Times Mirror Square

Times Mirror Square is a complex of buildings on the block bounded by Spring, Broadway, First and Second streets in the Civic Center district of Downtown Los Angeles. It was headquarters of the Los Angeles Times until 2018. It is currently vacant, with plans being proposed regarding how to best utilize the existing buildings and the total ground area of the site.[1]

Los Angeles Times Building
at Times Mirror Square
The Los Angeles Times Building at the southwest corner of First and Spring streets, part of the Times Mirror Square complex
General information
TypeOffice
Location202 West 1st Street
Los Angeles, California
United States
Coordinates34.053009°N 118.244596°W / 34.053009; -118.244596
Completed1935
OwnerOnni Group
Design and construction
ArchitectGordon B. Kaufmann
The Los Angeles Times Building

Components

Times Mirror Square includes:

  1. The Los Angeles Times Building (or "Kaufmann Building")[2] at the southwest corner of First and Spring Streets, opened in 1935.[3] It was built as the headquarters of the Los Angeles Times and was designed in Art Deco style by Gordon B. Kaufmann.[4][5] The building won a gold medal at the 1937 Paris Exposition.[6] Harry Chandler, then the president and general manager of Times-Mirror Co., at its opening, declared the building a "monument to the progress of our city and Southern California".[4]
  2. The ten-story 1948 Mirror Building or Crawford Addition[2] at the northwest corner of Second and Spring, designed by Rowland Crawford[7] Site of the 1880s Nadeau Hotel and adjacent to its west, a building used as City Hall from 1884 to 1888.[8]
  3. The 1973 Pereira Addition,[2] a six-story glass and steel structure on the southeast corner of First and Broadway, which was inaugurated as the headquarters of the Times Mirror Company. The International-style wing designed by William Pereira "recapitulates the geometric order and monumentality of the Kaufmann structure", according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.[9]
  4. A parking garage at the northeast corner of Second and Broadway

The parking garage at 213 S. Spring, stretching from the west side of Spring to the east side of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd streets, is sometimes referred to as the "Los Angeles Times Parking Garage", but is not part of Times Mirror Square. On both sides there are relief sculptures by Tony Sheets, Evolution of Printing and Evolution of Los Angeles, respectively, created in 1988-1989.[10]

  • The 1948 "Crawford Addition" building at the SE of the complex, NW corner of 2nd & Spring, September 2020
  • 1973 Pereira Addition at the NW of the complex, SE corner 1st and Broadway
  • The "Los Angeles Times Parking Garage" at 213 S. Spring St., adjacent to Times Mirror Square on the south, with relief sculpture Evolution of Printing by Tony Sheets.

History
See also: History of the Los Angeles Times

Times Mirror Square is located on a major portion of what was in the 1880s and 1890s, the central business district of Los Angeles.

On April 13, 2018, LA Times employees were notified that ownership was unable to reach a new lease agreement to remain in the Times Building. The staff of about 800 employees would relocate to a new campus under construction in suburban El Segundo, 17 miles (27 km) to the southwest when the lease at the Times Building expires, with a July 31, 2018 deadline to be out of the building.[7]

Onni Group, a Canadian developer which became the owner after Tribune Publishing lost control of its real estate in bankruptcy reorganization,[7] reportedly wanted to increase the monthly lease by $1 million.[11] The new Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong moved the paper to a building he owned in El Segundo, leaving the building empty.

The vacant building is currently underused, with vacant space being used for movie shoots, earning the company as much as $4 million one year.[7][4][6] The original building, despite its historic and architecturally significance, is not listed as a historical landmark.[5] It is not in the listings of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, California Historical Landmarks, or U.S. Registered Historic Landmarks in Los Angeles. Omni has planned to redevelop the site.

Redevelopment

The Onni Group, a real estate development company, has proposed to expand and renovate the adjacent 1973 Times Mirror complex with residential units and retail.[5][7] Two residential towers were proposed, a 37 story tower rising 365 feet. A taller 53 story building rising 655 feet.[12] The design emphasis walkability and retail around the Civic Center area of DTLA.

The new underground Historic Broadway light rail station will open on the 2nd Street side of the building when construction of the Regional Connector Transit Corridor is completed in 2022.[13] City Hall approved tearing down all the additions to the original 1937 building, including the Pereira additions, to make way for the proposed addition towers to be completed in 2023.[5]

Lobby in the former Times building

See also

References
  1. Steven Sharp, "Two Design Options for Times Mirror Square Redevelopment", Urbanize L.A., July 8, 2020
  2. Schave, Richard (June 28, 2018), Times Mirror Square: Historic-Cultural Monument Application (PDF), Office of Historic Resources, Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles, p. 6, retrieved September 28, 2020
  3. Vincent, Roger (2015-01-08). "Los Angeles Times site to be redeveloped". Los Angeles Times.
  4. DiMassa, Cara Mia (2008-06-26). "Much has changed around the Los Angeles Times Building". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  5. Miranda, Carolina (17 July 2018). "Ugly carpets and green marble: The design of the Los Angeles Times buildings changed along with the city, though not always gracefully". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  6. "15 films and TV series that filmed at the Los Angeles Times building". Los Angeles Times. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  7. Curwen, Thomas (20 July 2018). "For a brief, shining moment, Times Mirror Square was L.A.'s Camelot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  8. Masters, Nathan (2013-01-15). "CityDig: When Los Angeles City Hall Commanded the L.A. Skyline". Los Angeles Magazine. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  9. "Times Mirror Square", Los Angeles Conservancy
  10. Kerczek, John Daniel (2012). "Thesis: Historically-informed development in the Civic Center South area of Downtown Los Angeles" (PDF). California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. James, Meg; Chang, Andrea (2018-04-13). "Patrick Soon-Shiong plans to move Los Angeles Times to new campus in El Segundo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  12. http://urbanize.la/post/first-look-times-mirror-square-redevelopment
  13. Channick, Robert (2015-01-08). "Tribune Media to redevelop Times Mirror Square in Los Angeles". Chicago Tribune.

Media related to Times Mirror Square at Wikimedia Commons


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