| Los Angeles boasts magnificent structures designed by the world's top
architects, making L.A. a mecca for architecture fans. Heading the list
of must-see buildings:
* Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank O. Gehry
* Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels by José Raphael Moneo
* Museum of Contemporary Art by Arata Isozaki
* Getty Center by Richard Meier
* Museum of Television and Radio by Richard Meier
* Skirball Cultural Center and Museum by Moshe Safdie
* Norton Simon Museum: new expansion by Frank O. Gehry
* Japanese Pavilion at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) by Bruce
Goff
Renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed nine structures
in the Los Angeles area:
* Hollyhock House (1917-1920); Barnsdall Art Park, East Hollywood (closed
for renovation)
* Ennis-Brown House (1924); 2607 Glendower Ave., Los Feliz (open for tours).
Parts of "Blade Runner" were filmed here
* Anderton Court Building (1953-54); 328 Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills
* Alice Millard House (1923); 645 Prospect Crescent, Pasadena
* Storer house (1923); 8161 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood Hills
* Freeman House (1924); 1962 Glencoe Way, Hollywood
* Sturges House (1939); 441 Skyewiay Rd., Brentwood
* Arch Oboler House (1940,1941, 1944, 1946); 32436 Mulholland Hwy., Malibu
* Pearce House (1950); 5 Bradbury Hills Rd., Bradbury
The architectural world recognizes Los Angeles as the birthplace of innovative
modern domestic architecture, with homes designed by internationally revered
architects such as:
* Frank Lloyd Wright
* R.M. Schindler
* Richard Neutra
* Charles and Henry Greene
* Frank O. Gehry
* Charles Moore
* Wallace Neff
* Gregory Ain
* John Lautner
* A. Quincy Jones
* Raphael S. Soriano
* Craig Ellwood
* Cliff May
* Lloyd Wright
* Bruce Goff
The tallest office building west of the Mississippi River - in fact,
the tallest between Chicago and Singapore - is the U.S. Bank Tower on
Fifth Street in Downtown L.A. Designed by world-renowned architect I.M.
Pei in 1989 at a cost of $450 million, the 1,108-foot-tall structure has
76 stories. Its distinctive silhouette stands out in the downtown skyline.
The largest historical theater district listed on the National Register
of Historic Places is in L.A.-on Broadway, between Third and Ninth Streets
in Downtown Los Angeles. The district features nickelodeons, vaudeville
houses, theaters and movie palaces.
The Pacific Design Center is affectionately dubbed the "Blue Whale"
because of its dramatic bright blue exterior. At 1.2 million square feet,
the West Coast's largest interior design marketplace is one of the most
striking architectural complexes in the world. The equally dramatic, emerald
"Green Turtle" has augmented the original center. Cesar Pelli
designed both. www.pacificdesigncenter.com
The world's first circular office building, Capitol Records in Hollywood,
was designed to look like a stack of 45-rpm records. Designed in 1956
by Welton Becket and Associates, it even has a stylus atop its 13 stories.
The last remaining wooden lighthouse on the entire coastline of California
is in San Pedro at Point Fermin Park. Perched on the cliffside with a
sweeping view of the Pacific, the Victorian structure was built in 1874
and functioned as a lighthouse until Pearl Harbor. www.lighthousefriends.com
The largest adobe building in the United States is Mission San Fernando
in Mission Hills. Built in 1797 as the fourth in a string of 21 missions
spread across California, this remains an active parish church. www.missiontour.org/sanfernando
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The
Walt Disney Concert Hall is the new centerpiece of L.A.'s diverse musical
life. The inaugural season includes the L.A. Philharmonic's interpretations
of Mahler's "Resurrection," Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique,"
plus a Berlioz festival, all conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. The new concert
hall inaugural season schedule is broad and includes series devoted to recitals,
world music and jazz. www.laphil.org