 |
|
|
WEST LOS ANGELES REGIONAL BRANCH LIBRARY The Conservancy is working to protect the West Los Angeles Regional branch library, located on Santa Monica Boulevard at Purdue Avenue. A recently approved citywide master plan for the Los Angeles Public Library branch system has placed into question the future of this mid-century branch library. One of the proposed alternatives calls for the library’s demolition, followed by new construction on an expanded site that would encompass the area now occupied by the recently restored Civic Center Plaza with its futuristic band shell. The second alternative provides for the relocation of the library to a new building at a new site. The West Los Angeles Regional Branch Library was constructed in 1956 by the local firm of Allison & Rible, who were responsible for several postwar-era buildings throughout Los Angeles. The architects sought to create a sense of harmony and cohesiveness with the mid-century modernist aesthetic found among the adjacent court buildings of the West Los Angeles Civic Center. The façade of the West Los Angeles Regional branch remains intact, although the interior has been remodeled. If the library remains at its current location, the Conservancy advocates for the reuse of the current building through a sensitive and creative enlargement that preserves the distinctive portion fronting Santa Monica Boulevard while avoiding encroachment onto the Civic Center Plaza. The Conservancy believes that this is feasible and has pointed to a number of creative expansions successfully completed at other historic branch libraries, particularly those in neighboring Santa Monica.
|
 |
 |
|
