Seismic Retrofit & Restoration
Los Angeles City Hall
Project Restore oversaw and participated in the successful Seismic Retrofit and Restoration of Los Angeles City Hall (1997-2001). Major restoration of its exterior and public areas such as the Council Chambers, Rotunda, Board of Public Works Session Room, Temple Street Entrance and the Tom Bradley Room were vital to protecting the historical significance of City Hall.
City Hall was closed for its complete seismic rehabilitation in 1998. The rehabilitation included a complete seismic retrofitting of the building and a cleaning of the building's exterior, the first since it was completed in 1928.
The Henry Lion Bronze Doors are the massive doors at the Spring Street Forecourt that illustrate landmark dates in the history of Los Angeles. They were first restored in 1993, but pollution, heavy use and oxidation made restoration necessary.
Bronze Chandelier
Rewired, reinforced, and restored.
The Charles Lindbergh Beacon
Found in an old crate, hidden in the basement of L.A. City Hall.
The beautiful bronze chandelier located above the Rotunda was removed after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. It was reinstalled after it was rewired, converted to accommodate modern bulbs and the support that holds it was reinforced.
The Charles Lindbergh Beacon is an aircraft guidance light which sat atop City Hall from 1928 until World War II, when it was turned off and removed. Decades later, Project Restore searched for the beacon and found it in an old crate in a storage basement at City Hall. Repairing it included complete electrical rewiring, mechanical updates to current standards and metal restoration.
All eight of the bronze elevator cabs were dismantled in an attempt to “modernize” the building during the 1960s. They were discarded and sold as scrap, but Project Restore was fortunate to find the last one and molds were made from it to create exact replicas. The elevator cab, richly ornamented in Art Deco style, has walls of cast bronze with ornamental relief in various designs. Each elegant detail of the bronze and marble cabs was preserved.
The Grand Re-Dedication of City Hall was held on April 26, 2002.
LOCATION
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012