Los Angeles City Hall, Art Deco government building in Downtown Los Angeles, United States
Los Angeles City Hall is a 32-story administrative building in the center of Downtown Los Angeles that rises 138 meters (453 feet) above street level with a terracotta and granite facade. The structure combines a rectangular base with a setback shaft and an octagonal pyramidal tower that terminates in a lantern at the summit.
Architects began construction on the building in 1926 and completed it in 1928, taking advantage of an exemption from the city's height restriction. It remained the tallest structure in California until 1964, defining the city's skyline for nearly four decades.
The pyramid-shaped tower carries a lantern that glows with white light over downtown after dark, visible from great distances across the basin. Visitors enter a rotunda with marble floors and walls decorated with reliefs depicting California agriculture and early industries.
An observation area on the 27th floor opens on weekdays and allows visitors to look across downtown and out to the surrounding mountains. Security screening at the entrance operates similar to airports, so plan enough time for access.
Engineers placed the building on isolators between 1998 and 2001 that separate it from the foundation and allow it to move up to 53 centimeters (21 inches) in any direction during strong earthquakes. This technique makes it the tallest seismically isolated structure worldwide and allows the tower to survive intense ground motion.
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