Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
16
L.A.'S WEST SIDE & BEVERLY
HILLS The bold ar chitecture and o ver-
whelming scale of the Pacific D esign
Center, designed b y Argentine ar chitect
Cesar P elli, ar oused contr oversy when it
was er ected in 1975. S heathed in gently
curving cobalt-blue glass, the sev en-story
building houses more than 750,000 square
feet of wholesale interior-design sho w-
rooms and is known to locals as “the Blue
Whale.” In 1988, a second bo xlike struc-
ture, dr essed in equally dramatic K elly
green, was added to the design center and
surrounded by a protected outdoor plaza.
A pr otégé of F rank Llo yd Wright and
contemporary of Richard Neutra, Austrian
architect Rudolph Schindler designed the
innovative Schindler House for himself in
the early 1920s. I t's now home to the Los
Angeles arm of A ustria's M useum of
Applied Arts (MAK). The house is noted
for its complicated interlocking spaces; the
interpenetration of indoors and out; sim-
ple, unadorned materials; and technologi-
cal inno vations. D ocent-guided tours ar e
conducted at no additional charge on
weekends.
HOLLYWOOD Opened in 1956, the
13-story Capitol Records Building tower,
just north of the legendar y intersection of
Hollywood and Vine, is one of the city 's
most r ecognizable buildings. The world 's
first cir cular office building is often, but
incorrectly, said to hav e been made to
resemble a stack of 45s under a turntable
stylus.
Conceived by grandiose impr esario Sid
Grauman, the Egyptian Theatr e is just
down the str eet fr om his better-kno wn
Chinese Theatr e, but it r emains less
altered from its original design, which was
based on the then-headline-ne ws disco v-
ery of hidden tr easures in P haraohs'
tombs—hence the hier oglyphic murals
and enormous scarab decoration above the
stage. H ollywood's first mo vie pr emiere,
Robin H ood, starring D ouglas F airbanks,
was sho wn her e in 1922. The building
recently underwent a sensitiv e restoration
by American Cinematheque, which no w
screens rare, classic, and independent films
(see section 6 in chapter 10, “Los Angeles
After Dark.”).
Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House,
built in 1924, was designed as an experi-
mental pr ototype of mass-pr oduced
affordable housing. The home's richly pat-
terned “textile-block” exterior is the most
famous aspect of the home 's design. S itu-
ated on a dramatic site o verlooking Hol-
lywood, Freeman House is built with the
world's first glass-to-glass corner windows.
Dancer M artha G raham, bandleader
Xavier C ugat, ar t collector G alka S heye,
photographer Edward Weston, and ar chi-
tects P hilip Johnson and Richar d Neutra
all liv ed or spent significant time at this
house.
DOWNTOWN For a taste of what
Downtown's B unker H ill was like befor e
the bulldozers, visit the r esidential neigh-
borhood of Angelino Heights, near Echo
Park. E ntire str eets ar e still filled with
stately gingerbread Victorian homes; most
still enjoy the beautiful views that led early
L.A.'s elite to build her e. The 1300 block
of Carr oll A venue is the best pr eserved.
Don't be surprised if a film cr ew is scout-
ing locations while y ou're ther e—these
blocks often appear on the silv er screen.
The B radbury B uilding, a N ational
Historic Landmar k, built in 1893 and
designed by George Wyman, is Los Ange-
les's oldest commercial building and one of
the city 's most r evered ar chitectural
achievements. Legend has it that an inex-
perienced draftsman named G eorge
Wyman accepted the $125,000 commis-
sion after communicating with his dead
brother through a Ouija board. Capped by
a magical fiv e-story skylight, B radbury's
courtyard combines glaz ed brick, ornate
Mexican tile floors, rich B elgian marble,
Art N ouveau grillwor k, handsome oak
paneling, and lacelike wr ought-iron rail-
ings—it's one of the gr eat interior spaces
2
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