed away. Exterior: Rising from a granite base, the 12-story Title Guarantee and Trust Building is clad in glazed, buff-colored terra cotta. The verticality is accentuated by rising piers, recessed windows, smooth surfaces, and a dramatically set back tower. The tower is flanked by stylized flying buttresses, giving a Gothic air to the building (in the past, buttresses structurally supported the vaulted roofs of medieval cathedrals). The fire escape is built into the building itself: note the second bay from the right on the Fifth Street side has no glass in the window openings. The tower with the buttresses is unoccupied space


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and therefore was allowed to rise above the then-current height limit of 150 feet. Molded terra cotta balconies sport floral work, and there is decorative work over the lobby entrance on the building’s Fifth Street side. Above the entrance is a bas-relief by German born sculptor Eugene Maier-Krieg of three figures representing Productivity, Truth, and Commerce. Very little alteration has taken place on the exterior of the building, apart from minor street-level modifications. The small entry foyer leading to the building’s elevator lobby has been enclosed to create an additional entry lobby (see below), and the windows of the street level retail space have been modified. However, even when those windows were replaced, the original metal storefront surrounds were maintained. A past tenant of the corner retail (where Starbucks is now) was Thrifty’s drug store. The terrazzo with the Thrifty’s name at the corner entrance has been retained. Interior (currently closed to tours): The small Fifth Street lobby (where the security desk is) was originally an exterior space, the foyer entrance to the building. This foyer is nearly identical to, although smaller than, the one at Parkinson’s 1928 Title Insurance and Trust Building on Spring Street, which has not been enclosed. (Note: that building is on the Downtown Renaissance tour). The walls of the foyer have a granite base and terra cotta cladding, while the walls of the lobby proper are of marble. The foyer floor has a simple Moorish star design rendered in terrazzo, which is repeated more elaborately inside in marble. The foyer ceiling is of terra cotta tile, glazed in colors of brick red, green, and gold. (The Title Insurance Building on Spring Street has a very similar tile element in darker colors.) The Art Deco chandelier in the forecourt came from the Wiltern Theatre. Lobby Murals: We do not currently have access to the lobby, but in case someone on your tour asks: the elevator lobby features six murals by Hugo Ballin, who is the artist of the mural “Power” at One Bunker Hill, also on the tour. The Title Guarantee murals illustrate phases of Southern California's history, revolving around the theme of land development and ownership. Development: This was the fourth home for the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, which was established in 1895 by businessmen including Leslie Brand (of Glendale prominence). With the ground floor level always used for retail, the business occupied floors two through six. The upper floors were leased out. Upon its completion, the building was touted as having all the latest conveniences, particularly “elevators of the latest and most modern type, with a speed of 600 feet a minute.” The Title Guarantee and Trust Company was absorbed by its biggest rival, the Title Insurance and Trust Company, in 1942. The building underwent complete rehabilitation in 1985. La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, was the main tenant of the building from the mid-1980s to 2004. Recent History: In 2005 work began to convert the building into 74 luxury loft-style apartments, with AC Martin Partners as the renovation architects. Known as the Title Guarantee Lofts, the units opened for leasing in late 2007. Anecdotes:


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The land on which the Title Guarantee and Trust Building now stands was originally purchased by a woman at municipal auction in 1866 for $9.90. Unpersuaded to sell the land despite her husband’s grumbling that “never while wood burns or water rises will business come down as far as Fifth and Hill,” she instead convinced him to build their home on that corner lot “where one could stand an hour without seeing another human being pass. ”

In 1900 the house they built gave way to the first California Club building (designed by John Parkinson). The Club later moved to a site next to the Central Library, and in 1930 its former building was demolished to make way for the Title Guarantee and Trust Building.


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MILLENNIUM BILTMORE HOTEL 515 S. Olive Street SHORT FACTS:

Dates: Original Building: 1923; Grand Ave addition: 1928

Biltmore Tower: 1987

Architects: Original Building: Schultze & Weaver, with Earl Heitschmidt as supervising architect; Grand Ave. addition: Schultze & Weaver, with Samuel Lunden as principal designer; Biltmore Tower: Landau Partnership Architects

Style: Beaux-Arts/Renaissance Revival

Use: Hotel

Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #60.

BUILDING’S SIGNIFICANCE and relevance to tour Note: Exterior only on Historic Downtown

Architects: The Biltmore was Schultze & Weaver’s first Los Angeles commission, and also the first hotel commission for a firm now recognized for its hotel designs.

Architecture: Excellent example of mature Beaux-Arts architecture, with typical massing, arrangement, roofline, and ornamentation.

Cultural/Historical: The hotel has a rich history of ties to celebrities, local figures, and the movie industry. It maintains importance as a first class hotel, and is a popular film location.

DETAILS: Architects: Architect Leonard Schultze and engineer S. Fullerton Weaver, founded their partnership Schultze & Weaver in 1921, based in New York. Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel (1923) was the first of Schultze and Weaver’s Los Angeles commissions, and an early commission for the firm itself. The firm went on to design several other Beaux-Arts buildings in Los Angeles, including the downtown Jonathan Club (1924), the Subway Terminal Building (1926) and Hellman Bank on Spring Street (1925). They also designed many prominent New York hotels, including the Sherry-Netherland (1927) and the Waldorf Astoria (1931), one of the great hotels in the Art Deco style. Leonard Schultze (1877-1951) had supervised design and construction for several earlier hotels managed by John McEntee Bowman, including the New York Biltmore (1913) and the Commodore (1919) while engaged at the firm of Warren & Wetmore. Schultze was in charge of design and construction of New York’s Grand Central Terminal (1913). S. Fullerton Weaver (1880-1939). Although an engineer by training, Weaver’s real value was likely in his real estate knowledge (he founded Fullerton Weaver Realty Company specializing in apartment hotels in New York City) and his social connections: he was a great-grand-nephew of President James Buchanan and moved in high society.


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Architecture - Exterior: The Olive Street façade of the 12-story building is an excellent example of Beaux-Arts architecture in downtown Los Angeles. The building features a ground level clad in limestone and terra cotta. The prominent entrance is flanked by a series of arches separated by columns and pilasters. The middle stories are faced in a warm brick veneer and the top level (attic) is faced in terra cotta with a projecting cornice. The Olive Street entrance features a coffered barrel vault supported by Ionic columns. On either side of the barrel vault are ornamental friezes; the right depicts Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, and the left depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Along the exterior edge of the arched vault are reliefs of explorers Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and Christopher Columbus. Also on the Oliver Street façade are four carved limestone images of the coat of arms of Los Angeles (depicting the four flags the city has been under). A 500-room addition (included as part of the original design as a second phase of development) was added to the Grand Street side in 1928. In 1987, the 24-story Biltmore Tower was added at the corner of Grand and Fifth (the site of the former Biltmore Theatre, which had been torn down in the 1960s). The tower is an office building, not hotel rooms, and includes nine floors of parking. The street level is a drive-through porte cochere. Architecture – Interior (not accessed on Historic Downtown tour): Spanish Renaissance Revival and Italianate in style, the public areas of the hotel feature elaborate decorations both painted and in terra cotta and plaster. Fine materials such as marble, oak, and crystal are used throughout, creating a lavish and luxurious atmosphere. There are three large banquet rooms, as well as two medium-size ones and several small ones. Development: The hotel was financed by a consortium of local businessmen who then leased it to the Los Angeles Biltmore Company. The hotel is named after the Biltmore chain of hotels operated by hotel tycoon John McEntee Bowman, who was instrumental in the design and organization of this hotel and managed it when it opened in 1923. Costing $10 million to build, the 1,000-room hotel was the largest hotel west of Chicago. Recent History: In 2000 the property was acquired by Millennium Hotels, based in Singapore. The Biltmore now operates as a four-star hotel. Anecdotes: (note: the Biltmore has a long and vibrant history, elaborated on in the Conservancy’s two-hour weekly Hotel tour. These are just a few anecdotes:

Advertised as the “Host of the Coast,” the Biltmore was one of the most important hotels in Los Angeles up to the 1950s, when it went into decline. Renovated in the 1970s, and again several times since, the hotel is again one of the premier hotels in the city.

Over the years, the hotel has hosted royalty, world leaders, and politicians, as well as movie stars, important sports figures, and other international celebrities.

The Academy Awards were held here numerous times.

One of the most popular filming locations in Los Angeles, literally hundreds of films (including Chinatown and Ghostbusters), television shows (such as West Wing), commercials and music videos have been shot at the Biltmore, starting virtually when it was built and continuing today.


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CITY NATIONAL BANK BUILDING 606 South Olive Street *BUILDING OPTIONAL FOR TOUR* SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1967

Architect: Dan Saxon Palmer

Style: Corporate Modern

Use: Commercial office space


Architect: Dan Saxon Palmer was known for his post-war tract housing.

Architecture: City National Bank is an excellent example of late 1960s corporate architecture, with concrete lattice sheathing and modular design.

Preservation: Opportunity to talk about the Conservancy’s leadership in preservation of the recent past (buildings less than fifty years old), promoting discussion about design and cultural importance of newer buildings.

DETAILS: Architect: Dan Saxon Palmer (1920-2007) was born in Hungary, moving to New York with his family when he was two. In 1950 he formed a Los Angeles-based partnership with architect William Krisel. Palmer & Krisel is best known for innovative Modernist tract home designs during the suburban boom of the 1950s. More than 20,000 of their tract homes were built by developers in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. Architecture: This 26-story structure is clad with a grid of white concrete, with piers dividing the building into three or four vertical sections on each side, emphasizing the height. The structure contains 400,000 square feet of virtually column-free office space. Each window is a module on the grid surrounded by a raised rectangular frame with a horizontal, molded white concrete ledge near its center, acting as a sun shade. The first six stories of the building are of glass, steel, and stone. These floors appear disconnected from the rest of the structure, as if they are under the structure rather than attached to it, and are offset from under the tower itself by the width of one of the tower’s bays (i.e., a portion of the six-story glass “box” has no tower over it, and a portion of the tower has no “box” underneath it, allowing for an arcade). This follows a trend in art of the period where artists played with perception versus actuality of weight and strength and scale. Anecdotes:

The City National Bank building is twice as tall as the other buildings facing Pershing Square. After the city repealed the strict 150-foot height limit (see


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appendix on height limits) on buildings, downtown experienced a huge building boom.

An underground tunnel connects the Pershing Square garage with the building.


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PACMUTUAL originally Pacific Mutual Building 523 W. 6th Street The Pacific Mutual Building and Addition are three separate buildings: The “Clock Building” named for the clock that was on the roof for many years, the “Sentry Building” named for the monumental sculptures over the entry, and the Garage. SHORT FACTS: Dates and Architects:

“Clock” Building (6-story building, corner of 6th and Olive) o Original building: 1908, Parkinson & Bergstrom o North side addition: 1916, William J. Dodd o West side addition: 1929, Parkinson & Parkinson o Moderne alteration: 1936, Parkinson & Parkinson

“Sentry” Building (12-story building, facing 6th Street) o 1921, Dodd and Richards

Garage (3-story building, on north side of Clock and Sentry Buildings) o 1926, Schultze & Weaver

Style: Clock Building: Late Moderne (original façade Beaux-Arts) Sentry Building and Garage: Beaux-Arts Use: Commercial office space with ground floor retail Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #398


Architects: The four different architectural firms associated with the building were all major firms with other significant buildings downtown.

Architectural: Sentry Building is a fine example of an early 1920s Beaux-Arts Class A (high end) office building, with formal design and extensive use of marble.

The Clock Building is an example of a late Moderne remodel of an earlier Beaux-Arts structure.

Cultural/Historical: Pacific Mutual Life Insurance was a major company. The multiple additions and 1936 remodel illustrates both the success of the company and the increasing importance of this area of downtown

Preservation: The Complex is now a highly successful as a vintage structure renovated and upgraded to appeal to a modern and ecologically aware working force,

DETAILS: Architects:

Parkinson and Bergstrom: o John Parkinson (1861-1935) see Title Guarantee Building o Edwin Bergstrom (1865-1940), a native of Wisconsin, studied

architecture at Yale and MIT. He was in partnership with John Parkinson from 1905 to 1915, one of the most prolific periods in the firm’s history. Parkinson and Bergstrom projects include the Security Trust and Savings Bank on Spring Street (1907) and the LA Athletic Club (1911). After his partnership ended with Parkinson, Bergstrom went on to a successful solo


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practice as an architect and project administrator.

Parkinson & Parkinson: See Title Guarantee Building

Dodd and Richards: See Heron Building (Pacific Finance Building)

Schultze & Weaver: See Biltmore Hotel Architecture: Exterior of the Clock Building (6-story 1908 original building): The original Pacific Mutual building was a six-story Beaux-Arts structure, designed by Parkinson & Bergstrom. Clad in white terra cotta with four-story Corinthian columns, it was virtually a copy of the temple-like Knickerbocker Trust Co. Building in New York City (1904, Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White, now remodeled beyond recognition). The Pacific Mutual Building was built to withstand earthquakes, and was also fireproofed with concrete throughout and the windows fitted with concealed rolling steel shutters. One of the reasons for these precautions was that the PMLIC’s main office had been destroyed by the fire that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Two additions to the building over the next 20 years increased the floor space without dramatically changing the look of the building. In 1916, William J. Dodd designed an addition to the north end of the building, creating a wing that was perpendicular to Olive Street that added three more column bays to the Olive Street façade and gave the building an “L” shape. In 1929, John Parkinson (now partnered with his son Donald), did an addition that added a thin strip to the west side of the building, resulting in two more columns on the south (Sixth street) side. This was added to create more office space. Although Pacific Mutual had already erected the 12-story building to the west, the space had been leased out and the company itself found they needed more room. In 1936 the building was once again remodeled, this time to create revenue-generating first floor retail space. The remodel involved lowering the ground floor (which was originally five feet above street level), removing the Corinthian columns and repositioning the spandrel beams. As part of the remodel, retail space was also added to close the gap between the 1908 building and the one next door built in 1921. The extent of structural changes necessitated a new exterior design, and the architects chose a plain monumental Moderne style marked by fluted piers, recessed windows and little detail or ornament. Remnants of the original Beaux-Arts design are still visible on the north and west elevations. It is interesting to note the John Parkinson’s firm did both the original design and the remodel (although John himself had died in 1935, shortly before construction began on the 1936 remodel). Interior of the Clock Building: No original interior details from the 1908 design are visible. A corridor joining the 1908 building to the 1921 addition was added in the 1936 remodel of the earlier building. This plain corridor has a low ceiling, but is lined with marble similar to that of the more elaborate lobby of the addition. Of particular note are several large doors to parking areas. The doors are metal, with fluting in the center reminiscent of a column, typical of the Neoclassical influences of the late Modern style. The door handles have the word “Pull” written in typically Moderne letters. As part of the 1936 remodel, the first floor of the Clock Building was lowered to street level. Because the first floor had originally been nearly double height, the remodel included inserting a new floor between what had been floors one and two to create more


