Here's Sixth Street's 1920s Courtyard, Uncovered For The First Time In Decades

The newish owners of the PacMutual complex, on Sixth Street between Grand and Olive, have been working most of this year to make their block more fitting for the Downtown of 2013: they're bringing in some yuppie restaurants (Tender Greens and Le Pain Quotidien) and bringing back a historic courtyard dating from the 1920s. The lovely old courtyard has just finally been uncovered and broker/blogger Brigham Yen has photos, plus an explanation: "The courtyard was created when the original 1908 PacMutual at 6th/Olive expanded with the addition of a much larger 1921 structure that most people now associate as being the main building" (there's also a 1926 building in the complex). A one-story building was built obscuring the space sometime after World War II. PacMutual began in San Francisco, but moved to LA after losing their building in the 1906 earthquake; their building here was designed to be "absolutely fire and earthquake proof, as it is to be finished of steel, hard burned hollow tile, concrete and white glazed terra cotta." Eateries should start opening at the beginning of 2014.

· Downtown LA PacMutual Historic Courtyard Revealed, Planned Restaurants Opening Early 2014 [BY]