Los Angeles City Hall

 

Downtown in 1892

 Downtown in 1882

 

 City Hall is the center of the government in Los Angeles.  The building was completed in 1928 with 32 floors.  It is still the tallest base-isolated structure in the world. 

City Hall construction, 1927

The concrete in the tower is made with sand from California’s 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions.  This can be taken as a symbol of the importance of Los Angeles in the state of California.  The shape of the tower was based on the Mausoleum of Mausolus.

 

 

Prior to the late 1950s no other building in Los Angeles was allowed to be taller than 150 ft. except decorative towers.  City Hall was the tallest building in L.A. from 1928-1964.  City Hall is iconic from both T.V. series and films, but is overshadowed by the much taller office buildings in the skyline.

Kristopher Turner