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office space. From the mezzanine of the Sentry Building, this joining is apparent, as the floor of the 1921 building ramps up to meet the slightly higher level of the floor of the adjacent building. Exterior of the Sentry Building (12-story 1921 addition): As the need for office space increased beyond the capacity of the 1916 addition, a 12-story structure adjacent to the original building was erected. This 12-story building (called an “addition” at the time) was hailed as one of the largest structures of its kind in the city when it was constructed. The exterior, clad in terra cotta finished to resemble cut blocks of stone, was produced by the Gladding McBean Company (this was reputed to be the largest single terra cotta order ever placed on the West Coast). Unlike the 1908 Pacific Mutual Building on the corner, this façade is basically unaltered. The style is a form of Beaux-Arts known as Italian Renaissance Revival that was influenced by Italian architecture of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Note the arches and pilasters of the base, the multiple floors of offices and the columned Roman temple of the two uppermost floors. The sculpture group atop the prominent Sixth Street entrance has two Greco-Roman monumental figures standing on either side of a cartouche emblazoned with a tiny California redwood tree — the symbol of the Pacific Mutual Company. The sculpture is by Joseph Mora, who was also the sculptor of the figures on the Million Dollar Theatre (1917). Interior of the Sentry Building: The entrance lobby from 6th Street has a high, barrel-vaulted, ceiling and arched window and door areas reminiscent of a European arcade. It opens up to a two-story elevator lobby with sweeping staircases leading to a mezzanine, with balustrades done in Italian Tavernelle marble. Note the initials “P. M. L. I. Co.” carved on the newel posts. The lobby also has an original bronze directory, mailboxes, and other trim and fixtures. The ceiling lights have been redone with modern strip lighting suspended from the ceiling, which allows for views of the architectural details. The upper floors have wide hallways with walls and floors faced with Alabama marble, adding to the claim that at the time the building had more marble than any other office building of its kind in the country. Garage: Two levels of underground parking were built as part of the 1921 building. In 1926 a two-story building was erected over the underground parking on the north side of the property reaching from Grand Avenue to Olive Street. The first floor was used as parking, and the upper floor originally housed offices and an employee lunch room. This new building was designed with a Beaux-Arts façade in terra cotta, with a Cordova tile roof. The architects for the project were Schultze & Weaver, architects of the Biltmore Hotel next door. Commercial History: The Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company (PMLIC) was the second life insurance company chartered in California. Founded in 1868, PMLIC counted among its founders three of the famous Big Four railroad tycoons: Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins and Leland Stanford. Based in San Francisco from 1881 to 1906, they relocated to Los Angeles after the home office was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Long a major company in downtown Los Angeles, Pacific Mutual maintained their offices here until 1972, when the company moved to Newport Beach. In 1974, the entire


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building complex was renovated, as it has been several times since under different owners. Recent History: In 2012, the building was acquired by Rising Realty Partners for $60 million. The new owners undertook significant renovation and refurbishment for the building, including new signage, façade cleaning and repair, and tenant improvements. Office remodels included removal of wall finishes to expose original brick, removal of dropped ceilings to heighten the ceilings and expose pipes and ductwork, and removal of non-load-bearing walls to give an open, loft-style character to the suites. The goal was to bring back many of the original historic elements, while modernizing the office suites to attract premium tenants. Rising Realty also has promoted “green” and sustainable practices in the building, through adaptations such as installing energy efficient systems, switching to the use of green cleaning products, encouraging tenants’ use of public transit, and providing a comprehensive recycling program. Sustainability is more than just physical issues like energy efficiency; it is also about daily behavioral choices that are environmentally responsible. In 2014 the building received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification; at that time it was the oldest building in Southern California to achieve this rating. LEED standards were created by the U.S. Green Building Council, a private non-profit organization promoting sustainability. These and other amenities have helped the building management successfully market to creative businesses (such as design, architecture, and technology), as these businesses often place a premium on sustainability and non-traditional working space. One of these new tenants is Nasty Gal, a successful and popular online clothing company. Along with reconfiguring office space, Rising Realty Partners has made changes to the street level as well. The courtyard space between the 1908 and 1921 buildings had a one-story building added in 1936. This small structure was removed and the space is now an outdoor dining courtyard for adjacent restaurants. Rising Realty Partners sold the complex to Callahan Capital Properties in 2015 for $200 million. Anecdotes

In 1950, a joint venture was announced between Pacific Mutual Life and Los Angeles Airways to build Southern California’s first roof-top passenger heliport, complete with a luxury passenger lounge. It was never built.

Richard Nixon once had an office in the building, as did Laurel and Hardy. The Conservancy has had offices here since 1997.


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CENTRAL LIBRARY 630 W. 5th Street

SHORT FACTS Original Building

Date: 1926

Architects: o Original: Bertram G. Goodhue and Carleton M.

Winslow o Restoration: Brenda Levin & Associates

Style: Early Art Deco/Moderne

Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #46 National Register of Historic Places.

Tom Bradley Wing Date: 1993 Architect: Norman Pfeiffer of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates Style: Modern with Art Deco influences


Architects: This was one of the final designs of important architect Bertram Goodhue.

Architectural: Elegant example of early Moderne design of a civic building, and integration of art and theme into the design.

Preservation: The decades-long battle to save the Library led to the formation of the Los Angeles Conservancy. The preservation story is an example of how multiple stakeholders come together to save a building.

NOTE: In depth tours are conducted by library docents. For info visit www. lapl.org.

DETAILS: Architects: Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924) received little formal education, but worked his way up from office boy to apprentice to partner in the office of New York architect James Renwick, noted for Gothic Revival style churches. Goodhue later partnered with Ralph Adams Cram, also known for Gothic Revival churches. In solo practice, Goodhue oversaw the design of buildings in Balboa Park for San Diego’s 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which popularized both Spanish Colonial revival design and Churrigueresque ornamentation. Goodhue also experimented with bold forms in a monumental style, best exemplified by his design for the Nebraska State Capitol (1922-1932). Goodhue died in 1924 at the age of 54, before the Central Library was completed. Carleton M. Winslow (1876-1946) worked in the Boston offices of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson. He worked closely with Goodhue on the Panama-California


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Exposition (some sources credit Winslow as the designer and instrumental in choosing the now iconic Spanish Colonial style for the buildings). Winslow stayed in San Diego following the Exposition, and later moved to Los Angeles where he has a lengthy career, especially noted for his church designs. Involved in the design of the Central Library, Winslow carried out the work following Goodhue’s death. Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (Tom Bradley Wing): Well known for their sensitive treatment of historic buildings, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (now Pfeiffer Partners) has worked on renovations and additions for many important buildings, including the Los Angeles Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Union Station, the Boston Public Library, and Radio City Music Hall. The firm specializes in cultural and education projects, from feasibility studies to rehabilitation of historic structures, to new design and master plans. Brenda Levin & Associates supervised restoration of the original building. One of the foremost architectural restoration experts in Los Angeles, the firm has worked on restoration projects at the Oviatt Building, Wiltern Theatre, Subway Terminal Building, Bradbury Building, and Griffith Observatory. Levin & Associates also does architectural design and urban planning. ARCHITECTURE: Exterior Original Building: The building’s block-like massing and formal sculptures give the building a monumental presence. This is reinforced by a nearly square ground plan with three main façades, each distinguished by an entrance portal of a different size, scale and detail. An exception to the overall plan symmetry was the Children’s Wing (since removed to accommodate the modern addition), that was set in geometric opposition to the main building. For inspiration, Goodhue looked to ancient Egypt, Rome, Byzantium, and various Islamic civilizations. He also utilized Spanish Colonial and other revival styles, combining these disparate styles with the emerging skyscraper style and twentieth-century materials such as concrete. The building is decorated in a narrative manner with symbolic ornament and quotations. Goodhue designated the placement and approximate size of the sculptures and quotes, and then turned to philosopher/professor Hartley Burr Alexander to determine exactly what images and words should be included. Head of the Department of Philosophy for the University of Nebraska, Alexander had collaborated with Goodhue on the Nebraska State Capitol Building. Alexander devised an elaborate thematic program for the Library entitled “Light of Learning.” Sculptor Lee Lawrie, a longtime collaborator with Goodhue, sculpted the figures according to Alexander and Goodhue’s direction. There are two main entrances to the Library. The Hope Street entrance, features a series of piers topped by sculptures that personify History (Herodotus), Letters (Virgil), Philosophy (Socrates), Statecraft (Emperor Justinian), the Arts (Leonardo da Vinci) and Science (Copernicus). Terracing and landscaping of both the Hope and Flower Street entrances are in the Persian tradition. Goodhue traveled to the Middle East in 1901 to study landscape design, and it had a great influence on him. The ground-level Hope Street entrance (now closed) is topped by a bas relief of important figures in the history of printing. On the far right is Goodhue himself: in addition to being an architect, Goodhue designed typefaces.


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Rising from the center of the building, the tower with its sculpturally accentuated corners is capped by a polychrome tile pyramid that features a sunburst. The pyramid is topped by a sculpture of a hand-held torch, symbolizing the light of knowledge. (The current torch is a replica of the original, which is on display inside the building.) On the tower, figures represent St. John, Homer, Shakespeare, King David, Milton, Goethe, Plato, and Dante. The Flower Street entrance also has elaborate sculpture, iconography, and gardens. Figures representing the Wisdom of the East and the Wisdom of the West are above the doorway, along with quotations and other sculpture that enhances the “Light of Learning” theme. Maguire Gardens: The original landscaping of the West Lawn of the Central Library included a series of pools, anchored by a bronze relief entitled “The Well of the Scribes.” The installation was designed by Goodhue, along with Lawrie and Alexander. By the 1970s the garden had become a parking lot. When the library was renovated and expanded in the early 1990s, a decision was made to restore the West Lawn to park area. The overriding programmatic condition for the West Lawn was that the three central pools were to be rebuilt as they originally had been designed by Bertram Goodhue. The landscape architects were Campbell & Campbell, working with Lawrence Halprin. The design is an interpretation of Goodhue's original plan and thematic concept for the library – “The Light of Learning.” It re-establishes the three pools of the original central axis and creates a plaza forecourt for the cafe pavilion. Southern California artist Jud Fine, in collaboration with Harry Reese, was commissioned to create a landscape/artwork utilizing Goodhue’s original layout. The resulting artwork, “Spine,” is based on the analogy of the structure of a book, with endsheets, a frontispiece, title page, etc. The pools themselves represent the spine of an open book and the steps represent pages. Jud Fine noted that the Request for Proposal required that the original layout be preserved – but that didn’t mean that things couldn’t be added to the design. An excellent description of this work is available in the book “Spine,” sold at the Library store. Modern Addition Exterior: The addition, while not attempting to copy the exact style of the original Library, works off the symmetry of the 1926 building, and pays tribute to the Art Deco style emerging in 1920s Los Angeles. The section of the addition that is directly attached to the original Library is very similar in color and window placement to the historic building. The section of the addition facing Grand Avenue is composed of green terra cotta and tan stucco, with large windows and a glass roof. At the base of the Grand Avenue side are smaller windows that allow a view of the interior of the addition and the length of the central atrium. Approximately half of the new wing is below ground level, allowing for a spectacular eight-story central sky-lighted atrium, without towering over the original building. Interior Original Building: (Note: tours should ONLY visit the Rotunda. Per our agreement with the Library, we do not visit reading rooms or the Bradley Wing.)


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Rotunda: The Rotunda was originally the center of the library, housing the checkout desk and card catalogs. The design of the rotunda is eclectic and borrows from a variety of design influences including Roman (the clerestory windows), Byzantine (the dome) and Islamic (dome decoration). Although the exterior of the space is topped by a tower and pyramid, early designs for the Library have a dome rather than a pyramid, in keeping with the shape of the rotunda. The ceiling pattern is by local artist Julian Garnsay (this appears to have been his largest commission). At the center is a sunburst (a motif repeated several places on the exterior), from which hangs an elaborate chandelier with a globe and symbols of the zodiac. The bronze and glass fixture is nine feet in diameter and weighs about one ton. It was designed by Goodhue and modeled by Lawrie. It is rigged to be lowered to the floor for cleaning and changing lightbulbs. The murals are by Dean Cornwell. An illustrator-turned-muralist, this was Cornwell’s first major commission. The murals are oil on linen and took five years to complete. Much of the work was done in London, and the murals were installed in 1933. The four large panels are 40 feet tall at their highest point. They depict themes from California history: The Era of Discovery (north wall), the Mission-building Era (east), Americanization of California (south), and the Founding of Los Angeles (west). The eight side panels are each 12 feet wide by 19 feet high, and depict subjects symbolic of the conquering of the elements and the founding of arts and industries. The treatment of the subject matter is typical of the late 1920s, showing a romanticized version of the West and stereotypical images of Native Americans common in books and films of the day. West Staircase: In an alcove by the top of the west staircase stands the original terra cotta torch that once topped the pyramid (a replica is atop the pyramid now). The piece shows surprising detail for a sculpture meant to be viewed from such a distance. Note the inscribed Greek word for lamp, and modeling of the serpent at the base, and the detail of fingernails on the hand. North Staircase: Three sculptures by Lee Lawrie are at the top of the north staircase. In an alcove on the north wall is an allegorical figure representing Civilization. The figure is made of marble, bronze, and copper and embellished with symbolic attributes such as a bear to symbolize California, and an open book representing the languages of great literature. At the entrance to the stair are two black marble and bronze sphinxes representing the wisdom of ancient Egypt. HISTORY: Original Development: Bertram Goodhue was chosen as architect of the proposed library ostensibly for his expertise in the Spanish Colonial Revival style (as displayed at San Diego’s Balboa Park), which was deemed by the Library Board as the most appropriate for the proposed building. The plans needed approval both from the Library Board and the city’s Arts Commission, which had authority to review and approve public buildings. From the start there was disagreement on the commission regarding many aspects of the Library project, including the selection of architect; some commissioners objected to Goodhue


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because he was not a local architect, and his bid was the most expensive of those received. Goodhue was sent back to the drawing board several times, and with each new design the library became more modern and less Spanish Colonial Revival in design. Early designs show arched windows framed by columns, which in the final design are tall rectangular windows flanked by piers. Goodhue’s design originally featured a large low dome. At one point, the commission requested a higher profile, so that the building would be taller than the Bible Institute (Church of the Open Door) just to the south of the Library site. Goodhue’s solution was to create a tower topped by a pyramid, which had the combined advantages of being less costly to build while giving greater height. Another probable influence in the change from dome to pyramid was the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922, which captured the world’s imagination and led to a craze in Egyptian design. Preservation and Renovation: The Library was proposed for demolition in the mid-1970s. A beginning preservation movement coalesced around the fight to save the library, and in 1978 the Los Angeles Conservancy was founded. In 1983, after years of public discussion and debate, the City Council directed the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) to preserve the library. However, the Library was further endangered in 1986 when two arson fires caused $22 million worth of damage. In 1987, the Whittier Narrows earthquake caused additional damage. To address a severe need to expand the capacity of the library and at the same time preserve the landmark Goodhue building, the developer Robert F. Maguire III and ARCO CEO Robert C. Anderson (who at that time had his office in the nearby ARCO Tower overlooking the library) commissioned a private study in 1980 to find a way to achieve these seemingly incompatible ends. In the mid-1980s and guided by recommendations developed from this study, the Central Library embarked upon a major renovation directed by the CRA. The library was to double in size with the addition of a 300,000-square-foot East Wing but Goodhue’s building was to remain the “front door” to the library. The project was to include the rehabilitation of the existing main library building, the construction of the new East Wing, and new landscaping, including the West Garden built over a 600-car below-grade parking garage. A complicated financing plan was assembled by the CRA. One of the most creative components of the plan was the sale of the unused air rights (the vacant space from the top of the building to the maximum allowable building height on the site) of the Library. Under the agreement, developer Maguire Thomas Partners purchased these rights for $125 million, almost the entire amount ($152 million) needed for the library’s expansion. Maguire Partners was then able to “transfer” this unused space to adjacent properties enabling the construction of two buildings exceeding normal height limits: the U.S. Bank Tower and the Gas Company Tower. Groundbreaking for the addition to the library was on June 3, 1988, and the library reopened to the public on October 2, 1993.


