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Have a Cup of Tea on the Columbia Savings Building's Ceiling

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Image of Columbia Savings via Martin Rand via LA Conservancy; ceiling via LAMA
Did you know that the southeast corner of La Brea and Wilshire wasn't always a dirt lot? Once upon a time (last year) it was home to the Columbia Savings building, which itself housed a 36' x 36' stained glass ceiling. Developer BRE tore down the building to make way for eventual apartments, but art collector Scott Bogatz salvaged the ceiling, which was made in 1965 by famed stained glass-ist Roger Darricarrere. Los Angeles Modern Auctions is putting the ceiling up for sale, and will be displaying 28 of the 84 panels and the pyramid during the auction, according to the LA Times. The price is estimated at $80,000-100,000, but if you don't have the scratch or the 1,300 spare square feet, LAMA suggests panels be "used individually as coffee or dining tables." Last December, Bogatz told Curbed it cost $50,000 just to get the thing out of the building and that he'd be contacting LACMA to see if they wanted it.
· Historic L.A. stained-glass ceiling up for auction [LAT]
· Salvaging Columbia Wilshire [Curbed LA]