Title supplied by cataloger. Designed in 1929 by Allison & Allison, the Southern California Edison Company building was erected on the northwest corner of Fifth Street and Grand Avenue by the P. J. Walker Company. Occupying a site of 175 x 175 feet, and at a height of 222 feet, the fourteen-story building was about one-half the height of the Los Angeles City Hall. It is estimated that about 400,000 inches of bead were required to hold in place the 3500 tons of structural steel, fabricated by Consolidated Steel Corporation, and that every column and girder in the steel frame was braced and cross-braced with steel webs and plates, riveted and welded in such a way that the finished building would have a resistance to external forces not approached by any other type of construction. The frame was designed so that the building would be capable of withstanding a general conflagration, a major hurricane or an earthquake of large intensity. The steel-framed building follows a classically inspired Art Deco design, with the lower three stories made of solid limestone, and the upper stories and central tower faced with buff-colored terra cotta. On the facade, the spandrels contain a cubic Art Deco pattern, which is repeated in the central tower, lobby floor and elevator ceilings. The cost of the building, together with the value of the site, was estimated at approximately $3,575,000. It opened on March 20, 1931 as the Southern California Edison Company corporate headquarters. View of construction site where the Southern California Edison Company building is being erected shows a large mountain of dirt where timber, rocks and other construction debris can be seen scattered about. Trucks, a car and excavating machinery appear in this space, as well as the beginnings of an adjoining wall along the right. On the other side of that that wall is the Sherwood Apartment house, and on the left is the Engstrum Hotel Apartment building. Photograph dated December 16, 1929.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;19 x 25 cm. on sheet 20 x 28 cm. Photographic prints
Engstrum Hotel Apartments (Los Angeles, Calif.) Sherwood Apartments (Los Angeles, Calif.) Southern California Edison Company One Bunker Hill Building (Los Angeles, Calif.) Building construction--California--Los Angeles Apartment houses--California--Los Angeles Construction and demolition debris--California--Los Angeles Apartment hotels--California--Los Angeles Construction equipment--California--Los Angeles Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles Building sites--California--Los Angeles Bunker Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.) Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
