Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Federal courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles, United States.
The Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse stands on Temple Street in the Civic Center district of downtown Los Angeles, east of and next to Welton Becket's 1965 Federal Building at 300 N. Los Angeles Street. Completed in January 1992, it serves the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Completed in January 1992, the building is named for Edward R. Roybal, a long-serving U.S. Congressman from Los Angeles. Before it opened, a nude statue by sculptor Tom Otterness was removed after Roybal objected that it suited a museum but not a federal building. In 1993 it drew national attention as the venue of the federal trial of four LAPD officers charged in the 1991 Rodney King beating, held a year after their acquittal in state court in Simi Valley.
The courthouse is named for Edward R. Roybal, who represented Los Angeles in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years, from 1963 to 1993, after earlier service on the Los Angeles City Council. Before the building opened, Roybal objected to a nude statue by sculptor Tom Otterness, arguing it suited a museum but not a federal building; the statue was removed.
The building is accessible on weekdays, with all visitors required to pass through security screening at entrances. Allow extra time for security procedures and check ahead about courtroom access rules, as some proceedings may be closed to the public.
Before the building opened, a nude statue by sculptor Tom Otterness was removed after Congressman Roybal objected that it suited a museum but not a federal building. In 1993 the courthouse drew international press for the federal trial of the four LAPD officers charged in the 1991 Rodney King beating, held a year after their acquittal in state court in Simi Valley.
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