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TOM BRADLEY WING, CENTRAL LIBRARY (630 W. 5th St) Architect: Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates; principal architect Norman Pfeiffer Construction began: 1988 Completed: 1993 NOTE: Original library: 1926, Bertram Goodhue and Carlton Winslow Cost: $152 million (including renovation) Floors: 8 (4 below ground) Square footage: 330,000 for addition (historic building 225,000) Style: Modern with Art Deco/Moderne influences About the Architect: Well known for their sensitive treatment of historic buildings, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (now Pfeiffer Partners) has worked on renovations and additions for many important buildings, including the Los Angeles Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Union Station, the Boston Public Library, and Radio City Music Hall. The firm specializes in feasibility studies, rehabilitation of historic structures, and new design and master plans for cultural and education projects. Design Principal Norman Pfeiffer (1940 - ) was born in Seattle and attended the University of Washington before moving to New York to pursue architecture. He came to Los Angeles when Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer opened an Los Angeles office in 1986. Features of Building Exterior: The building addition is on the east side of the original structure. As an addition to an historic building, it was important that it did not overwhelm the historic structure. The initial design by architect Norman Pfeiffer was rejected by the Cultural Affairs Commission (which has final design approval on all structures on city property) over concern it challenged the scale of the historic library. The architect concurred and revised his design to use a less radical and more traditional approach. The addition, while not attempting to copy the exact style of the original Library, works off of the symmetry of the 1926 building. The section of the addition that is directly attached to the original Library is very similar in the color and window placement. The use of green terra cotta links the building stylistically to other 1920s landmarks in the city. The section of the addition facing Grand Avenue is composed of green terra cotta, tan stucco and large windows. At the base of the Grand Avenue side are smaller windows that allow a view of the interior of the addition and the length of the central atrium. Features of Building Interior: This tour does not access the library interior. The Historic Downtown tour visits the Rotunda, but not the addition. Those wishing to learn more about the Central Library are encouraged to take one of the regularly-scheduled tours conducted by library docents, see www.lapl.org). The 8-story addition with 4 of the floors below the entry level (street level on the 5th Street side) and four above, arranged around a central atrium that extends the full eight-story height. Escalators cascade down from level to level, and monumental green terracotta Egyptian-influenced columns also reach from the bottom level to the skylight.


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Three enormous chandeliers by artist Therman Statom represent the natural, man-made, and spiritual worlds. About the Building: With the 330,000-square-foot addition in 1993, the Los Angeles Central Library became the largest public library in the western United States. To accommodate its construction, part of the Children’s Wing was destroyed, though most of its important architectural features were relocated or worked into the design of the new library. The southern portion of the Children’s Wing was preserved in its original location and includes the Art Room and Children’s Reading Room. The firm of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer was involved in the project from the early 1980s. Their ten-year effort began with master planning and program confirmation, as well as design of the addition. Brenda Levin and Associates supervised the restoration of the original building. Preservation and Reuse: The Library was proposed for demolition in the mid-1970s. An outgrowth of the movement to save the library was the formation of the Los Angeles Conservancy in 1978. In 1983, after several years of public discussion, the City Council directed the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to preserve the Library. However, the Library was further endangered in 1986 when two arson fires caused $22 million worth of damage. In 1987, the Whittier Narrows earthquake caused additional damage. To address a severe need to expand the capacity of the Library and at the same time preserve the landmark Goodhue building, the developer Robert F. Maguire III and ARCO CEO Robert O. Anderson commissioned a private study in 1980 to try to find a way to achieve these seemingly incompatible ends. In the mid-1980s, guided by recommendations developed from this study, the Central Library embarked upon a major renovation directed by the CRA. The Library was to double in size with the addition of the East (Tom Bradley) Wing, but Goodhue’s building was to remain the “front door” of the Library. The project was to include the rehabilitation of the existing main library building, the construction of the new wing, a new landscaped West Garden built over a 600-car below-grade parking structure, and new landscaping, courtyards, and other street improvements surrounding the site. The challenge of the project was how to pay for the expensive addition and rehabilitation. A financing plan, based on the recommendations of the 1980 study, was assembled by the CRA. Several financial incentives were employed, including the utilization of investment tax credits for certified historic rehabilitation of the Library, tax allocation bonds, and interest income on invested proceeds. The very complex financing continued to evolve over the decade and at one time included a sale-leaseback option which was ultimately not used. One of the most creative solutions was the sale of the unused air rights (the vacant space from the top of the building to the maximum allowable building height on the site) of the Library. Under the terms of an agreement among the city, the CRA and the Library Commission, Maguire Thomas Partners purchased these rights for $125 million, almost the entire amount ($152 million) needed for the Library’s expansion. Maguire Partners was then able to “transfer” this unused space to adjacent properties, enabling construction of the two buildings exceeding normal height limits: the Library Tower and the Gas Company Tower.


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U. S. BANK TOWER originally Library Tower 633 W. 5th Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1990

Architect: Henry Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

Style: Late Modern/Postmodern



Architects: Henry Cobb in an internationally important designer of skyscrapers.

Architectural: Tallest office building on the west coast (until the Wilshire Grand project is completed).

Preservation: Part of the air rights deal that saved Central Library.

DETAILS: Architect: Henry Cobb (1926 - ) was born in Boston and educated at Harvard. As one of three founding principals of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Cobb has been a part of the firm since its formation in 1955. Among the many civic, institutional, and office buildings for which Henry Cobb was the principal designer, one of the best known is the John Hancock Tower, Boston (1976). Cobb was given the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Exterior: The tower is 73 stories tall. At 1,018 feet, it was one of the tallest office buildings in the world when it was built, and as of 2016 is still in the top 75. It is a round high-rise, which reduces its diameter as it nears the top with a set-back. According to the architect’s website, “the tower was shaped to create a memorable skyline image and yet grant primacy to Goodhue’s library. It curves back deferentially from the small landmark to reorient its enormous mass… As the backdrop to the library and also a new urban link, the tower makes its presence felt at street level not as a self-centered object but rather as one of several supporting actors on an urban stage where the unquestioned star is the historic library.” The color scheme of the exterior, cream with green tinted windows, further connects the building’s design to the library’s architecture. The sculptural quality of the tower, with its sunburst-like footprint and many set-backs rising to a crown, has an Art Deco sensibility. Development: The final 73-story height of the building was the result of negotiations between developer Maguire Thomas Partners and the CRA, as part of the air-rights trade with the Library (see that entry). The total cost for Library Tower was $315 million. It has approximately 1,300,000 square feet of office space. In 2015, new owners began an upgrade, creating an observation deck, display area, and restaurants at the top of the building. The street level exterior and lobby interior are also being extensively remodeled.


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BUNKER HILL STEPS adjacent to U.S. Bank Tower SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1990

Architect: Lawrence Halprin

Style: N/A

SITE’S SIGNIFICANCE and relevance to tour

Architect: Lawrence Halprin is a nationally important landscape architect.

Cultural/Historical: Development was part of the air-rights deal for Library Tower, providing a link from the lower financial district to Bunker Hill.

DETAILS: Architect: Lawrence Halprin (1916-2009) was born in New York City and attended Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin, and Harvard University. Following an apprenticeship with Thomas Church during which he helped develop the contemporary California garden concept, Halprin opened his own office in 1949. Some of the more celebrated of Halprin’s projects are Ghirardelli Square (1962-1968) and Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco (1962-1972), and the Haas Promenade in Jerusalem (1987). He also designed the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., with Robert Graham (1997). Design: The Bunker Hill Steps create a split-landing landscape that is structurally integrated into both the U.S. Bank Tower to the east and the Citibank Plaza to the west. Made of pink stucco, terra cotta, and stone, the steps create a pathway that joins the bottom and top of Bunker Hill. The channel of water flowing down the center of the steps was reconfigured in 2015 with a geometric brick layout replacing the original uneven terra cotta rock formations. Anecdotes:

Halprin was involved in the redevelopment of Bunker Hill from its earliest days. In 1969 Halprin’s firm was retained by the CRA as part of a team to come up with recommendations for the Bunker Hill Urban Renewal Project. The two-year study was completed in 1971.

Halprin’s widow, Anna Schuman, is a modern dancer and choreographer. Through their decades-long marriage, both husband and wife were influenced by the other’s art form. This sensibility of choreography and movement is apparent in the design of the steps.


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CalEdison 601 W. 5th Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1931

Architect: Allison & Allison

Style: Art Deco




Architects: Allison and Allison designed several other important buildings in Los Angeles.

Architectural: A richly decorated and exceptionally well preserved office building from the height of the Art Deco style in Los Angeles.

Preservation: The few alterations, including a street level retail area from the 1990s, have been done in a sympathetic matter following the Secretary of the Interior Guidelines (see appendix on Secretary of Interior Guidelines).

DETAILS: Architect: The firm of Allison and Allison was founded in Pittsburg by brothers James Allison (1870-1955) and David Allison (1881-1962). They came to Los Angeles in 1910 and were active until the early 1940s. They were known for their educational buildings, and designed several at UCLA, including Royce Hall (1929). They also designed many important churches and schools, including the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (1922-29) by David Allison with A. Edelman and S. Tilden Norton. The firm moved its offices to the Edison building upon its completion. Austin Whittlesey (1893-1950) was working for the firm of Alison and Alison at the time One Bunker Hill was built, and some sources credit him as the designer. He is the son of architect Charles Whittlesey (Hilton Checkers Hotel, 1927), and was a draftsman in Bertram Goodhue’s office before joining Alison and Alison in 1927. Austin Whittlesey’s most notable project in Los Angeles is the interior design of City Hall (1928), which like One Bunker Hill has a lavish use of color and marble. He later opened his own practice. Exterior: A series of setbacks, as well as inset corners, give the building its distinctively Art Deco profile. Rising to 222 feet, the building’s tower extends 72 feet above the 150 foot occupied space height limit. The tower was once lit with a neon sign reading “Edison.” The first three stories are clad with limestone, the upper stories and central tower are faced with buff-colored terra cotta. On the façade, the spandrels (the panels above and below the windows, spanning the space between the piers) have a square-in-a-diamond-in-a-square pattern, a motif repeated in the central tower and lobby floor. The panels above the windows at the uppermost level of the façade have a “s” pattern capped by a stylized plant form known as


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anthemion (a common Greek and Roman design resembling honeysuckle). The Edison Building was renovated in the 1980s, which resulted in the addition of the green glassed areas (which are slated to be removed in 2016). The street-level shops were added in 1993 when a short access road was eliminated due to U.S. Bank Tower construction. Note how the color and massing of the shops are compatible with the original building design, and did not destroy historic materials, two guidelines for the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (see Appendix B.) The three panels over the octagonal entrance by artist Merrell Gage are titled “Generation,” “Distribution” and “Utilization.” Merrell Gage (1892-1981) taught at USC from 1925 until his retirement in 1958. Among his better known works are the bas-relief frieze encircling the Beverly Hills Electric Fountain (1931) and the sculptured figures on the façade of the Los Angeles Times building (1935). Exterior Foyer: The original Art Deco chandelier hangs in the octagonal entry, which has an ornate corbeled ceiling. The bronze lobby doors are decorated with sunburst and zigzag patterns, variously interpreted as “the river of life” or as symbolizing hydroelectric power. The metal sculpture in the entry dates was installed in 1992. Called “L.A. Family Baroque,” it was commissioned as the “percent for art” (see below) for the renovation of the building. By Los Angeles-based artist Bill Barrett (b. 1934), the sculpture was originally conceived as the centerpiece of a fountain that would sit at corner of Fifth and Grand. Interior Main Lobby: The main lobby at the Edison Building utilizes more than two dozen different types of marble. The marble floor is set in the square-in-a-diamond-in-a-square pattern seen on the exterior. Note how at the center of each design the veining in the marble creates another diamond (the practice of arranging slices of marble to mirror each other – as here where the diamond is created – is called “booking”). Square columns of Siena travertine, incised with floral capitals, rise 30 feet to a ceiling decorated with stylized floral designs. The angular quality of the space recalls Egyptian and Mayan designs. Metal grilles on windows whirl with sinuous tendrils. Pale-colored glass windows cut down on glare while providing a soft glow to the room. North (elevator) Lobby: To the north of the main lobby is a smaller lobby. (NOTE: Historic Downtown tours should not go into the inner lobby, it is on the Art Deco tour. Point it out, but don’t take groups in). Note how the ceiling is lower than the main lobby and the space narrows to the elevator area, creating a traffic flow to and away from the elevators. Mural: At the west end of the main lobby is a mural by Hugo Ballin entitled “Power.” The two figures on the right are Benjamin Franklin and William Gilbert, the sixteenth-century British scientist who is known as the “father of electric and magnetic science,” and at the top the “symbolic large hand of opportunity.” Hugo Ballin (1879-1956) studied in New York and Europe. He came to Los Angeles in 1917 to work in films with his wife Mabel Croft Ballin (who was herself a painter and later became a successful film actress). He worked as an art director and then produced, wrote, and directed anumber of films under his own company, Hugo Ballin Productions, many starring his wife. He also wrote several books. In the late 1920s he


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retired from films and returned to painting, with an emphasis on murals. He is best known for his murals at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (1929) and the rotunda of the Griffith Observatory (1935). West Vestibule: The doorway under the mural leads to the vestibule for the building’s secondary entrance on Fifth Street. The vestibule is richly detailed in marble. Note how the marble panels are “booked” to create designs. On the south wall of the vestibule, to the right of the dark glass that was formerly a snack counter, there is a small square cut into the marble on the wall, presumably for a fixture that is now missing. This cut-out makes visible the thickness of the marble on the wall, helping to illustrate why using marble was costly, both in terms of material and in terms of structural strength needed to support the stone. Development: Like the Central Library across the street, the building was designed to be instructional, expressing through its sculpture and murals the business of its owner. It is an early and well-executed example of the combination of architecture, sculpture and murals that was to become popular in commercial and public buildings in the 1930s. Along with its artistic merits, the Edison Company Building embodies certain engineering feats and methods of construction that make the building of importance. Built by a utility company, the fourteen-story building was one of the first all-electrically heated and cooled buildings built in the western United States. The electrical installations provided for all building services, including lighting, ventilation, circulating ice water systems, pneumatic mail tubes between floors, automatic telephone systems, clocks, and high speed elevators. A unique steel frame made this building one of the earliest “earthquake proof” structures in Los Angeles. All of the earthquake bracing and special connections for resisting earthquake stresses are welded and riveted, resulting in a particularly strong building. Recent History: In 2015, Rising Realty Partners purchased the building in partnership with other investors. Plans were announced to renovate and upgrade the building on a plan similar to the one that was so successful at PacMutual.


