May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles)
Completed in 1939, the Saban Building, formerly the May Company Building, on the Miracle Mile in the Wilshire district, Los Angeles, is a celebrated example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The building's architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., also designed the Million Dollar Theater and Los Angeles City Hall. The May Company Building is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.[2] The building was operated as a May Company department store from 1939 until 1992, when May merged with J. W. Robinson's to form Robinsons-May.
May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles) | |
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![]() May Company Wilshire Building as shown in the early 2000s as the LACMA West | |
Location | 6067 Wilshire Blvd. at Fairfax Ave., Wilshire district, Los Angeles |
Coordinates | 34.0633°N 118.3610°W |
Built | 1939 |
Built for | May Company |
Original use | Department store |
Rebuilt | 2020 (expected) |
Architect | Albert C. Martin, Sr. |
Architectural style(s) | Streamline Moderne |
Designated | September 30, 1992[1] |
Reference no. | 566[1] |
![]() ![]() Location in Western Los Angeles |
The Los Angeles Conservancy calls it "the grandest example of Streamline Moderne remaining in Los Angeles". It is especially noted for its gold-tiled cylindrical section that faces the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, of which it occupies the northeast corner.[3]
In 1994 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) acquired the building and, as "LACMA West", used it as exhibition space for the museum.[4][5]
The building will be repurposed and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is set to open in the building in 2021.[6][7][8]
In 2017, the building was official renamed the Saban Building in honor of Cheryl and Haim Saban.[9][10][11] Plagued by cost overruns, construction was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Academy officials still optimistically expects to have building opened by December 2020 as originally announced at the 92nd Academy Awards presentation in February 2020.[12]
References
- "Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments". Department of City Planning. City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
- Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission (July 1994). Historic-Cultural Monuments. City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.
- "May Company Wilshire". Los Angeles Conservancy.
- "Overview". Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
- "May Co. Building to Reopen as LACMA West". Los Angeles Times. October 22, 1998.
- Academy Museum of Motion Pictures official website
- Boehm, Mike (2014-06-02). "Film academy to pay LACMA $36.1 million for movie museum lease". Los Angeles Times.
- "Academy Museum opening delayed to 2020". Curbed LA. 21 June 2019.
- Rottenberg, Josh (September 27, 2017). "$50 million gift from Cheryl and Haim Saban gives Motion Picture Academy museum a major boost". Los Angeles Times.
- "Academy Museum of Motion Pictures". Architect Magazine. October 6, 2017.
- "Historic May Company Building Undergoes Major Restoration and Transformation into Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Saban Building". Matt Construction.
- Thompson, Anne (March 19, 2020). "The Academy Museum Director Has a Path to Success: Just Let Him Do His Job". IndieWire.