Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > Los Angeles
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
 
Old 08-04-2010, 02:44 PM
 
Location: Texas
597 posts, read 1,142,058 times
Reputation: 143

Advertisements

I'm not a resident of Los Angeles, I actually am from Texas. However a few weeks ago I took a trip to California. Los Angeles was one of my stops,while there I made a point to visit the old headquarters of your police force, Parker Center. I wanted to visit it because it has long been hailed as a unique example of mid-century architecture from the 1950s. While I did not get to "tour" the whole building I did get some exterior shots as well as some pictures of the lobby. I was especially impressed by the classic mural of the city dating back to 1955. All the police officers I dealt with were extremely helpful and friendly. The one on duty in the lobby even let me have a look at the auditorium. I was very pleased with my visit to the Los Angeles area (I actually stayed in Van Nuys) and Parker Center. However I hear there are plans of tearing down the building or reusing it for another purpose as the LAPD has moved to their new headquarters. I hope your city does not tear down this building which has been a part of LA for over fifty years, its sad it could not remain the headquarters but with the city growing more space was needed.What are your thoughts on the building? Would you prefer it to remain standing as city offices or do you want it to be torn down and have something else built there? I welcome your thoughts and opinions!
Thanks,
JH
Attached Thumbnails
Parker Center-pcs.jpg  
Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-04-2010, 07:23 PM
 
Location: West LA
2,318 posts, read 7,812,123 times
Reputation: 1125
IIRC, the building was damaged by the Northridge quake to the point that it was deemed structurally unsound. I personally feel that this style of architecture is not really that rare, and not worthy of being saved. That just me though!
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2010, 08:49 PM
 
Location: Texas
597 posts, read 1,142,058 times
Reputation: 143
Thanks for your reply LASam; Wasn't it the 1971 San Fernando quake that damaged the building? As a Dragnet fan it will be hard to see this building go!

Thanks,
JH
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2010, 10:37 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,315,618 times
Reputation: 1802
LASam is correct that the Parker Center was damaged in the 1994 earthquake and the cost to retro-fit the building is very high considering the city already spent $millions on building the new police headquarters. I do like the architecture of the Parker Center and hope that it is saved.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2010, 01:51 AM
 
Location: Retired in Malibu/La Quinta/Flagstaff
1,604 posts, read 1,926,639 times
Reputation: 5988
Considering all the years I spent working there, I won't shed a single tear when the bulldozers come a-knocking.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 07:54 PM
 
Location: Texas
597 posts, read 1,142,058 times
Reputation: 143
Default Parker Center in the 1950s

Here is an older photo of Parker Center. Looks like its from the 1950s.

More photos to come!

Thanks,
JH
Attached Thumbnails
Parker Center-pc-1950s.jpg  
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 08:11 PM
 
32,516 posts, read 36,985,292 times
Reputation: 32571
I always thought it was a great looking building. Very typical for the period. Unfortunately that design was horrible as far as earthquake safety is concerned. There were a lot of California Federal bank buildings that were built on the same design. Pretty sure all of them have been imploded. I look forward to more photos.

(The palm trees in front became iconic themselves!)
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 09:41 PM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
16,806 posts, read 39,752,846 times
Reputation: 17678
That style of architecture can't disappear fast enough as far as I'm concerned.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 10:10 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,315,618 times
Reputation: 1802
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fontucky View Post
That style of architecture can't disappear fast enough as far as I'm concerned.
Do you prefer the new building?

Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 10:28 PM
 
Location: Texas
597 posts, read 1,142,058 times
Reputation: 143
Default More Photos

Here are some pictures I took while there last month. The first picture I thought was neat because it was a safety license for the building dating back to 1956. Still there after 54 years! The next photo is of the Auditorium. Next we have a photo of the lobby with the mural of the city. Next picture, we can see Parker Center in the mural. Next one is a outside view of the building or as some call it the "Glass House". You can really see the 1950s mid-century architecture through the long line of utilitarian looking windows. This type of architecture and design was common in the 1950s through the early 1960s. The last one is a small statue of Parker himself. William Howard Parker served on the LAPD for twenty nine years. From 1950 to 1966 he served as chief of the police force. Hope you enjoy the pictures,still more to come!

Thanks,
JH
Attached Thumbnails
Parker Center-picture-031.jpg   Parker Center-picture-037.jpg   Parker Center-picture-039.jpg   Parker Center-picture-040.jpg   Parker Center-picture-041.jpg  

Parker Center-picture-048.jpg   Parker Center-cwhp.jpg  

Last edited by Jay Watson; 08-06-2010 at 10:39 PM..
Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


 
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > Los Angeles
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top