Los Angeles Times Building

The Los Angeles Times Building is a late art deco building in Times Mirror Square at 1st and Spring Streets in Los Angeles, California.[1] It was built as the headquarters of the Los Angeles Times and was designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann.[2][3] The building won a gold medal at the 1937 Paris Exposition.[4]

Los Angeles Times Building
General information
TypeOffice
Location202 West 1st Street
Los Angeles, California
United States
Coordinates34.053009°N 118.244596°W / 34.053009; -118.244596
Completed1935
OwnerOnni Group
Design and construction
ArchitectGordon B. Kaufmann

In 1935, when the first original building was opened, Harry Chandler, then the president and general manager of Times-Mirror Co., declared the building a "monument to the progress of our city and Southern California".[2]

History

The Los Angeles Times Building is the site of two previous city halls:

  • A building at South Spring Street and West 2nd Street was used as City Hall from 1884 to 1888.[5]
  • A Romanesque Revival building on 226-238 South Broadway between 2nd Street and 3rd Street was built as City Hall in 1888, but demolished in 1928; it is now occupied by the LA Times Parking structure and another building, at 240 Broadway.[6]

Four other additions were added to Times Mirror Square over the decades, including the 10-story 1948 Mirror Building designed by Rowland Crawford[7] and the William Pereira-designed 1973 headquarters of the old Times Mirror Co.

On April 13, 2018, LA Times employees were notified that ownership was unable to reach a new lease agreement to remain in The Times Building. The staff of about 800 employees would relocate to a new campus under construction in suburban El Segundo, 17 miles (27 km) to the southwest when the lease at the Times Building expires, with a July 31, 2018 deadline to be out of the building.[7]

Onni Group, a Canadian developer who became owners after the Times then-owners Tribune Publishing lost control of its real estate in bankruptcy reorganization,[7] reportedly wanted to increase the monthly lease by $1 million.[8] The new Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong moved the paper to a building he owned in El Segundo, leaving the building empty.

The vacant building is currently underused, with vacant space being used for movie shoots, earning the company as much as $4 million one year.[7][2][4] The original building, despite its historic and architecturally significance, is not listed as a historical landmark.[3] It is not in the listings of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, California Historical Landmarks, or U.S. Registered Historic Landmarks in Los Angeles. Omni has planned to redevelop the site.

Redevelopment

The Onni Group, a Real Estate Development Company has proposed to expand and renovate the adjacent 1973 Times Mirror complex with residential units and retail.[3][7] Two residential towers were proposed, a 37 story tower rising 365 feet. A taller 53 story building rising 655 feet.[9] The design emphasis walkability and retail around the Civic Center area of DTLA.

A new underground light rail station will open on the 2nd Street side of the building when construction of the Regional Connector Transit Corridor is completed in 2022.[10] City Hall approved tearing down all the additions to the original 1937 building, including the Pereira additions, to make way for the proposed addition towers to be completed in 2023.[3]

The Los Angeles Times Lobby

See also

References
  1. Vincent, Roger (2015-01-08). "Los Angeles Times site to be redeveloped". Los Angeles Times.
  2. DiMassa, Cara Mia (2008-06-26). "Much has changed around the Los Angeles Times Building". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  3. Miranda, Carolina (17 July 2018). "Ugly carpets and green marble: The design of the Los Angeles Times buildings changed along with the city, though not always gracefully". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. "15 films and TV series that filmed at the Los Angeles Times building". Los Angeles Times. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  5. Masters, Nathan (2013-01-15). "CityDig: When Los Angeles City Hall Commanded the L.A. Skyline". Los Angeles Magazine. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  6. Masters, Nathan (2014-05-08). "CityDig: This Was L.A.'s City Hall for 39 Years". Los Angeles Magazine. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  7. Curwen, Thomas (20 July 2018). "For a brief, shining moment, Times Mirror Square was L.A.'s Camelot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  8. James, Meg; Chang, Andrea (2018-04-13). "Patrick Soon-Shiong plans to move Los Angeles Times to new campus in El Segundo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  9. http://urbanize.la/post/first-look-times-mirror-square-redevelopment
  10. Channick, Robert (2015-01-08). "Tribune Media to redevelop Times Mirror Square in Los Angeles". Chicago Tribune.

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