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PERSHING SQUARE BUILDING 448 S. Hill Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1925

Architect: Curlett & Beelman

Style: Beaux-Arts/Italian Renaissance Revival

Use: Commercial office space with ground floor retail


Architect: In partnership and individually, Aleck Curlett and Claud Beelman designed a number of important buildings in Los Angeles.

Architectural: Typical of a late Beaux-Art office tower DETAILS: Architect: Claud Beelman (1884-1963) was born in Ohio, coming to Los Angeles in 1921. The early phase of Beelman’s career was his association with Aleck Curlett (1881-1942), son of noted San Francisco architect William Curlett. Aleck studied architecture at Columbia University in New York before moving to Los Angeles in 1919. The firm of Curlett & Beelman designed many buildings, often working in traditional styles such as Italian Renaissance Revival and Romanesque Revival. Among Curlett & Beelman projects downtown are the Barker Bros. Building (1925), Roosevelt Building (1925), the Elks Lodge (1927) near MacArthur Park, and the Heinsbergen Decorating Company studio (1925). Beelman also had a distinguished solo career with many notable Art Deco buildings, such as the Eastern Columbia (1930), and later mid-century structures. Exterior: This 13-story office building was designed in the popular Beaux-Arts form with a tall base, numerous middle stories and a protruding attic level. The decorative scheme is basically Italian Renaissance Revival. Faced in tan terra cotta, the exterior features interesting details like a decorative frieze on the second story that depicts a variety of mythological beasts. Similar motifs can be seen in the elaborate metal grillwork around the large picture windows. The lower corners of the building feature round cupola balconies while the 7th and 13th floors have square shallow balconies supported by sets of double-scrolled brackets. The center stories are also faced in terra cotta, which has been sized to resemble blocks of stone. Recent History: A modern two-story rooftop restaurant/bar addition opened in 2011. Called “Perch,” the venue has been very successful. The two-story restaurant addition at the top of the building was not required to adhere to the Secretary of the Interior Guidelines because the building did not have landmark status. Very visible from the street, the addition’s prominence would likely have been minimized under design review associated with the Guidelines.


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METRO 417 originally Subway Terminal Building 417 S. Hill Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1926

Architect: Schultze & Weaver

Style: Beaux-Arts/Italian Renaissance Revival

Use: Tower: Originally commercial office space, now

residential. Basement: originally subway terminal, now empty.

Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #177 Listed in the National Register of Historic Places


Architects: Schultze & Weaver also designed the Biltmore Hotel.

Architectural: Very similar to the Biltmore Hotel, but with a different orientation of the wings (on side, not front).

Cultural/Historical: Important part of Los Angeles’ transportation history.

Preservation: Adaptive reuse residential project.

DETAILS: Architect: Schultze & Weaver, see Biltmore Hotel. Exterior: The Subway Terminal Building is in Beaux-Arts/Italian Renaissance Revival style similar to the nearby Biltmore Hotel, also designed by Schultze & Weaver. Italian Renaissance styling is apparent in the monumental entrance arches, attic detailing, and the arched windows and surrounds. The twelve-story structure features a slight setback on the tenth floor. Visible from the south side are four of the five wings into which the building is divided, typical for the era, to allow maximum light and air circulation through the building. The roof is red Cordova tile. Also in the Renaissance mode are the walls fashioned to look like large rusticated cut stone blocks separated by deep joints. Granite is the stone used for the base. The sides of the building above the first belt course (about the height of the main entrance) are faced in a Gladding McBean & Co. product known as “Granitex”—a granite-like terra cotta. The large escutcheons over the entrances and the urns on the roof are made of the same material. The south elevation, which faces into the center of the block and would originally have been obscured by other buildings, is faced with plain grey brick. The main entrance to the building is from Hill Street, and that is the side that is most heavily ornamented. The lower portions of the Hill Street façade are decorated with escutcheons (shields) bearing sailing ships. The building has two entrances on this side, both recessed and featuring barrel-vaulted coffered ceilings and mosaic lunettes by the Ravenna Mosaic Company. The one above the southernmost entrance, which once led to the subway concourse, depicts scenes of transportation. The mosaic above the northern


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doorway, which is the principal entrance for the office building, depicts scenes of the modern industrial city. The north side of the building features a trompe l’oeil mural painted in 1986 by New York artist Jeffrey Greene, working under the direction of local renovation architect Brenda Levin. Interior: (Note: tours may visit the north [apartment] lobby if desired. Go only as far as the security desk, do not walk further into the elevator lobby.) In the north lobby that leads to the upper floors, fluted columns rise from a rose marble floor to a high, skylit ceiling. During the blackouts of World War II, the skylight was painted over with black paint, remaining that way for many years. Patterns of stone inlay are found above the doors as well as in an upper wall frieze. The south entrance (not accessible to tours or public) led to the old concourse area. Unsympathetic alterations by the Social Security Administration, which occupied the space in the 1950s and 1960s, destroyed almost all original elements of the grand marble concourse. Construction of the Bonaventure Hotel (1976) and Arco Towers (1972) bisected the tunnel, effectively barring it from reuse for the current subway system. Development: Completed in 1926, the Subway Terminal Building boasted 375,000 leasable square feet and enjoyed recognition as a prestigious business address. However, by the 1970s the occupancy rate was down to about 25%, its tenants largely confined to governmental agencies, notably the Veterans Administration. In 1979, new owners undertook a $3 million renovation. However, with the economic downturn of the early 1990s the building fell on hard times again. Recent History: In 2005, after a multi-year, $60 million renovation, the building reopened as Metro 417, featuring 277 market rate, loft-style apartments. It has been successful and maintains a high occupancy rate. Rumors have circulated for years of the tunnel area being renovated into a museum, performance, or club space, but nothing has gone past the talking phase. Brief History of Red Cars: Los Angeles’ mass transit history begins in the 1880s with a cable car system, followed shortly by a more efficient electric trolley. General Moses Sherman purchased the Los Angeles Electric Railway Company in 1890 and, along with his partner Eli P. Clark, engineered the city’s earliest interurban system. The railway was taken over almost a decade later by railroad magnate Henry Huntington. Working with investors, including Harrison Gray Otis of the Times, he created the Pacific Electric (PE) Railway. PE’s Red Cars, along with Los Angeles Railway’s Yellow Cars (also owned by Huntington), carried passengers throughout the metropolitan area on nearly 1500 miles of track. The Hollywood Subway, as it was called, opened in 1925 after 17 months of construction at a cost of $5 million. Also known as the Belmont Tunnel, it extended just under a mile from First Street and Glendale Boulevard to the Subway Terminal Building, site of the boarding and terminal area. This allowed the many incoming trains to escape the downtown gridlock. In its heyday, the Subway Terminal Building served more than 65,000 people a day (akin to Union Station now). After the Second World War, the decline in the railway system, which had begun in the 1930s, rapidly accelerated. By 1949, two-thirds of the rail lines were gone. In 1955, the


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last Red Car was retired. The story of the demise of the Red Cars is complex with many factors including politics, changing demographics, a growing city, and deferred maintenance that made the system increasingly expensive to operate. Anecdotes:

For a while during the 1950s and 1960s, the subway tunnel was used to store 329,700 pounds of crackers intended to keep 69,940 people alive for 14 days in the event of nuclear war. The crackers wereremoved after the tunnel sprang a leak during the heavy 1969 rains.

Reportedly, the tunnel was used to store automobiles confiscated in narcotics arrests.


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ANGELS FLIGHT™ RAILWAY Hill Street north of 4th Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1901


Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

SITE’S SIGNIFICANCE and relevance to tour

Cultural/Historical: Iconic and beloved Los Angeles landmark.

Preservation: Put in storage when dismantled in 1969, reinstalled many years later with original material from the cars intact.

DETAILS: Features: Angels Flight is a typical funicular railway: a cable railway on an incline, with an ascending car counterbalancing a descending car. There are two cars on a single track, with a point in the middle where the two cars can pass as one goes up and the other comes down. The original Angels Flight (1901) followed the contour of Bunker Hill, but in 1905 it was rebuilt to rise 100 feet vertically at a uniform 33% grade using trestles, for a total distance of 335 feet. The cars were constructed at an angle to match the track and give the passengers a level ride. The two cars, named “Olivet” and “Sinai” after mountains mentioned in the Bible, were built of hardwood and originally painted white, but were painted orange and black in the late 1930s, the color they retain today. The letters “B.P.O.E.” emblazoned on the lower station arch stand for “Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks” and commemorate the Elks’ national convention held in Los Angeles in 1909 (the arch was built in 1908). Development: The brainchild of Col. J. W. Eddy, an early entrepreneur, the original Angels Flight was initially known as the “Los Angeles Incline Railway.” Located at the southeast corner of Third and Hill Streets, it was built to connect the downtown shopping district below with the posh residential district of Bunker Hill above. The city originally planned to build a cable car to the top of Bunker Hill, but when construction stopped at the bottom of the hill, Colonel J.W. Eddy sought a franchise to build the railway himself and construction began in August of 1901. As a condition of the permit, Eddy was required to build steps to the top of the hill so that he would not seem to have a monopoly on the access. On opening day, December 30, 1901, more than 2,000 passengers rode Angels Flight. It was advertised as “The World’s Shortest Railway,” and the fare was one cent. At the top of the hill was a flower garden called “Angels Rest.” For another five cents, one could climb to the top of an iron tower called “Angels View.” Later History: When homes at the top of Bunker Hill were razed in the 1960s, Angels Flight became obsolete, and it was dismantled by the city in 1969 with the promise that


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it would be moved to a new site and rebuilt “in a couple of years.” The remains of Angels Flight were stored away for several decades. In 1991, a movement began, with the support of the Los Angeles Conservancy, to persuade the Los Angeles City Council and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to rebuild Angels Flight. In 1996, Angels Flight reopened at its present location on Hill Street, which is about a half-block south of the original location. Since that time, the attraction has been owned and managed by a private nonprofit, the Angels Flight Railway Foundation. The new Angels Flight contained 60% original material from its first life, which included the railcars, station house, and the two end station arches. The total cost of restoration for the new Angels Flight was $4.1 million, paid for by the CRA and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). In February 2001, an accident occurred in which the top car crashed down into the bottom car, and a passenger died from injuries sustained in the accident. Closed for many years for reengineering, restoration, and fundraising, Angels Flight finally reopened in April 2010. Angels Flight closed again in September 2013 after a derailment (no injuries and no damage sustained). Regulatory and safety issues have yet to be resolved despite ongoing talks between the nonprofit operator Angels Flight Foundation and the city, and the railway has remained closed. Anecdotes:

Angels Flight was not the only funicular railway in Los Angeles. A similar railway called “Court Flight” existed just north of Angels Flight, near the corner of Temple and Hill streets where the Santa Ana Freeway is today. Court Flight ceased operations in 1943, following a fire.

When it was built, the city had classified Angels Flight as an elevator, and it was still inspected as an elevator until it ceased operations in 1969.

Prior to the 2001 accident, there was only one major incident in Angels Flight’s history. In September 1913, the top car broke loose, causing the lower car to slide back to the bottom. The top car slid down towards the bottom car, though its speed was somewhat slowed by the broken cable it dragged behind. The only serious injury was to a Mrs. William Hostetter, who had jumped from the moving car.

Angels Flight has been a location in dozens of movies, and is featured in the sixth installment of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch detective novels, Angels Flight (published 2000).


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GRAND CENTRAL MARKET SHORT FACTS: The market covers the ground floor of two structures, located back to back The Homer Laughlin Building (315 S. Broadway)

Date: 1897

Architect: John Parkinson Laughlin Annex/Lyon Building (312 S. Hill Street)

Date: 1905

Architect: Harrison Albright


Designation: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Broadway Theatre and Commercial District


Architects: Parkinson and Albright are both important architects with other buildings on the tour for context.

Architectural: The 1905 Lyon Building was the first reinforced concrete building in Los Angeles.

Cultural/Historical: Market will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2017

Preservation: The look of the market has remained fairly consistent over the years, despite ownership, management, and demographic changes.

DETAILS: Architects:

John Parkinson, see Title Guarantee and Trust.

Harrison Albright, see Hotel Clark. Exterior: Two buildings comprise Grand Central Market, and both have been extensively remodeled over the years. Very little ornamentation is visible on either façade, whose major feature is that the ground floor is open to the street without door or walls (roll down metal doors secure the space after closing hours). On the sidewalk in front of the Broadway entrance is an unusual bike rack by artist Louis Molina that features a steel pig’s head cast from a real one bought at Central Market. Interior: High ceilings and skylights give the market an open, airy quality. Street level at Hill Street is several feet higher than on Broadway, so stairs about midway through the building join the two levels. Stalls for individual vendors line the sides of the space, and are also down the middle. Neon signs (some vintage, most newly designed) have become a classic feature of the space.


