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Images from Bunker Hill and other parts of Downtown Los Angeles including the Disney Concert Hall, California Plaza, Wells Fargo Center and other skyscrapers, and 19th and early 20th century architecture such as the Bradbury Building, the Central Library, Union Station (the last great train station built in the US), and other Los Angeles Architecture.
Click an image to open a larger version. Use your back button to return to this page.
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The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).
These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.
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Biltmore Gas Company 0039
I really like the overlay of the 1920s Biltmore Hotel over the modern Gas Company skyscraper. I have several versions of this image (different seasons).
The Biltmore has both a striking exterior and an exquisitely beautiful interior. The ceilings in the Galleria were hand-painted by Smeraldi (1922), who also worked in the Vatican and White House.
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Biltmore Street Lamp 1820
Frescoes and murals, travertine walls and crystal chandeliers, marble fountains and other accouterments of stately architecture abound in the Biltmore. The Ballroom frescoes of Greek and Roman gods and mythological creatures were created over a period of 7 months, and were restored in the 1980s by Smeraldi’s apprentice. The lobby floor is a marvel.
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Biltmore Victorian Street Lamp 9687
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Biltmore Exterior Lantern 4128
The Millennium Biltmore Hotel (1923) was the largest hotel west of Chicago at the time. It was built in Spanish-Italian Renaissance style with Beaux Arts (Neoclassical) influences.
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Bonaventure 0645
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Bonaventure Reflections 9675
The largest hotel in Los Angeles, the Bonaventure (1976) is used as a location for many film and television productions, as well as corporate meetings and conventions.
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Bradbury Building 0534
An architectural landmark of downtown Los Angeles, the Bradbury Building (1893) is on Broadway at the base of Bunker Hill. The interior is an enormous central court lit by a huge skylight, adorned with filigreed ornamental cast-iron and wrought-iron, tile and marble, and has exposed cage elevators housed in wrought-iron shafts. The wrought-iron was displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair before being installed in the building (it was manufactured in France).
The Bradbury has been featured in many films, including Blade Runner, Double Indemnity, I the Jury, Wolf, Murphy’s Law, Chinatown, and many other film and television productions. It is quite probably the most recognizable interior space in the City of Los Angeles.
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Bradbury Building 0200
The dark entrance passes the first stairway with ornamental wrought-iron railings and opens into the brightly lit central court, seen above.
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Bradbury Building 4625
Beyond the stairway you can see one of the open-cageworks for the elevators on each side of the court. Below are detail shots of the cages.
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Bradbury Building 0716
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Bradbury Building 0736
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Bunker Hill 0167
Originally developed in the late 19th century with Victorian houses for the elite, Bunker Hill now is the site of the dominant skyscrapers in Los Angeles (and Disney Concert Hall).
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Bunker Hill Sunset 0729
The glass and steel towers in the center are the California Plaza buildings. Angel’s Flight (the world’ shortest railway) climbs the steep grade from the Grand Central Market below.
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Bunker Hill Wells Fargo KPMG 0650
The acute angles of the Wells Fargo and KPMG Towers create dramatic images. These angles are exploited in some of the shots displayed further down on this page. This image was taken from the YMCA courtyard, across Hope Street from the complex.
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California Plaza 0148
On the opposite side of the Wells Fargo Towers are the twin California Plaza Towers.
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California Plaza 0181
These blue glass and steel towers were BOMA Buildings of the Year in 1997 and 2001.
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California Plaza 0454
The building shown above is the 750 foot tall Two California Plaza (One stands 578 ft. tall, and. connects to the Museum of Contemporary Art).
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California Plaza 9628
The Plaza was completed in 1992, during a slump in downtown real estate, and the planned third tower was never built.
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California Plaza 0697
California Plaza, shot from the Pershing Square escalator.
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California Plaza Reflection 0639
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California Plaza Sunset 0738
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California Plaza Pool 0619
This pool stands between the Omni Hotel and MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). One California Plaza forms the background at the end of the tree-lined courtyard.
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The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).
These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.
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Gas Company 4139
The elevator shafts and roof, called the “Ship” because of its shape, were used in “Speed”.
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Gas Company Library Tower 4034
The two skyscrapers hover over the much smaller 12-story Biltmore Hotel at the far left.
