Tag Archives: Metropolis

Downtown LA: A Look at the Buildings

la-skylineDowntown LA is known for its historic architecture, featuring iconic and classic buildings.  This includes: Bradbury Building, Broadway Theatre District, Central Public Library, City Hall, Grand Central Market, Millennium Baltimore Hotel, Union Station, US Bank Tower.  While much stays the same, a lot changes in the region too.

For example, it is true that the Dutch Chocolate Shop in Downtown LA is quite the historic core of the region.  With its wealth of “historic Batchelder tiles (crafted by artist Ernest Batchelder of Pasadena) it is “considered by many experts to be the tile-maker’s most important commission.” Owned by a trust, this 6th Street property is now up for sale.  And although the tiles were hidden away until 2012 (when they were quit by chance discovered during a public tour), any passersby touring the space can be privy to a “wonderland of elaborate tile murals.”  J. Austin Russell real estate agent has the listing.

Meanwhile, 58 feet of the Wilshire Grand was raised to the top, giving it “the distinction of being the tallest building the western United States,” as it rose 1,100 feet. Indeed, in 2014 it was listed as the tallest structure that had been erected “in an active earthquake zone.” Those in LA know it for changing their hometown’s skyline.  Architects finally got the approval from city officials to develop this, which is quite different from the high-rise design typical for the area. The transformations made at the Wilshire Grand has been praised by architects who hope that “one day the airspace above the ubiquitous sprawl will incorporate the more daring and aesthetic shapes that have emerged in cities around the world.”

And then there is Metropolis, quite an “unprecedented monstrous patchwork of glass and concrete next to the 110 Freeway.”  Winston Yan, an executive and architect at Greenland (a Chinese real estate firm), over the last 10 years he has been privy to the huge urbanization China has encountered.  So of the Metropolis he says “It reminds me of what’s happening in Beijing and Shanghai. Now it’s happening here.”

These are just some of the impressive architectural news items that have appeared recently in connection with downtown LA.