Over at our retail-obsessed sister site Racked LA, they're celebrating Weddings Week, dedicated to throwing an amazing wedding in Los Angeles, from the dress to the food to the flowers. Today they're mapped out 16 particularly stunning venues; and now we present you with a little more on five of the most architecturally interesting spots. Head over to Racked for the full roundup.
Downtown's Marvimon was once one of the city's first auto showrooms--it was built in 1924 by an Italian racecar driver. Today it's a 7,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor event space with a huge courtyard and some sustainable features: "Our design reduced the original buildings footprint by 40%, converted that area into a permeable living oasis, and created an ideal environment for productions, events, and ceremonies. We even salvaged lumber from our demolition and recycled it to make Marvimon's rustic tables, benches, and wainscoting."
The Inn of the Seventh of Ray is an old school, fancy-hippie institution in Topanga Canyon. According to its website, "Originally, the Inn's location was rumored to have been [radio evangelist] Aimee Semple McPherson's private mountain retreat in the 1930's, later becoming the site for Topanga's first church, a Four Square Gospel church. It was later sold, to become a garage, gas station and auto junk yard, an eyesore to the crossroads of Topanga." Eventually it was restored to feature a restaurant and a series of beautiful outdoor spaces with gardens, fountains, and creeks.
The Oviatt Penthouse sits atop the Art Deco Oviatt Building, built in 1928 and designed by Walker & Eisen (who also designed the Beverly Wilshire and several other notable buildings). The Oviatt, built by men's haberdasher James Oviatt, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and its 7,000-square-foot penthouse is a DTLA wedding favorite with ridiculous views.
Vibiana is the spectacular repurposing of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, the 1876 church that served as the seat of the Los Angeles diocese for more than a century. After it was damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the Archdiocese tried to demolish the building, but it was saved at the very last minute and the city swapped it for what is now the site of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The city sold Vibiana to Old Bank District developer Tom Gilmore who renovated and reinvented it as an event space: "A gilded foyer leads into the main hall where the baroque columns that frame the room reach 45 feet upward to the ornate arched ceilings. Layers of the century old marble and onyx define the grand stage."
The Jonathan Club is one of LA's old private social clubs--it was founded in 1895 (it had been established a year earlier as a political club). Whiel it was originally set up in the Pacific Electric Building, in the 1920s it moved into a brick building at Fifth and Figueroa with "European Renaissance décor, plush furnishings, many amenities," and a fabulous rooftop and terrace.
· 16 Visually Awesome Wedding Venues in LA [Racked LA]
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