Ратуша Лос-Анджелеса: История и Архитектура

1928 building housing the government of the city of Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in the Civic Center district of downtown Los Angeles in the city block bounded by Main, Temple, First, and Spring streets, which was the heart of the city's central business district during the 1880s and 1890s. The Observation Deck or Tom Bradley Tower located on the 27th floor is open to the public. Access to City Hall is located off of Main St. The rotunda is located on the 3rd floor accessible by all elevators. To access the Tom Bradley Tower requires the “Express Car Only” for floors 1, 3, and 10 through 22 elevators. Once on the 22nd floor transition to the Gold 22 thru 26 elevator bank. Finally once on the 26th floor, access to the 27th can be reached by stairs or one more elevator. Public restrooms are located on the 3rd and 26th floor.

The building was designed by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin, Sr., and was completed in 1928. Dedication ceremonies were held on April 26, 1928. It has 32 floors and, at 454 feet (138 m) high, is the tallest base isolated structure in the world, having undergone a seismic retrofit from 1998 to 2001, so that the building will sustain minimal damage and remain functional after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake. The concrete in its tower was made with sand from each of California's 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions. and shows the influence of the Los Angeles Public Library, completed shortly before the structure was begun. An image of City Hall has been on Los Angeles Police Department badges since 1940. A City Council ordinance passed in 1905 did not permit any new construction to be taller than 13 stories or 150 feet (46 m) in order to keep the city's architecture harmonious. City Hall's 454 feet (138 m) height was deemed exempt as a public building and assured that no building would surpass one third its height for over three decades until the ordinance was repealed by voter referendum in 1957. Therefore, from its completion in 1928 until finally surpassed by the topping off of Union Bank Plaza in 1966, City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles and shared the skyline with only a few structures such as the Continental Building, the only property built taller than 150 feet prior to the ordinance, and the Richfield Tower and Eastern Columbia Building, which exceeded the ordinance through a loophole allowing for decorative towers. City Hall has an observation deck, free to the public and open Monday through Friday during business hours. The peak of the pyramid at the top of the building is an airplane beacon named in honor of Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, the Lindbergh Beacon. Circa 1939, there was an art gallery, in Room 351 on the third floor, that exhibited paintings by California artists. The building was designated a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1976. In 1998 the building was closed during a total $135 million refurbishment which also included upgrading it so it could withstand a magnitude 8.2 earthquake including permitting it to sway in a quake.

The Mayor of Los Angeles has an office in room 300. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 am, the Los Angeles City Council meets in its chamber. An observation level is open to the public on the 27th floor. This floor's interior comprises a single large and highly vaulted room distinguished by the iconic tall square columns that are far more familiar as one of the building's most distinguishing exterior features. As this ample interior space is named, the Mayor Tom Bradley Room is used for ceremonies and other special occasions. City Hall and the adjacent federal, state, and county buildings are served by the Civic Center station on the Metro B and D subway lines and the Historic Broadway station on the Metro A and E light rail lines. The J Line stops in front of the building. The Los Angeles Dodgers wore a commemorative uniform patch during the 2018 season celebrating 60 years in the city depicting a logo of Los Angeles City Hall.

City Hall South at 111 E. First Street, on the north side of First Street between Los Angeles and Main streets, built in 1952 4, architects Lunden, Hayward & O'Connor, International Style, originally opened as the City Health Building, housing health offices, clinics, and labs, and a central utility plant that heated City Hall proper and Parker Center (then police headquarters).

James K. Hahn City Hall East, 200 N. Main St., is located in the South Plaza of the Los Angeles Mall, a sunken, multi level series of open spaces and retail space on the east side of Main Street straddling Temple Street. It is an 18 story, Brutalist, 1972 building by Stanton & Stockwell, featuring a mural by Millard Sheets, The Family of Man.