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The market has always been a collection of individual vendors. From time to time, the number and configuration of vendor stalls change. Parking garage exterior: Adjacent to Grand Central Market at the corner of Hill and 3rd Street is a parking garage added in the 1980s. Molded into the concrete of the NW corner of the structure, facing the street, is an unusual artwork. Designed by Los Angeles artist Tim Hawkinson, it is the reverse impression of a clock tower, as if a tower originally there had disappeared, leaving its imprint on the surrounding walls. The artist’s drawings called for the clock to be reversed as well (to run backwards), but that idea was discarded as too confusing. However, note that although the hands point to the correct coordinates on the clock, the actual numbers are in reverse position. Development: The Homer Laughlin Building (facing Broadway) was financed by retired Ohio entrepreneur Homer Laughlin, founder of the Homer Laughlin China Company, a major producer of dinnerware still in business today. One of downtown’s oldest commercial structures in continuous use, the Homer Laughlin Building was the city’s first fireproofed and steel-reinforced structure. Coulter’s Dry Goods was its first tenant (they left in 1905). In 1905 a second structure,“the Annex,” was built, extending the original building through to Hill Street. (The 1905 building was later named the Lyon Building.) This building was the work of architect Harrison Albright and was the first reinforced concrete building erected in Southern California. The Ville de Paris Department Store, one of the city’s largest and finest, was a major tenant of the enlarged structure. The department store’s lease ran out in August of 1917, at which time they moved to Seventh Street. The Grand Central Market opened in September 1917, advertised to be “the most efficient and economical method for distributing produce and provisions, etc.” The building’s change from fancy department store to produce market is an early example of adaptive reuse. In the late 1980s the Grand Central Market was purchased by developer Ira Yellin, who also purchased the Million Dollar Theater and the Bradbury Building, for an integrated development project known as Grand Central Square. As part of the project, a new 500-car parking structure was constructed next to the Market at the corner of 3rd and Hill. In 1996, the Yellin Company completed an extensive renovation of the Grand Central Market buildings under the supervision of architect Brenda Levin, who has been involved with the renovation of many Los Angeles landmarks, including the Oviatt Building, Central Library, Griffith Observatory, and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Recent History: In 2013, the Yellin Company (now run by Ira’s widow Adele) hired a new management team to upgrade the market without compromising its historic nature. New neon signage was created for new vendors in keeping with the vintage look. As part of the renovation, a number of stalls were removed to create more open space for seating. Most of the produce and market stalls have been replaced by artisan restaurant counters, increasing the Market’s popularity as a food destination.


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MILLION DOLLAR THEATRE 307 S. Broadway SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1917

Architect: Building: Albert C. Martin Theatre: William Lee Woollett

Style: Beaux-Arts with Churrigueresque detail

Use: Tower: originally commercial office space, now residential. Ground floor: auditorium and retail

Designation: Included in the National Register Broadway Theatre

and Commercial District* *The Million Dollar is at the north end of the Broadway Theatre and Commercial District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The District encompasses Broadway from Third to Ninth, and includes ten other theatres, the largest historic theatre district in the country.


Architects: Albert C. Martin founded an important architectural firm still active today. William Lee Woollett designed several theatres in the downtown area

Architectural: Fanciful Churrigueresque detail exterior, elaborate auditorium design interior.

Cultural/Historical: One of the largest movie theatres in the country when it was built. Important venue for Spanish language films and performers.

Preservation: The office tower portion was one of the first residential conversions in the downtown area.

DETAILS: Architects: Building: Albert C. Martin (1879-1960) opened his office in Los Angeles in 1906, eventually expanding into a partnership that would include his sons and grandsons. In 1928, the firm partnered with two other architects to design the Los Angeles City Hall. Other Martin-designed Los Angeles landmarks include the St. Vincent de Paul Church on Figueroa (1923) and the May Company Department Store Building (Wilshire at Fairfax) (1939). Martin’s sons, Albert Jr. (as Design Principal) and Edward Martin (Structural Engineer), continued the practice and was one of the most prolific firms downtown in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Today, the firm is known as AC Martin Partners, and is in its third generation of practice and still very successful. Chris Martin, FAIA, is the CEO and David Martin is the Design Principal. Theatre: William Woollett (1874-1955) born in New York in 1872, was the son and grandson of architects. He designed several theatres, including the interior of the Paramount on Sixth and Hill (1922, now demolished). His son, William Woollett, Jr., also became an architect and artist. William Lee Woollett served on the Los Angeles Municipal


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Art Commission. Style: The building has typical Beaux-Arts tripartite arrangement (base, shaft, attic); however, rather than Greco-Roman ornamentation, the heavy sculptural forms used on the Million Dollar draw from Spanish architecture. Called Churrigueresque (chur-rig-ur-esk), the style was named for the 18th-century Spanish church architect/sculptor Jose de Churriguera (chur-ri-gare-a). This style was popularized in the southland when it was used for the buildings of the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition (Balboa Park, San Diego). Exterior: The twelve-story office tower is of steel-reinforced concrete, with extensive decoration on the north and west elevations. The lavish terra-cotta ornamentation on the Million Dollar is by Joseph (Jo) Mora, son of famed Spanish sculptor Domingo Mora. Jo worked with his father on the façade of the 1911 Palace Theatre (located a few blocks south on Broadway), and later became well known for his own Western-themed art. The Broadway façade is dominated by the large scalloped arch over the entrance, which originally framed a large stained-glass window (now plastered over). The marquee was added in the 1940s. Ornamentation on the Broadway side includes a row of bison heads and life-size sculptures personifying the arts (including dance, music, theatre, and writing - symbolized by the ibis-headed Egyptian god of writing). Among the decoration on the 3rd Street elevation are longhorn steer skulls, more allegorical figures representing the arts, images having to do with water such as octopi and an anchor, and girls strumming stringed instruments while they dangle their legs over the Third Street entrance. Atop pillars framing the side entrance to the office/apartment tower are two cherubs: one wearing a helmet and holding an eagle, the other bare-headed and holding a dove, symbolizing war and peace. To the rear of the office tower is the auditorium itself, visible mostly as three-story-high brick walls and gates. At the time the complex was built, laws restricted building above auditoriums, for structural reasons. Interior (not accessible on tour): Lobby: Originally, there was a two-story exterior travertine foyer/lobby, decorated with murals. Unfortunately, the lobby has been drastically altered: the foyer was closed in, a drop ceiling installed, and the walls covered. No details remain visible of the original design. Auditorium: The auditorium originally seated 2,345 people, making it one of the largest theatres in the country at the time built specifically to show movies. It now seats about 2000. The side walls and organ screens are Spanish Baroque in design, under a magnificent coffered dome. Much of the interior ornamentation of the Million Dollar is based on the fairy tale “King of the Golden River” written in 1841 by John Ruskin (a central figure in the English Arts and Crafts movement). Throughout the auditorium, and especially on the organ grilles, are sculpted characters from the book. Balcony: The design includes the world’s first reinforced concrete girder, which is part of a 110-foot arch span that holds up the massive balcony. When the City Department of Building and Safety refused to certify the girder’s design, the arch was tested with 1.5 million pounds of dead weight. It successfully withstood the test and the permits were issued. The concrete girder was developed because structural steel was not readily available on account of shortages caused by World War I.


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Development: The Million Dollar Theatre’s name reportedly comes from the combined original costs of the land and the building. The office building/theatre was built by a consortium of local businessmen known as the Stability Building Company led by Homer Laughlin, owner of the Grand Central Market building next door. Theatre: The theatre, one of the earliest “movie palaces” in the country, was created for Sid Grauman, the famed showman. Grauman leased the Million Dollar Theatre, as he did all of the theatres he operated. The theatre opened on February 1, 1918 with the premiere of William S. Hart’s The Silent Man. A crowd two blocks long cheered the arrival of celebrities. Grauman was very successful in operating the theatre. One of his innovations was the development of the “prologue”—a live, costumed stage review presented prior to the feature film. Often the prologues would include a theme similar to the film, or live appearances by film stars. Grauman left in the late 1920s and Fox West Coast Theatres operated the theatre until 1949, when Frank Fouce (pronounced “Fowse”) took over. The following year Fouce established a Spanish-language focus which would prevail for the next forty years. The theatre achieved great success by showing Mexican films and occasionally staging traveling vaudeville shows (variedades) with acts from throughout Latin America. The great Mexican singing stars Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete both played the Million Dollar. By the late 1980s, however, audiences had dwindled and the theatre closed. For a time it was leased to a Spanish-language church (churches are one of the few obvious tenants for a venue that seats 2000). Empty for several years and in need of seismic work, stabilization began in 2005, and in 2007 a new tenant signed a lease with plans to utilize the auditorium as a performing arts venue. The venture was not successful and the theatre has been without a regular tenant since 2012, although it is still used for occasional events (such as the Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats) and for film shoots. Office Tower: The upper floors of the Million Dollar Theatre Building were planned originally to house studios and lofts and advertised as “intended to meet the special requirements of the film concerns centering in this, the capital of moviedom.” Instead, the offices were eventually used by the Southern California Edison Company. The building was known as the “Edison Building” until the company moved to Fifth and Grand in 1931. The Metropolitan Water District occupied offices in the building until the 1960s. An original wall sign for the Water District on the upper rear portions of the Million Dollar Theatre building has been restored. William Mullholland reportedly had an office in the building at one time. Recent History: Ira Yellin acquired the Million Dollar Theatre Building for $6.5 million in 1988. In the early 1990s he repurposed the Million Dollar’s office tower into 121 apartments—including three “historic” 12th floor penthouse apartments, dubbed “The Boardroom,” “The Mulholland,” and “The Bradbury.” The firm Levin & Associates was the architect for the renovation. This was ten years before the passing of the Adaptive Reuse ordinance led to the boom in residential conversions. Renovation of the Million Dollar was part of Yellin’s Grand Central Square project, which include Grand Central Market, the Million Dollar Theatre and office building, and the Bradbury Building.


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The Million Dollar is current occupied by tech startup CoBird. Anecdotes:

Over the years, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino and other great stars appeared in stage revues at the Million Dollar. Judy Garland sang here as a child.

One night, Sid Grauman called three of his friends—Thomas A. Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone—to the stage to take a bow.

There are reports that one of the penthouse apartments is haunted.

Actor Nicolas Cage lived in the building when it was first converted.


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BRADBURY BUILDING 304 S. Broadway SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1893

Architect: Sumner Hunt and/or George Herbert Wyman

Style: Late Victorian/Romanesque


Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #6 Listed in the National Register of Historic Places


Architects: Sumner Hunt was a major Los Angeles-based architect.

Architectural: A unique and iconic example of Late Victorian architecture in Los Angeles. The oldest remaining commercial building in the city center.

Cultural/Historical: Famous through movies and photographs, the building also has a long-lived urban legend about its design.

Preservation: Received Los Angeles Historical-Cultural Monument status the first day the program went into effect, on August 6, 1962.

Architects: Sumner P. Hunt (1865-1938) was born in New York, and came to Los Angeles in 1889, starting his own practice in 1895. Over the years he worked solo, as well as with several partners, including Theodore Eisen, A. W. Eager, and Silas Burns. Hunt was particularly noted for his elegant residential designs such as the Doheny Mansion at Chester Place (1899, with Eisen), and designed many homes for important and wealthy clients. Among Hunt’s buildings (solo, and with his partners) are Charles Lummis’ home El Alisal (1898), the Southwest Museum (1914), Automobile Club of Southern California (1922), and the Wilshire Ebell Club (1927). He was a founding member in 1895 of Charles Lummis’ The Landmarks Club, which sought to preserve and maintain the California missions, and ultimately led to the California State Landmarks program. George Wyman: see below: Design Controversy. Architecture: Style Context: In the latter half of the 19th century, the prevailing architectural style was Victorian, which put an emphasis on shape and texture and light (Victorian homes in Angelino Heights are residential examples). Los Angeles has few structures remaining from the late Victorian era. Many have been torn down, but there weren’t many to begin with: a recession from 1888 to the mid-1890s slowed development considerably. By the time the economy had rebounded enough to encourage construction (triggered in part by the discovery of oil near downtown), the architectural fashion was already turning from Victorian to Beaux-Arts. Cities with stronger growth in the 1880s and 1890s (such as Chicago) have more


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instances of Victorian commercial architecture. Exterior: The five-story building is a modest example of Romanesque Revival style. The exterior is clad in red sandstone and dark brown brick. Note the rounded Romanesque arches over the entryways as well as the windows of the top story. Bands of terra cotta ornament run atop the fourth story and just below the cornice. Interior: The iconic feature of the building is the five-story central atrium. Offices open onto the balconies surrounding the atrium. The interior shows a mix and transition of styles. The cast iron railings and open cage elevators are Victorian in design, indicating the industrial age origins of the building and a fascination with metal and machinery. The cast iron Corinthian columns that support the balconies are influenced by the blossoming Beaux-Arts movement, while the terra cotta ornament is reminiscent of the work of Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Much of the interior, including staircases at each end, is covered with wrought iron railings made in France. The walls are a pale glazed brick. The stairs are imported Belgian marble and the floor is Mexican tile. Even the basement is paneled in rich wood. The open-cage elevators with their ornate grillwork were originally powered by steam derived from boilers placed in the basement. Development: Lewis Bradbury, who commissioned the building as rentable office space, wanted only the finest materials to be used in its construction. As a result, the total cost of the project rose from $175,000 to $500,000. This was an enormous amount of money in the early 1890s, as Los Angeles was in the middle of a recession at the time and very little construction of any type was taking place. Successful in its early years, the building fell on hard times with much of the rest of downtown and once housed garment industry workshops. In the 1940s, it was sold for $160,000.

Lewis Bradbury was born in Maine, and early on followed a career as a sea captain. He married the daughter of a Mexican miner and made a fortune mining in Mexico. He later came to California with his wife and children, and turned to real estate development and other financial investments. He had one of the city’s most extravagant Victorian mansions on Bunker Hill. Somewhat eccentric according to contemporary newspaper accounts, he looked after all of his business interests himself. By 1892, Bradbury was aging and in ill health. When he died, just a few months before his namesake building’s completion in 1893, he left an estate worth an estimated $15 million.

Recent History: In 1989 the building was purchased by a partnership headed by developer Ira Yellin for about $8 million. It has undergone extensive seismic work and was renovated as a key part of Yellin’s Grand Central Square project. The Yellin Company sold the Bradbury Building in 2003; it is now owned by Goodwin Gaw/Downtown Properties. The Bradbury Building today is the oldest commercial building remaining in the center city. Design Controversy: There is a robust urban legend surrounding the design of the building. What is known is that Bradbury commissioned architect Sumner Hunt to design


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the building. When Hunt submitted designs for the project, Bradbury accepted them and then told the architect his services were no longer needed. This was unusual enough to have been written up in the Los Angeles Times when it happened in 1892, although the article does not mention who replaced Hunt. Other research indicates that the finished design was indeed essentially Hunt’s. The local legend runs thus: During the preliminary design process, Bradbury became acquainted with a young draftsman in Hunt’s office named George Wyman. Though Wyman had no formal training in architecture or engineering, Bradbury felt that Wyman understood and could interpret the kind of vision he himself had for the building. Allegedly, they shared an interest in Edward Bellamy’s 1887 novel Looking Backward, a Victorian-era vision of a utopian future. The book described a typical building in the year 2000 as a “vast hall full of light received not alone from the windows on all sides but from the dome, the point which was a hundred feet above.” Unhappy with Hunt’s designs, Bradbury offered the job to Wyman, who initially declined for fear that he would be stealing a commission from his boss. As the story goes, Wyman, while struggling with his conscience, turned to a planchette, forerunner of the Ouija board, to communicate with his dead brother, Mark, whose message was: “Take the Bradbury Building and you will be successful.” The source for the Wyman story is Wyman’s daughters. Although the story’s legitimacy has been questioned, it has continued to circulate. It is much more likely that Wyman only acted as foreman during construction once Hunt was dismissed (a position Wyman might still want to ask his dead brother about accepting). Wyman did not go on to have a successful architectural design career, but did continue to work with Sumner Hunt on later projects. Anecdotes:

The Bradbury has been a favorite movie and television location over the years, the best known of which is probably the 1982 sci-fi epic Blade Runner. Two more recent popular movies that feature the location are (500) Days of Summer (2009) and The Artist (2011).

