A master plan for Downtown LA’s Civic Center would dramatically reshape the area and ensure demolition of the historic Parker Center building, which served as LAPD headquarters from 1955 to 2009.
In spite of its historical significance and elegant midcentury design, the former LAPD headquarters’ ties with the city’s dark past seems to have convinced officials it isn’t worthy of preservation.
The historic former LAPD headquarters is facing demolition, and it’s looking as though the building’s days may be numbered. Many associate the structure with some of the city’s darkest moments.
A new report backs razing the modernist building, which was designed by Welton Beckett & Associates and opened in 1955. More than the structure’s dark history, the hefty cost of saving it has been an issue in the past.
The plan is to demolish two buildings on the site, including a 1970s William Pereira structure, to make way for the new towers. Three buildings on the site would stay put.
New renderings reveal the seemingly gravity-defying design for the 30-story tower set to rise across the street from the LA Times complex on a lot directly above the forthcoming Second/Broadway subway station.
The LAPD's historic, Welton Becket-designed former headquarters is back in the preservation spotlight after a committee recommended demolishing the structure in August. Now, the Cultural Heritage Commission is rushing to landmark the building.
The lot formerly occupied by a famous feral cat colony has connections to two bombings and two homeless activist experiments, including one that involved a 5,000-foot circus tent. The next phase in the property's history: becoming a stylish park.
The pending sale of the Los Angeles Times complex in Downtown to Canadian developer Onni could lead to huge changes for the prominent complex and propel an equally big transformation of the neighborhood itself.
It's not a done deal yet, but if it does go through, the prominent building will likely be redeveloped into sleek offices with retail outlets. Harry Chandler once declared the building a "monument to the progress of our city and Southern California."
A dirt lot in Civic Center once ruled by feral cats is a big step closer to becoming a gorgeous park now that a final design team has been selected to transform it. Mia Lehrer + Associates plans to bring in a restaurant and add lots of shade.
LA will pay tribute to the music legend in a special memorial May 6 on the south lawn of City Hall. The event is being organized by activist Najee Ali, who's invited Chaka Khan, Sheila E., and Kendrick Lamar (although it's unclear if they'll show).
Beating out competition from a shade structure that looked like a picnic tablecloth and another that looked like flowing ribbons, a giant sculpture of what look like paper airplanes will be keeping lunchtime food trucks shady and cool this summer.