Los Angeles City Hall

Los Angeles City Hall is the center of government for the city of Los Angeles, California. It was completed in 1928, and it houses the mayor's office and the meeting rooms of the City Council. The white tower has 32 floors and is 138 metres tall. It stands in the Civic Center area of downtown Los Angeles.

The building was designed by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin Sr. Its tower was modeled after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. For almost forty years, from 1928 until 1966, it was the tallest building in Los Angeles. An image of City Hall has been on Los Angeles Police Department badges since 1940.

Why can it survive earthquakes?

City Hall is the tallest base-isolated structure in the world. Between 1998 and 2001 the building was retrofitted, which means upgraded with new protection. Now it sits on flexible supports so that the ground can shake while the building moves gently. Engineers say it should suffer little damage and still work after an earthquake of magnitude 8.2. That is important in California, where earthquakes are common.

What is special about the materials?

The concrete in the tower was made using sand from each of California's 58 counties, mixed with water from its 21 historical missions. A city rule from 1905 limited new buildings to 13 stories or 150 feet, but City Hall was allowed to be taller because it was a public building. Many people also know the tower from TV and film, where it has played the Daily Planet newspaper building in the 1950s Superman series.

On the globe

The model shows the white Art Deco tower over a neoclassical base, crowned by a stepped pyramid, with a public observation deck on the 27th floor.