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GLENDALE COUNTY BUILDING |
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The State’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is proposing to expand or replace the Glendale County Building at 600 E. Broadway in the civic center of Glendale, also known as the Glendale Courthouse. Citing a need for additional space for security and amenities for court staff, judges, defendants, and jurors, the AOC has issued a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) to build a five-story courthouse on the existing site. The DEIR is available for download at the California Courts website.
The Conservancy, along with the City of Glendale and the Glendale Historical Society, visited the site with AOC staff in June. The AOC’s proposed project intends to demolish the existing annex “and much of the existing building, while attempting to preserve the historical elements of the existing building.” An approximately 100,000 square-foot new courthouse with basement is proposed for the existing site. A project feasibility report provides more details regarding proposed programming and needs for the new courthouse. The Conservancy submitted comments on the DEIR in October urging prioritization of options that avoids demolition of the Glendale County Building and evaluation of a range of alternatives that retain the building’s eligibility as a historic resource. This may include reuse and reconfiguration of existing spaces for compatible uses, appropriate infill construction, and/or utilizing the rear wing as a connector to a new structure. The Jewel City Bowling Alley behind the Glendale County Building on Glendale Avenue is also a potential part of the proposed project. About the Glendale County Building
Currently home to Superior and Municipal Courts, the 35,000 square foot building was designed by local architect Arthur Wolfe with landscaping by Arthur G. Barton. The 1959 building’s modern design incorporates contrasting materials and forms, as seen in the brick serpentine wall that stretches along Broadway between a solid rectangular volume of architectural concrete panels on one side and one of transparent glass on the other. Other distinctive elements include the stepped entrance canopy that follows the sloping grade, the undulating underside of the T-shaped building’s elevated rear wing, integrated planting beds, and the landscaped courtyard at the eastern end of the site. The north façade contains a site-specific ceramic sculpture by George Stanley depicting the ideals of liberty, freedom and justice under the law. Significant interior elements include the terrazzo flooring, floating staircase, large chandeliers with upright lamps, and the exposed interior of the serpentine brick wall with curved wood benches following the wall’s contours. Architect Arthur Wolfe also designed the 1959 County Heath Center and the redesign of Maple Park in 1966, both in Glendale, among other projects across Southern California. The Glendale County Building has long been recognized as an important example of mid-century office design, and was included in the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee’s 2002 tour “Your Government in Glendale.”
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Wilshire May Company This Streamline Moderne department store with its prominent cylindrical gold tower signals the western entrance of Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile district. The Conservancy swung into action when the May Co. building was threatened with demolition for office towers and a hotel during the early 1990s. After successfully nominating the building for City Historic-Cultural Monument status, the Conservancy worked with County officials to ensure the building's reuse by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Now LACMA West, the May Co. had a splashy reopening in 1999 when it played host to a blockbuster Van Gogh exhibit. Photo courtesy of Julius Shulman |