Across 3rd street from the Bradbury, on the side of the former Victor Clothing Company building, is a mural of Anthony Quinn entitled “The Pope of Broadway,” painted in 1985 by Eloy Torrez. A much beloved figure in the Hispanic community, Quinn grew up in East Los Angeles and had performed at the Million Dollar Theatre. This mural can be viewed from the Bradbury Building, through the side doors. Note that the tile floor pattern in the mural is the same as that in the Bradbury Building.


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BIDDY MASON PARK Rear of buildings on south side of Bradbury Bldg. SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1990

Landscape Architects: Katherine Spitz & Pamela Burton

Artist: Sheila Levrant de Bretteville


Cultural/Historical: Commemorates former slave and early Los Angeles philanthropist Biddy Mason.

DETAILS: Landscape architecture: This mini-park was designed by landscape architects Katherine Spitz and Pamela Burton. It was named in honor of nurse, midwife, former slave, and pioneering Los Angeles resident Biddy Mason, whose homestead once stood at 331 S. Spring Street. The park contains a grove of camphor trees meant to suggest the country road in the midst of a cow pasture; this later became Spring Street, Los Angeles’s main financial thoroughfare for many years. A fountain, composed of a series of pipes constructed of copper, stainless steel and concrete, mimics the profile of an oil refinery, a metaphor for the industries that funded the city’s early prosperity. Artwork: “Biddy Mason Time and Place” is an 80-foot-long poured concrete wall by artist Sheila Levrant de Bretteville. The wall is a timeline of Biddy Mason’s life, illustrated by impressions of objects such as agave leaves, wagon wheels, and a midwife’s bag, as well as simple text and images such as an early survey map of Los Angeles and Biddy’s freedom papers. The history begins at the right (northernmost) end of the wall with “Biddy Mason born a slave,” and progresses in time to the inscription: “Los Angeles mourns and reveres Grandma Mason.” Biddy Mason biography: Biddy Mason (1818-1891) was born in the South and became the property of Robert Smith of Mississippi when she was 18. In 1847-48 Smith and his family (who had converted to Mormonism) commenced a trek west in caravans of wagons with everything they owned, including slaves and stock. In 1851 the household came to California. However, California had just ratified its new constitution, making it a free state: any slaves brought here could leave their masters. Biddy and thirteen other slaves sued for their freedom, and in 1856 (just one year before the infamous Dred Scott decision) Judge Benjamin Hayes declared her and the others free. It was after she was liberated that Biddy took the last name Mason. She was then 38 years old. Mason possessed skills in medicine and became a successful midwife. In 1866 she took savings of $250 from her earnings as a midwife and purchased this nearly one-acre site that extended between Broadway (then Fort Street) and Spring Street in a block bordered by Third and Fourth Streets. Throughout the years, this pioneering black woman purchased more property, and as the value of her holdings escalated, she eventually became a relatively wealthy woman and an untiring philanthropist. At her homestead she founded an orphanage and day care center for children left destitute by natural disasters.


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Once, after a flood, she opened an account at a grocery store at Fourth and Spring, instructing the grocer to bill her for the food she distributed to the homeless. The First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles (a branch of the AME Church, founded in 1794), was organized at a meeting in her home in 1872. Biddy Mason died in 1891.


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INTERNATIONAL JEWELRY CENTER NE corner of Hill and 6th Streets *BUILDING OPTIONAL FOR TOUR* SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1981

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Style: Late Modern

Use: Jewelry manufacture and showrooms


Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an internationally important firm.

Architecture: The angular and striped design is typical of early 1980s corporate architecture.

DETAILS: Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is one of the world’s leading architectural firms and creator of such landmarks as Lever House, New York (1952); John Hancock Center, Chicago (1970), and the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Chicago (1974). Projects in Downtown Los Angeles include Wells Fargo Plaza (1983) and the Gas Company Tower (1991). Architecture: According to a newspaper article at the time of its construction, “. . . [t]he front façade has been designed in a unique, articulated fashion to take advantage of the true north light, preferred by fine jewelers for the viewing of precious gems, ” and the building “is the first major trade center in the country to be designed to meet the specific requirements of the jewelry industry. Along with its articulated façade, a major feature of the building will be its security system." The exterior has alternating stripes of glass and steel, creating a ribbon effect that was popular in the early 1980s. (Note similarity to Citigroup Center at 5th and Flower, 1979.) At this time designers were experimenting with form and color for office buildings, following several decades during which monochromatic steel and glass design was favored. History: The Jewelry Center was built on the site of the 1923 Metropolitan (later Paramount) Theatre, designed by William Woolett. This grand 3300-seat movie theatre, the largest in the city, was an eclectic composite of exotic architectural styles such as Islamic, Hindu, and Moorish. The building had entrances on both Hill Street and Broadway, the heart of the theatre district. The building was demolished in 1962 to make way for a planned office building development. That plan fell through and the site was a parking lot for many years. It is said that the theatre building was so solidly constructed that one demolition company went bankrupt in the attempt to pull it down.


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HILTON CHECKERS HOTEL originally Mayflower Hotel 535 S. Grand Avenue *BUILDING OPTIONAL FOR TOUR* SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1927

Architect: Charles Whittlesey

Style: Spanish Colonial Revival

Use: Hotel



Architect: Charles Whittlesey had a long career, and his son Austin was also a successful architect in Los Angeles.

Architectural: Interesting sculptural detail with elements of Churrigueresque.

Cultural/Historical: Built as a mid-price hotel, it was renovated in the 1980s into European-style boutique hotel.

Preservation: A modern rooftop addition is set back so as not to compromise original design.

DETAILS: Architect: Charles Whittlesey (1867-1941) started his career as a draftsman in the office of Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, and went on to have a successful practice of his own, both in Chicago and later in New Mexico and California. Among Whittlesey’s Los Angeles projects are the Hayward Hotel (1905) on Spring Street and the now demolished Philharmonic Auditorium (Fifth and Olive, 1906). Whittlesey was at one time chief architect for the Santa Fe Railway, and designed numerous hotels and restaurants connected with the railroad, including the El Tovar (1905) at the Grand Canyon. He is the father of architect Austin Whittlesey (interior, City Hall, 1928). Exterior: The 12-story steel and reinforced concrete structure was built on a lot only 60 feet wide and 160 feet deep. The façade is embellished with ornate Spanish-style ornament modeled in art stone. The ornamentation has elements of Churrigueresque style (see Million Dollar Theatre entry). There was a two-story addition to the roof of the hotel as part of a 1980s renovation. These floors were added to house the physical plant as well as a spa, and are set back from the Grand Avenue side so as not to change the historic view of the building from the front. Development: In 1926, William Anderson, a New York millionaire importer/exporter, signed a 99-year lease for land on which to build the $1 million hotel. Local papers described Whittlesey’s design as “modern Spanish, while the interior is done in a semi-Spanish, semi-Colonial manner, a sort of transitional period between the two.”


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When the hotel opened, staff wore Pilgrim attire as part of their uniforms. Rooms were furnished in a Colonial theme. Each had a view, as well as a private bath. The ground floor lobby included the Mayflower Tavern and Ye Bull Pen Inn, one of downtown’s most popular eateries for years. The restaurant was decorated in a cattle shed motif and served steaks on a plank.


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PAN AMERICAN LOFTS originally Irvine-Byrne Building 249 S. Broadway *BUILDING OPTIONAL FOR TOUR* SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1894

Architect: Sumner Hunt

Style: Beaux-Arts

Use: Originally commercial office space , now residential, with ground floor retail


Architects: Sumner Hunt designed the Bradbury Building.

Architectural: Considered the first Beaux-Arts style building in Los Angeles.

Preservation: Another example of an adaptive reuse residential project.

DETAILS: Architect: Sumner Hunt, see Bradbury Building Exterior: This five-story building has the classic tripartite Beaux-Arts organization, decorated with columns and featuring an overhanging cornice. Development: When Sumner Hunt designed the Irvine-Byrne Building in 1894, the Beaux-Arts style had only recently been introduced to America (at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893) and not yet made it to Los Angeles. The Irvine-Byrne design, which seems quite simple compared to Los Angeles’ later magnificent Beaux-Arts structures, was ground-breaking at the time. Southwest Building and Contractor’s review of the building in 1895 noted that “No other instance of this character appears in the building history of Los Angeles.” Originally known as the Irvine Block after the building’s owner, Margaret Byrne Irvine, widow of James Irvine (of the Irvine Ranch), the building was later sold to a member of the Byrne family and it was renamed the Byrne Building. It was renamed the Pan American Building during WWII when it was home to the Mexican consulate. Recent History: After a $16 million renovation, the building reopened in 2007 as the Pan American Lofts, featuring 40 loft-style condominiums.


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CALIFORNIA CLUB BUILDING 538 S. Flower Street *BUILDING OPTIONAL FOR TOUR* SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1930

Architect: Robert David Farquhar

Style: Beaux Arts/Italian Renaissance Revival

with Moderne influences

Use: Private Club

Designation: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #43 National Register of Historic Places


Architectural: Unusual in downtown for its brick cladding and combination Beaux-Arts and Moderne elements.

Cultural/Historical: Still occupied by the exclusive club that built it.

DETAILS: Architect: Robert David Farquhar (1872-1967) was born in Brooklyn and trained at Harvard, MIT, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. After working with firms in New York, he came to Los Angeles in 1905. He designed many residences, including the Canfield-Moreno estate (1923). His civic buildings include William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (1916) and Beverly Hills High School (1928). He worked subsequently with Edwin Bergstrom on the design for the Pentagon in Washington, D. C. (1941). He retired in 1953. Exterior: This eight-story, brick-clad building is Beaux Arts/Italian Renaissance Revival with Moderne influences. The brick cladding, stone ornamentation, lack of vertical piers or pillars, and tile roof put the building in the Italian Renaissance Revival tradition. Setbacks, geometrical massing, and restrained detail are more in the Moderne tradition than the Beaux-Arts. The shaft of the building is set back from the base on all sides, allowing for a landscaped terrace to ring the building at the third floor, providing patio space as well as deemphasizing the massiveness of the building as viewed from the street. The top story is also set back on all sides from the shaft of the building. This level is capped with a tile roof and two chimneys. The bottom, middle, and top portions have different window treatments: large with stone surrounds on the bottom levels, plain rectangular windows on the shaft, and hexagonal windows on the top, or attic, level. Anecdotes:

Architect Farquhar was awarded the AIA’s Distinguished Honor Award for this design.


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The California Club was established in 1887. A private club for the elite, membership has always been by invitation only. For many years, African-Americans, Jews, and women were barred from membership, but that policy changed in 1987. It is the oldest private social club in Southern California, and still one of the most prestigious.

The Club has an important collection of artwork by California artists.


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HOTEL CLARK 426 S. Hill Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1913

Architect: Harrison Albright

Style: Beaux-Arts

Use: Hotel (currently closed), with ground floor retail


Architects: Harrison Albright was an early adopter of using reinforced concrete as construction material.

Architectural: Typical example of height-limit Beaux-Arts building.

Cultural/Historical: Eli P. Clark, developer of the hotel, was also part of the Subway Terminal Corporation that was to place the terminal across the street thirteen years later.

DETAIL: Architect: Harrison Albright (1866-1933) was born in Pennsylvania and opened his own architecture office at age 20. In the 1890s he was appointed State Architect for West Virginia. He moved to Los Angeles in 1905, where he was recognized for his leading work with reinforced concrete, a relatively new building material finding favor for its fireproof properties. Albright’s 1905 Laughlin Annex (Grand Central Market’s Lyon Building, facing on Hill Street) was the very first reinforced concrete building erected in Southern California. His Santa Fe Freight Depot (1907) is the current home of Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc.) Many of Albright’s most famous structures are in San Diego, such as the U.S. Grant Hotel (1906), the neo-classical Organ Pavilion (1914) in Balboa Park, and many buildings constructed for sugar magnate John D. Spreckels. Exterior: The 11-story building has the classic tripartite and symmetrical arrangement of the Beaux-Arts style. Pronounced piers and spandrels emphasize the monumental quality of the design. The little applied ornament is large scale and on the upper levels. Both the right and left side have decorative fire escapes with “H C” designed into the iron railings. Development: Located across the street from the Pacific Electric Hill Street depot (which was later replaced by the Subway Terminal Building), the Clark was advertised as a hotel for the business traveler, with rates lower than “those of any other first-class hotel in the country.” When the hotel opened, the Clark boasted 555 “absolutely fireproof” rooms, each with a private bath. There was also a restaurant, a large banquet room, and several smaller meeting rooms. The Broadway Department Store, located on the corner of Broadway and 4th, wanted a Hill Street entrance for easy access for interurban commuters. Ground floor retail space for the Broadway, as well as direct access through it to the actual Broadway building behind the property, was designed into the Clark plans. The Broadway remained there until the mid-1970s.


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Recent History: After many years as a low-income residence hotel, the building was purchased in 1999 with plans to convert it into a luxury hotel. The project was not completed. As of 2013, work had recommenced on the building, but as of February 2016, the venue was not open.


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THE GAS COMPANY TOWER 555 W. 5th Street SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1991

Architect: Richard Keating of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Style: Late Modern



Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an internationally important architectural firm.

Architectural: A good example of Late Modern architecture, when architecture once again became more sculptural and moved away from uninterrupted towers of glass.

DETAILS: Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is one of the world’s leading architectural firms and creator of such landmarks as Lever House, New York (1952); John Hancock Center, Chicago (1970); and the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Chicago (1974). Richard Keating began his career at the firm in 1968 and became partner in charge of the Houston and Los Angeles offices during his twenty-year tenure. Exterior: Typical of contemporary skyscrapers, the Gas Company Building is sheathed in glass and metal, with a granite base. Sited on a slope, a small court of public retail/restaurant space is accessed from the street level at 5th Street, near Grand Avenue. Designed to house the Gas Company offices, the tenant is represented in the shape of the actual structure itself. The building rises in a series of layers, cut back at the top to symbolize a blue gas flame, the trademark of the client. On the west side of the building is a triangular column-like feature, perhaps symbolizing the filament of that flame. Facing the back of the Gas Company Tower, on the wall of the Pacific Telephone Building, is a mural by famed New York artist Frank Stella, which was commissioned as the Gas Company’s “percent for art.” Titled “Dusk,” it explores ideas of motion and travel. The massive 35,000-square-foot work cost $1 million. It is part of a series of works by Stella are named after chapters in Moby Dick. Interior: The main lobby, on the second floor, is finished in a rich white marble with gray veining, as are the small street-level escalator foyers. Development: The project was part of the transfer of air-rights deal (along with U.S. Bank Tower) with Central Library, allowing for The Gas Company Tower’s 52-story height on a relatively small parcel. Anecdotes:


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5th and Grand is a popular film location. The building has been featured in several movies, such as Collateral (2004) starring Tom Cruise.