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Library Tower 9700
The Library Tower is the 10th tallest building in the USA and the 40th tallest in the world. The current official name is the US Bank Tower, but everyone still calls it the Library Tower. The tower rises 73 stories (1018 feet) and is across the street from the Central Library, which was rebuilt after the disastrous fires of 1986 in part by selling the “air rights” to the developer of the Library Tower in 1989 as part of the $1 Billion Central Library Redevelopment Plan.
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SBC Gas Company 0171
The SBC microwave tower. The building is part of the AT&T Center.
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SBC Gas Company 0611
Dappled light reflecting from California Plaza. The Gas Company Tower forms the background.
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Mellon Bank Uptown Rocker 0182
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Wells Fargo KPMG 0662
The knife-edged Wells Fargo/KPMG Towers.
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Wells Fargo under Grand 9631
This scene has been in many films. It is shot from the street below Grand.
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Wells Fargo 0669
Two more views of the sharp edge of the Wells Fargo Tower. When looking up, the smooth brown surface reflects the sky and changes to a bright blue on a nice day.
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Wells Fargo 0781
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Disney Concert Hall 0011
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is at 1st and Grand and is part of the LA Music Center. Below are some shape studies of the magnificent stainless steel exterior.
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Disney Concert Hall 1764
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Disney Concert Hall 0446
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Disney Concert Hall 0525
The concave surfaces caused a major problem when the Concert Hall first opened, as they acted like a parabolic mirror and reflected light and heat on nearby condominiums, causing tripled AC costs.
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Disney Concert Hall 0606
The problem was resolved when the surfaces of the stainless steel panels were brushed to somewhat reduce their reflectivity.
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Disney Concert Hall 0652
More views of the Disney Concert Hall are available on this page.
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The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).
These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.
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City Hall 0079
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City Hall 1861
Los Angeles City Hall (1928) is the tallest base-isolated structure in the world, and can withstand an 8.2 earthquake. The design was based on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and was made famous by “Superman” and “Dragnet”.
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Downtown Library Torch of Knowledge 0770
The LA Central Library was completed in 1926 and was designed with Egyptian influences.
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Shadow and Light Library Lantern 4089
I simply could not resist shooting this (it also offers an elegant play on words).
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Downtown Library Atrium 0037
The Atrium contains 3 enormous chandeliers and 13’ tall radial-vaned lanterns at each landing.
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Downtown Library Sphinx 4120
One of the black veined Belgian marble sphinxes guarding the approach to the Statue of Civilization.
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Downtown Library Rotunda Mosaic Garnsey 4115
The mosaic dome by Julian E. Garnsey (1932), and the 2000 pound chandelier in the Rotunda.
The Central Library suffered two disastrous fires in 1986, destroying almost 400,000 volumes. The fire in April 1986 (set by arsonists) was the greatest structural fire in Los Angeles history. The Library was rebuilt with funds raised in the $1 Billion Central Library Redevelopment Plan.
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Grand Central Apartments 0457
The building housing the Million Dollar Theater (one of the first movie palaces in the US, 1918) also houses the Grand Central Apartments.
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Grand Central Apartments 0465
The ornate facade over the entrance. The building is directly across the street from the Bradbury Building (seen earlier).
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Chinatown Central Plaza Roof 9739
Completed in 1938, Central Plaza is sort of a Hollywood version of Shanghai.
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Our Lady of the Angels 0006
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 to replace the St. Vibiana Cathedral, LA’s last remaining 19th c. building, which was damaged in the 1994 earthquake. (Vibiana is now an event space and arts center).
The post-modern structure designed by Rafael Moneo has no right angles.
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Our Lady of the Angels Virgin Mary Graham 0691
The statue stands above the bronze doors. It was created by the famous LA sculptor Robert Graham.
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Union Station 0231
Union Station was built on the site of the original LA Chinatown, across the street from the historic Olvera Street (part of the original Pueblo, the oldest part of downtown Los Angeles).
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Union Station 0233
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Union Station 0238
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Union Station 0245
Called the “Last of the Great Railway Stations”, it was completed in 1939 and has been used in numerous films and television shows. It was designed by the same architects who designed City Hall and many other landmark LA buildings. With the construction of the new Metro Rail system, Union Station is once again a heavily visited facility in Downtown LA.
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The Banner below leads to the LA Architecture and Public Art Collection (6 Galleries).
These six galleries contain 250 images of LA Architecture and Public Art.
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the LA Public Art page
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