It May Be the Place of Hollywood Dreams, but The Collection of Architectural Gems that Populate the City of Angels Will Leave Any Architecture Lover Starstruck
To call Los Angeles an eclectic mix of building types and architectural styles would be an understatement. The city, long an enclave for the latest trends and trendsetters, has seen its one-of-a-kind personality extend into the glass, steel, concrete, and iron that forms the city’s structures. With every era comes a distinct look, a fresh attitude, and a new framework of ideas that give fans of architecture reason to celebrate.
The following four buildings and one specific style, however, have made the greatest impression, not just on the city but the world at-large.
1. Walt Disney Concert Hall
An otherworldly design from renowned architect Frank Gehry, the Walt Disney Concert Hall is an absolute must-see for students and lovers of grand, bold architecture. Opened in 2003, the curved metal facade is eye candy for any concertgoer or passing admirer. The core of the sail-like concert hall is equally impressive, with a lobby saturated in natural light and a 6,134-pipe organ that imitates sound exploding from the keyboards below.
2. Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a cornucopia of different influences and disciplines, which is fitting considering the museum houses over 100,000 pieces of art and objects dating from ancient times. From the main building by Willian Pereira to additional structures by Renzo Piano and Bruce Goff, and the late Chris Burden's beautiful Urban Light display, the masterfully designed exterior structures serve as the perfect prelude to the museum’s many galleries.Though the museum’s permanent collection is closed at the moment while the museum prepares for the construction of a new building to house the collection, other items can be viewed at the Resnick Pavilion and the Broad Contemporary Art Museum.
3. The Stahl House
The Stahl House is arguably the crown jewel of the Case Study House Program, which ran from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s. More clinically known as Case Study House #22, the Stahl House was designed by American architect Pierre Koenig. Perched above the Sunset Strip, the house is a textbook definition of 20th century modernist design. The iconic home has been featured in numerous movies and is part of the National Register of Historic Places.
4. The Bradbury Building
When lauding great architecture, a structure’s exterior regularly garners much of the praise. Interior details, however grand they may be, often take a backseat to stunning curb appeal. One example where an interior far outshines its street-facing facade is The Bradbury Building. Completed in 1893, the vintage, yet nondescript, outer walls give way to an ornate, Victorian-era interior that transcends time and place. Intricate iron railings, marble stairs, and open cage elevators are bathed in natural light courtesy of a dramatic almost fifty-foot skylit atrium.
5. Los Angeles Art Deco
Our fifth entry to honor is not a building but rather an architectural style that is synonymous with Los Angeles: art deco. The art deco movement arrived in LA when Hollywood was starting to come into its own.
Although the city boasts a broad mix of architectural styles, the bold geometry of the 1920s and 1930s often stands above the rest. It is evidenced in an iconic collection of buildings that include the Los Angeles City Hall, Central Public Library, Eastern Columbia Building, Griffith Observatory, The CalEdison, and Bullocks Wilshire.
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