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PACIFIC BELL MICROWAVE TOWER above the AT&T Building, Grand Avenue *BUILDING OPTIONAL FOR TOUR* SHORT FACTS:

Date: 1962

Architect: Woodford & Bernard

Style: N/A

Use: Microwave/cell phone tower


Architectural: An iconic part of the downtown skyline.

Optional for the tour, this structure is often asked about by tourgoers because it is so unusual DETAILS: Architect: The firm of Woodford & Bernard was the successor to the architectural offices of John and Donald Parkinson. Development: The spire atop the Pacific Telephone Building is a microwave tower added to assist the telephone switching station. It provided a vital link in the telephone service throughout the downtown area before the fiber optics revolution. It now relays cell phone signals. Due to its visibility, the architects were sensitive to creating a unique design with state-of-the-art technical capabilities. Anecdote: In 2010, the Conservancy had a year-long initiative focusing on the 1960s called “The 60s Turn 50.” The Microwave tower was voted one of the Top 50 of the ‘60s. (For more information see Appendix D: Advocacy for the Recent Past).


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BANK OF AMERICA PLAZA originally Security Pacific Plaza (333 S. Hope St.) Architect: Albert C. Martin & Associates Construction began: n/ a Completed: 1974 Cost: $99 million Floors: 55 Height: 735 feet Square footage: 1,422,000 Style: Corporate International Architect: Features of Building Exterior: The Security Pacific Building stands alone in a relatively large urban park. The main tower rises uninterrupted from the plaza, virtually the same on all four sides. Vertical piers clad in light-colored granite accentuate the height of the tower. The massiveness of the piers, which visually dominate the dark, recessed windows between, gives the tower a monumental quality. Although gardens and fountains surround the building, the plaza immediately around it is of granite, reinforcing the formidableness of the structure. Note that the building is turned at a 45 degree angle from the street, and unusual placement for the 1970s when most buildings were sited parallel to the street. Plaza: The bright orange sculpture, titled “Four Arches” (1974) by Alexander Calder, marks one entrance to the tower and provides a striking contrast against the muted colors of the building. When the building was in development, the CRA requested that the commission for the art work be awarded to a California artist. Having already decided on Calder (a Philadelphia native) for the project, the developers justified their choice by pointing out that Calder had lived in Pasadena for a time as a child. Calder (1898-1976) was known on for his “mobiles” as well as fixed works called “stabiles.” Park: the park appears to be a flat landscaped area, but the large fountain structure in its center cascades down into a space revealing the presence of underground offices. Landscape architects Sasaki Walker & Associates were given the direction to reflect Southern California’s heritage in the park’s design. Rather than revisiting typical Spanish Colonial designs, they chose to as inspirations the Alhambra in Spain (the long narrow fountain pools), California citrus orchards (the ordered rows of trees), and Mayan cenote or water holes (circular opening to the underground level). The trees are Ornamental Pears, chosen for pretty blossoms and their hardiness. Features of Building Interior: The building is notable for having one of the most open and spacious lobbies of Central Business District office buildings. The lobby has 27-foot-high ceilings, connecting by escalators to two lower levels. The space was partitioned off some years ago for banking offices, compromising the airiness of the original design on the north end. In contrast to the exterior that is dominated by the heavy granite, from inside the stone piers effectively disappear, bringing into prominence the glass panels. The resulting effect is that the exterior is fortress-like without views to the inside, while the interior seems to be made of glass with vistas to the gardens, pools, and artworks of the


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plaza. The large tapestries in the lobby are by London-based artist Christopher Farr (2009) and were designed to echo both the grid of the building and the color of the Calder sculpture. Historical and Architectural Significance: The Security Pacific Plaza works similarly to the Union Bank Plaza. Both towers are vertically drawn and are set back and away from the street, alone on their own sites. Uninterrupted height is the focus of this building, though the garden area to the south and the sculpture on both sides of the office building give scale to the site. It is a modern rendering of Le Corbusier’s “tower in the park” concept for cities. The building is clad in 340,000 square feet of Gregio Perla granite from Spain.


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WELLS FARGO PLAZA, originally Crocker Center (333 S. Grand Ave.) Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Construction began: 1980 Completed: North Tower and retail, 1982 South tower, 1983 Cost: $360 million Total Square footage: 2.5 million Floors: North Tower: 54 stories (723 feet), South Tower: 44 stories Style: Late Corporate International Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM is one of the world’s leading architectural firms and creator of such landmarks as Lever House, New York (1952); John Hancock Center, Chicago (1970), and the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Chicago (1974). Richard Keating began his career at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 1968 and was partner-in-charge of the Houston and Los Angeles offices during his 20-year tenure. Features of Building Exterior: The most notable features of this project are the jutting angles defining one corner of each of the two towers. The unusual footprint shape is a “right trapezoid” a rectangle with one corner sheared off to create a triangular point (look at Google satellite view to get a better sense of the shape). When viewed certain ways, the acute point on the triangle creates an optical illusion of a wall with no volume behind it. The two towers are also of different heights: the north tower rises 54 floors, the south one 44. They are oriented with their points facing different directions (the point of the north tower faces south, the point of the south tower faces west). Between the towers sits a two-story atrium building for shopping and dining. All three of the buildings are clad in rose-brown granite. Note the similarity to the neighboring Mellon Bank, with its red-brown granite and strongly angled shape footprint. Also, the placement of the two towers on either side of a small central building is similar to that of the Arco Towers. About the Building: Originally called Crocker Center, it became Wells Fargo Center in 1986 when the two banks merged. Public Art in the Crocker Center Pedestrian Walks “Night Sail” (1985 south plaza): The only major sculpture by Louise Nevelson in Los Angeles, this sculpture is an assemblage of nautical forms set on a common frame. It is thirty feet tall and weighs thirty-three tons. Russian-born, Nevelson has been called the doyenne of American sculpture. “Sequi” (1984-1985 east side of building): Artist Nancy Graves. Her bronze sculpture represents a lobster claw, banana blossom, deerfoot fern, seed pod, and vines.


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CALIFORNIA PLAZA (300 S. Grand Ave.) Architect: Arthur Erickson Architects One California Plaza (north tower) Two California Plaza Construction: 1983 -1985 Construction: 1989 - 1992 Floors: 42 Height: 577 feet Floors: 54 Height: 750 Sq. feet: 937,000 Sq. feet: 1,330,000 Cost: $1.2 billion (all buildings in complex) Style: Late Modern About the Architect: Arthur Erickson (1924-2009) was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. He studied at the University of British Columbia and also McGill University in Montreal. Erikson traveled extensively, and was influenced by the architecture of Greece, Italy, the Middle East, and Japan. Interested in relating architecture to the terrain and climate, he did not subscribe to any particular architectural movement, although his designs have elements of Modern, Postmodern, and Brutalist styles popular in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. His first major commission (with Geoffrey Massey) was Simon Fraser University in Canada (1965). Although most of his projects were in Canada, other Southern California projects include San Diego Convention Center (1980) and McGaugh Hall, UC Irvine (1991). About the Project: California Plaza originated in 1980 as California Center, the winning entry in a design competition to redevelop eleven acres atop Bunker Hill. The original design was an integrated project with commercial, civic, retail, and residential combined with parks and plazas. Due to design changes requested by the developer, as well as the changing economic outlook, the project as completed in 1992 differed significantly from the original conception. Erickson’s firm designed the two towers and collaborated on the plaza, but was not involved with design of the MOCA (1986) or the adjacent hotel (1992). The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) was paid for by the developers, Bunker Hill Associates, as part of the agreement with the City as the project’s percent for art. Completed in 1986, it was designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. Features of the Buildings’ exteriors: Both towers have glass skins of contrasting colors layered around a curved corner of an otherwise rectangular tower. One California Plaza (the northernmost) was the first completed (1985) and is has two layers atop a base with a square window grid. The curved corners are on the east/west axis. Two California Plaza (1992) has three layers and is twelve stories taller than the other. The base of Two California Plaza is of Sanduba granite from Brazil, and has window openings the shape of lollipops. The tower’s curved corners face north and south. Watercourt: As a base connecting the two towers with the adjacent hotel and museum is a two-level plaza known as Watercourt. A food court with additional retail surrounds an enormous water feature that doubles as a performance space when the water is turned off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arata_Isozaki


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WET Design collaborated with Arthur Erickson on the design of the fountain and plaza. The Watercourt space and funding for the space’s arts programming are the project’s Percent For Art contribution.


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APPENDIX A: A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES On September 4, 1781, a group of 44 settlers founded El Pueblo de la Reyna de Los Angeles (The Town of the Queen of Angels). The governor of California made generous grants of ranch land to retired soldiers, and soon the flourishing colony was divided into mission, pueblo and rancho, with the city center centered on the Plaza (where Olvera Street is today). Following the Mexican War of Independence from Spain (1810-1821), California was made a territory of the new Republic. During Mexican rule, from 1821 to 1847, the main trade was in hides, tallow, wine, and brandy. During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Captain John C. Frémont claimed the pueblo for the United States. The Capitulation of Cahuenga was signed in 1847, effectively ending the fighting in Southern California. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo of 1848 ended the war, which resulted in Mexico ceding what became the American Southwest to the United States. California received statehood in 1850, the first of the southwest territories to do so. The introduction of an American cash economy to replace the barter economy of the Mexican era forced the rancheros to mortgage their land to obtain money. By 1865, four-fifths of the ranchos were in American hands. Los Angeles grew slowly until the railroads came west, and people and goods more easily reached the area.

In 1869, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific completed the transcontinental railroad from Omaha to Sacramento. Although the line didn’t reach to Los Angeles, it still had an effect on immigration to the area.

In 1876 the line from San Francisco to Los Angeles was completed by the Southern Pacific, which triggered a small land boom.

In 1885, the Santa Fe completed its Los Angeles link of the transcontinental railroad, breaking the Southern Pacific monopoly. Railroad fares all over the country dropped to ridiculously low prices (during a fare war in March 1885, the Santa Fe did a one-day promotion advertising a $1 ticket from Los Angeles to Kansas City).

In 1905 the Union Pacific arrived in Los Angeles, making Los Angeles the western terminus of three major transcontinental railroads.

A land boom followed the coming of the railroad. Between 1880 and 1896 Los Angeles experienced astronomical growth, increasing from a population of 11,090 to 97,382 in just sixteen years. By 1889, the boom had subsided, but Los Angeles had become a major city. Between 1890 and 1915, Los Angeles’ infrastructure was vastly improved: a public transportation system was created, oil was discovered, and the harbor was enhanced. In 1913, water was brought from the Owens Valley via an aqueduct, enabling further growth. In 1915, the San Fernando Valley joined the city of Los Angeles, more than doubling the city’s size. The wave of immigration to Los Angeles between 1920 and 1940 was the largest internal


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migration in the history of the United States. The Depression did nothing to abate this flow, as unemployed workers flocked to Los Angeles looking for opportunity. New industry enriched the economy. Airplanes, clothing, and tires joined oil, movies, and citriculture as Los Angeles products. As of the most recent census in 2010, the City of Los Angeles covered 469 square miles, and was the second most populous city in the United States (after New York). Los Angeles County encompassed more than 4,000 square miles and included 88 different incorporated cities. POPULATION, CITY OF LOS ANGELES 1850 1,610California becomes a state 1860 4,385 1969: Transcontinental railroad completed to Sacramento 1870 5,728 1876: Southern Pacific link from San Francisco to Los Angeles completed 1880 11,183 1885: Santa Fe link to transcontinental railroad completed 1885 1890 50,395 1900 102,479 1905: Union Pacific comes to Los Angeles 1910 310,198 1920 576,673 1930 1,238,048 1940 1,504,277 1950 1,970,358 1960 2,481,595 1970 2,811,801 1990 3,485,390 2010 3,792,621

APPENDIX B: BUILDING ON THE PAST: THE ARCHITECTURE OF ADDITIONS What makes a successful addition? Should additions differ in style from the original building? Would a seamless attachment be a more effective way of approaching an architectural addition? Architects strive to design a structure that works in and of itself, a building whose parts relate in a particular way. When new construction adds to a building, the design of the original is heavily impacted and often disrupted. Is this disruption minimized best by copying the original as closely as possible, or by building something that only referencesthe original? It is generally accepted that differentiating the old from the new best maintains the integrity of the original. The Secretary of the Interior has specific standards that address the issue of architectural addition:

The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal


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of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property.

o The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

These standards encourage new additions to complement the original, rather than clashing or competing with it, yet also to be clearly different from the original. If an addition is too similar to the original, it can create a false and inauthentic sense of a building’s history by making unclear what is historic and what is new. When considering the challenges and successes of any architectural addition to an historic structure, one must first consider its interaction not only with the structure to which it is attached, but the environment that surrounds it. Achieving a balance between the historic and modern is one of the greatest difficulties in establishing an effective design for an addition.

APPENDIX C: ADAPTIVE REUSE Adaptive reuse, the rehabilitation and restoration of historic structures for use other than their original purpose, can help to balance the conservation of the past with development and economic stimulation. Renovating an old building for a new purpose can often be accomplished for a fraction of the cost of a new building. Adaptive reuse, when done following the rehabilitation standards of the Secretary of the Interior, preserves the building’s important architectural features while meeting the needs and expectations of the developer. Adaptive reuse has been a successful way of preventing the destruction of many historic structures and has promoted a greater sensitivity toward architectural styles and aesthetics of the past. As described on L.A. City’s Office of Historic Preservation website: “The Adaptive Reuse Ordinance has become one of the most significant incentives related to historic preservation in Los Angeles, facilitating the conversion of dozens of historic and under-utilized structures into new housing units. The Ordinance was originally approved in 1999 for downtown Los Angeles and was extended into other neighborhoods of the city in 2003. It provides for an expedited approval process and ensures that older and historic buildings are not subjected to the same zoning and code requirements that apply to new construction. The result has been the creation of several thousand new housing units, with thousands more in the development pipeline, demonstrating that historic preservation can serve as a powerful engine for economic revitalization and the creation of new housing supply.” For more information visit preservation.lacity.org/incentives/adaptive-reuse-ordinance

APPENDIX D: ADVOCACY FOR THE RECENT PAST


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It is only relatively recently that the importance of saving buildings less than fifty years old began to be understood. Many things, style included, become passé before they become classic. The prevailing taste almost always equates modern with progress and old with old-fashioned: as when Victorian and Beaux Arts structures were razed in the 1930s to make way for ‘modern’ Art Deco buildings, and then Deco buildings were demolished to make way for skyscrapers. Most people today can understand why a 75-year-old building would be considered a historic resource; however, it is harder to look at something more recent that is no longer in vogue and put forth a case for paying attention to it, let alone discussing it as a preservation issue. Typically, buildings are most at risk of being torn down or significantly altered when they are between thirty and fifty years old. In this limbo between state-of-the-art and retro or classic, a building is at its most vulnerable. The Conservancy has been at the forefront of advocacy for the recent past, facilitating discussion to understand the future importance of buildings that are no longer new, but haven’t yet reached an age where they are considered classic.

