Los Angeles City Hall

Los Angeles City Hall
General information
Status Complete
Type Government offices
Location 200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, California
Coordinates 34°03′13″N 118°14′35″W / 34.0536°N 118.2430°W / 34.0536; -118.2430Coordinates: 34°03′13″N 118°14′35″W / 34.0536°N 118.2430°W / 34.0536; -118.2430
Construction started 1926
Completed 1928
Owner City of Los Angeles
Management City of Los Angeles
Height
Roof 138 m (453 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 32
Floor area 79,510 m2 (855,800 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect Austin Parkinson and Martin
Structural engineer Nabih Youssef Associates
Main contractor Bovis Lend Lease
Designated March 24, 1976
Reference no. 150
References
[1][2][3][4]

Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council.[5] It is located in the Civic Center district of downtown Los Angeles in the city block bounded by Main, Temple, First, and Spring streets.

History

1931 photograph of then new City Hall with the now-demolished 10-story International Savings Bank to the immediate left.[6]

The building was designed by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin, Sr., and was completed in 1928. Dedication ceremonies were held on April 26, 1928. It has 32 floors and, at 454 feet (138 m) high, is the tallest base-isolated structure in the world, having undergone a seismic retrofit from 1998 to 2001 so that the building will sustain minimal damage and remain functional after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake.[7] The concrete in its tower was made with sand from each of California's 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions.[2] City Hall's distinctive tower was based on the shape of the Mausoleum of Mausolus,[8] and shows the influence of the Los Angeles Public Library, completed soon before the structure was started. An image of City Hall has been on Los Angeles Police Department badges since 1940.[9]

To keep the City's architecture harmonious, prior to the late 1950s the Charter of the City of Los Angeles did not permit any portion of any building other than a purely decorative tower to be more than 150 ft (46 m). Therefore, from its completion in 1928 until 1964, the City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles, and shared the skyline with only a few structures having decorative towers, including the Richfield Tower and the Eastern Columbia Building.

City Hall has an observation deck, free to the public and open Monday through Friday during business hours. The peak of the pyramid at the top of the building is an airplane beacon named in honor of Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, cf Lindbergh Beacon. Circa 1939, there was an art gallery, in Room 351 on the third floor, that exhibited paintings by California artists. [10]

The building was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1976.[11]

Previous City Halls

Prior to the completion of the current structure, the L.A. City Council utilized various other buildings:

Usage

The Mayor of Los Angeles has an office in room 300 of this building and every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:00am, the Los Angeles City Council meets in its chambers. City Hall and the adjacent federal, state, and county buildings are served by the Civic Center station on the LA Metro Red Line and Purple Line.

An observation level is open to the public on the 27th floor. The interior of this floor, comprises a single large and highly vaulted room distinguished by the iconic tall square columns that are far more familiar as one of the building's most distinguishing exterior features. The Mayor Tom Bradley Room, as this large interior space is named, is used for ceremonies and other special occasions.

The Tom Bradley Room, making up the whole interior of L.A. City Hall's 27th floor.

Popular culture

The City Hall from Hill Street

The building has been featured in the following popular movies and television shows:

Ƭ̵̬̊ The 1991 hit "Diamonds And Pearls" musician PRINCE featured the music video to this song and Los Angeles City Hall was the prime location for the "Diamonds and Pearls" video.

The building has also been featured in the following other media:

Photos

See also

References

  1. Los Angeles City Hall at Emporis
  2. 1 2 Los Angeles City Hall at Glass Steel and Stone
  3. Los Angeles City Hall at SkyscraperPage
  4. Los Angeles City Hall at Structurae
  5. "The Official Web Site of The City of Los Angeles". City of Los Angeles. 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  6. Scott, Charles Fletcher (August–September 1931). "Los Angeles on Parade". Overland Monthly 89 (8-9): 14.
  7. "Projects". Clark Construction Group, LLC. 2010. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2010. (Archived link, May 12, 2010)
  8. Kimberly Truhler (February 13, 2012). "Out & About--the Art Deco Design of Los Angeles City Hall". GlamAmor. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  9. "LAPD Badge Description". Los Angeles Police Department. 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  10. Work Progress Administration (1939). Los Angeles: A Guide to the City and Its Environs. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  11. Los Angeles Department of City Planning (September 7, 2007). "Historic - Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments" (.PDF). City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Cecilia Rasmussen (September 9, 2001). "City Hall Beacon to Shine Again". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  13. Pacific Electric (March 22, 2013). "Early Los Angeles City Hall on Broadway". Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  14. J Scott Shannon (November 22, 2009). "Old Civic Center – south to City Hall". Los Angeles Past. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  15. "Perry Mason office locale". D M Brockman. 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  16. Tony Reeves. "Film Locations for L.A. Confidential(1997)". Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  17. IMDB. "L.A. Confidential (1997) - Trivia - IMDB)". Retrieved 19 February 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Los Angeles City Hall.


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