APPENDIX E: LOS ANGELES' BUILDING HEIGHT LIMITS In 1904, a City Council-appointed commission drafted the ordinance limiting the height of buildings to 130 feet (extended to 150 feet in 1911). Architect John Parkinson was a member of the commission. It is interesting to note that as a result of the ordinance, Parkinson's under-construction 175-foot tall Braly Block (on the corner of Spring Street and 5th) remained the tallest office building in the city for more than fifty years (the only taller buildings, City Hall and the U. S. Courthouse, were government buildings). Note: the height limit applied to occupied space. Unoccupied space could rise above that level, which led to towers for housing systems, and elaborate decoration on top of these towers. One example is the Eastern Columbia Building (1930) on Broadway at Ninth, which rises to a total height of 264 feet, including its tower and “crown.” One might assume that the ordinance was implemented out of concern for earthquakes, even though it preceded by more than a year the great San Francisco earthquake. In actuality, the height limitation was apparently enacted to retain the “broad structural safety” of the buildings as well as to prevent the “Manhattanization” of Los Angeles. With so much room to grow, Angelenos valued the sunshine reaching the sidewalk, which might be obliterated by taller buildings. The building height limit of 150 feet was repealed by voters in 1957 (a public vote was necessary because it was an amendment to the City Charter). The law was changed to use a Floor to Area ratio known as FAR). In simple terms, this is the amount of height allowed relative to ground space. The densest FAR approved was 13-to-1: essentially, thirteen stories worth of square footage. Designers could choose to stack that square footage


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however they chose; for example, a thirteen-story building that built out to the property line on all sides would contain X number of square feet; a building of the same square footage that utilized only half of its plot of land would be able to rise twenty-six stories.

APPENDIX F: PERCENT FOR ART In 1985, Los Angeles adopted an Art in Public Places Policy, commonly known as the “Percent for Art” program. The ordinance requires developers of commercial or industrial projects (for ground-up buildings or additions) for which the total value of construction is $500,000 or more, to pay an arts fee equal to a percentage of the development cost (the percentage depends on the type of project).

APPENDIX G: HISTORY OF BUNKER HILL

Much of the current financial district of Los Angeles is situated on a parcel of land known as Bunker Hill. Named in 1875 on the centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill and developed in the late 1800s, the area was a residential district that included a number of grand Victorian homes for the wealthy and powerful. Over time, the area became run down, the mansions became boarding houses (many with little or no maintenance), and narrow, winding streets, and other topographical challenges made the area difficult to maintain and to redevelop. By the 1950s the area was considered “blighted,” and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) focused their attention on reinvigorating this part of downtown. In 1959, the Los Angeles City Council adopted the Bunker Hill Urban Renewal Project. When the CRA was disbanded in 2012 due to state budget cuts, the project was the agency’s oldest active development project. In the early 1960s, all structures on the hill were demolished or relocated, and much of the hill was flattened to create twenty-two ‘super blocks’ for development. In addition, new streets and infrastructure were added and the CRA subdivided and resold plots of land to developers. Only two of the homes on Bunker Hill were saved from demolition. They were rescued and moved to a site in Highland Park that was named Heritage Square. Although the original two houses burned to the ground shortly after the move, other Victorian structures from around the city have since been moved to Heritage Square, which is now a museum open to the public. However, despite the newly-cleared land, tax breaks, and promotion from the CRA, the development of the “new” Bunker Hill did not materialize as expected. Developers continued to choose more central downtown locations for their skyscrapers and much of Bunker Hill remained undeveloped until the early 1980s when several large projects were built, among them Mellon Bank (1982), Wells Fargo Plaza (1983), and California Plaza (1985). The redevelopment of Bunker Hill, as well as the area south of Bunker Hill now known as the Financial District, coincided with the revision of the building height limit in Los Angeles (see appendix on height limits). This proved fortunate for the older Beaux-Arts financial buildings on Spring Street; for although that area fell on economic hard times, the buildings were left behind intact instead of being torn down to make way for new high rises. This puts Los Angeles in the unique position of having two contrasting and intact urban cores, one built prior to 1945 and one built post-WWII.


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Anecdotes:

The grassy knoll at 4th and Hill Streets is known as Angels Knoll. It was featured prominently in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer. The park was owned by the now-defunct Community Redevelopment Agency, and has been closed since 2013, pending a development deal.

APPENDIX H: CULTURAL LANDSCAPES “Cultural Landscape” is the current term used to describe parks, plazas, and other public spaces that are designed and landscaped. Just as building design and architecture change with the times and go through phases and styles, so do public spaces such as plazas and parks. At the turn of the last century, parks were usually European in style, open with lots of trees, paved walkways, and a central fountain or bandstand. Often there were lots of benches, as it was assumed that these spaces would be used as public gathering areas. The 1960s and 1970s saw the rise of the corporate plaza, wide open spaces that are not meant for lingering in, and which highlight the minimalist style, grand scale, and the functionality of the buildings that surround them. Many of these spaces are artistic and evocative, but are not necessarily people-friendly. As tastes chang and social gathering spaces regain importance, many of these stark plazas are being rethought to encourage more pedestrian use. Some, like Citigroup Plaza, are physically redesigned. Some, like City National Bank Plaza, are accessorized with people-friendly amenities such as tables and planters. Preservation of Cultural Landscapes is a difficult topic. When social patterns change, public spaces are among the first impacted, and therefore the first to become obsolete. It takes creative thinking to see how re-programming a space might help re-energize it, as opposed to simply building something new in its place. An excellent source of information on this topic is the Cultural Landscape Foundation www.tclf.org.

APPENDIX I: MODERN BUILDINGS AND PRESERVATION The need for restoration and rehabilitation of a building’s construction material is not limited to older “historic” buildings. It can be surprising to note that buildings of the 1960s and 1970s may also require conservation. As architects experiment with new materials (such as aluminum or titanium), the way these materials age when used in construction might not be fully understood. In many cases new protocols have to be developed to guide conservation and/or replacement of materials that began to be widely used in architecture only recently. As an example, in 2009 the Spectra Company was hired to restore the Aon Center’s aluminum corners, which had begun to deteriorate. Spectra came up with a plan to clean, restore, and seal the aluminum with protective coating. This was about the same time that protocols were being developed to determine whether to restore or replace the deteriorating aluminum used extensively at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.

APPENDIX J: TAX CREDITS The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive is a program administered by the


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National Park Service (NPS) that rewards private investment in rehabilitating income-producing historic properties, such as offices, rental housing and retail. The incentive provides a 20% tax credit for all qualifying hard and soft cost expenditures during rehabilitation. There are a variety of other programs for tax incentives for restoring/maintaining historic properties.

APPENDIX K: A SHORT SUMMARY OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE STYLES Naming styles of architecture, especially from the recent past, is a moving target. It often takes distance to assign a particular style to a thing, because it usually is not until the style is no longer current that it is possible to assess, understand, and categorize it. Although many of the buildings on the tour may have elements of particular style categories such as International or Postmodern, most often they are a combination of many things. Time and distance will give the future a better handle on our present and recent past than we can have now. INTERNATIONAL STYLE The International style is the design most associated with “modern” skyscrapers. In its purist form, the International Style, through its proponent Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, advocated “less is more,” as well as functionalism. In Miesian architecture and other examples in strict International style, the artistry is found in subtle details such as scale and materials, and the structure’s relationship to landscaping. There is little or no applied ornament. With its emphasis on function, efficiency, order, and power, the International Style provided the ideal face for big business, and became the hallmark for Post-WWII skyscraper design. CORPORATE MODERN This branch of modernism lasted through most of the 1940s to the end of the 1950s. Often confused with the International style, Corporate Modern differs through its emphasis on visual weight. Concrete, not just steel and glass, is used prominently in the exterior. This emphasis, combined with the presence of concrete, provides these structures and their corporations a sense of solidity, gravity, and establishment. Not as severe as the International Style, the grids and lattice-like façades of these buildings are a natural evolution from the vertical thrust of the piers that were trademarks of Art Deco. LATE MODERN Parallel with later generations of the International Style, was the appearance of what architectural historian Charles Jencks titled “Late Modern.” Primarily a style of the 1970s to the early 1980s, Late Modern is important because it occurred in a gap between the utilitarian, idealist rigidity of Modern, and the more playful context of Postmodern. Whereas International Style buildings were typically rectangular towers, Late Modern buildings often played with form, including sloped roofs, setbacks, and sharp angles. This style also began to embrace color and reflective surfaces, instead of the more


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somber palette of the International Style. POST MODERN “Postmodern” is a loose stylistic designation coined by Charles Jencks in the mid-1970s to refer to a self-conscious use of traditional architectural elements usually added as decoration (often in a whimsical manner) to what would otherwise be essentially Late Modern in style. More a reaction to the obliviousness and austerity of high modernism than a movement, Postmodern buildings appropriate past architectural references, often classical, without duplication and proceed in a way that is playful but often ironic, and always in context either to the surrounding environment or the client.

APPENDIX L: WHAT IS ART DECO? Art Deco is a style of art and architecture closely associated with the Jazz age. Beginning in Western Europe after World War I, designers began to create a new style with a consciously modern look that referenced machines and technology. Designers rebelled against the Greco-Roman classicism of the Beaux-Arts by incorporating design elements from non-western cultures such as Egyptian, Mayan, and African. The vertical thrust and stylized sculpture of Gothic cathedrals was also an influence, as was Cubism and other trends in the art world towards use of line, color, and abstraction. In Art Deco Eva Weber describes style thus: “The style began to evolve shortly after 1900 as a reaction to Art Nouveau, gathered speed with an infusion from the avant-garde art movements of Cubism and Futurism, drew renewed inspiration from ancient and primitive art, was purified and streamlined by the ideas of the functionalists and sought a return to traditional values during the political and economic turmoil of the 1930s.” At first Art Deco was essentially a style of decoration and ornamentation, as European designers applied this new look to objets d'art, furniture, jewelry, handicrafts, and interior design. Eventually, this emerging style was showcased at the famous 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Promotional literature for the exposition stated that “reproductions, imitations and counterfeits of ancient styles will be strictly prohibited,” and the exposition was intended to display works of “new inspiration and real originality.” As applied to architecture, Art Deco emphasized the vertical, as opposed to the horizontal lines that typified the Beaux-Arts style popular for the first quarter of the 20th century. Art Deco buildings seem to thrust upwards, with set-backs and towers offering a false perspective that makes the buildings seem even taller than they are. This style valued the appearance of movement over the Beaux-Arts emphasis on tradition and solidity. Not only did the new style appeal to businessmen who wanted their companies to have a fresh, modern image, it also proved to be the style best suited to – and indeed even a result of –building zoning regulations at the time. In addition to the shift from the horizontal to the vertical in the silhouettes of buildings, Art Deco architectural decoration was distinctly different from the Beaux-Arts, with geometric and streamlined designs replacing the curlicues and rococo touches so


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popular for decades. There was also an inventive use of polychrome terra cotta, glass and mirrored surfaces, metal fittings, and custom-designed fixtures. Art (as opposed to decoration) in Art Deco buildings often included symbolic references to the building owners, or the type of business conducted at the site. A common theme in Art Deco period murals and sculpture alike is the power of man and machine over nature. At its best, the Art Deco style produced a harmonious collaboration of effort by architects, painters, sculptors, and designers. Art Deco in the late 1920s and early 1930s was typified by extensive use of lavish (and expensive) materials. In the 30s, the economics of the Depression produced a subtle shift in style, with zigzags and exuberant ornament evolving into a more restrained, more rounded style, often referred to as Streamline Moderne. An element of this later Moderne was a return to classical elements, such as stylized columns (as seen on the Moderne remodel of the Pacific Mutual Building). An even more streamlined and spare style began to appear in the 1930s in modernist building by designers such as Le Corbusier. Known as the International Style, the sleek style was to reach its heyday in the glass and steel towers of the 1960s and 1970s. Postscript: It is interesting to note that the popular term Art Deco was not coined until the 1960s when the Paris Musee des Arts Decoratifs used the phrase “Art Deco” in conjunction with a 1966 retrospective of design style emanating entitled Les Années ‘25’. In 1968 author Bevis Hillier wrote a comprehensive book about the style and its many varieties from object d'art to architecture. He named the book "Art Deco" and the expression entered popular culture. Up to that time, the style was most often referred to as “Moderne.” THE VARIOUS PHASES OF THE ART DECO/MODERNE STYLE • Zigzag Moderne (1925-1930) – The emphasis is on decoration with vibrant chevrons (zigzags), stylized and abstracted forms from nature including plants and animals, and brilliant color. Geometric designs, many inspired by motifs from non-western cultures like Egyptian, Assyrian, and Mayan, were used. This style was very popular with architects in Los Angeles. • Classical Moderne/Monumental Moderne (l928-1935) – These variations of Art Deco use stylized classical motifs, such as columns and pilasters. The decoration is simplified and often flattened, filtering Greco-Roman themes through a geometric Art Deco sensibility . Many public buildings of the time used this style for a look of solidity and strength. A phase known as Monumental Moderne is even more solid looking. It was popular with government buildings and financial institutions. One fine example is the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange on Spring Street (1929-30, Samuel Lunden). • Streamline Moderne (1930-1940) – The coming of the Great Depression saw the end of an era when opulent materials were lavishly used. New principles of aerodynamics were applied to buildings in design and decoration. Building exteriors were stripped to sleek forms, and began to take on attributes associated with oceanliners, airplanes, and trains. New materials like glass brick and aluminum gained


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in popularity. Rather than the tall buildings of the late 1920s, new designs were more horizontal in their orientation. Curves, especially on building corners, replaced the sharp geometrical forms of the earlier Moderne styles. Smooth surfaces replaced heavy ornamentation, bands of horizontal windows replaced the vertically oriented recessed windows, chrome and aluminum stripping replaced copper or marble sidings. LOS ANGELES AND ART DECO Downtown Los Angeles experienced a period of intense growth from the late 1920s, when Art Deco was the prevailing style. Because of this, Los Angeles has a particularly good collection of Art Deco architecture in the Zigzag Moderne style. In the 1930s and 1940s, development in Los Angeles had moved outside the downtown area to communities such the Miracle Mile and Hollywood. These outlying areas have many good examples of Streamline Moderne, whereas there is very little of this era in downtown Los Angeles.

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