The Public Realm | Los Angeles Conservancy
Photo courtesy Architectural Resources Group

As Los Angeles County's growth exploded after World War II and neighborhoods and cities sprang up where there were none before, architecture became critical in creating a sense of community and meeting the needs of everyday life.

Museums, schools, churches, libraries, civic centers, banks, hospitals, parks, and entertainment venues were important symbols of place and identity. Architects had the rare opportunity to help create the building blocks of life for a booming population.

Orville Wright Middle School
Photo courtesy Architectural Resources Group

Orville Wright Middle School

Sumner Spaulding
John Rex
Facing an enormous population explosion in the postwar period and not nearly enough classrooms for students, LAUSD solicited designs for the school building program from a variety of talented architects vying to design the ideal school.
Photo by Michael Locke

Pasadena Police Department

Robert A. M. Stern
For the Police Department, located directly across from City Hall, Stern was told to create something that expressed the formidable quality of law while also inviting people into the building.
Pepperdine University
Photo courtesy Architectural Resources Group

Pepperdine University

William L. Pereira & Associates
Its design crafted to adapt to the dramatic hillside location with its sweeping ocean views, the campus' "front door" is an open meadow that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway to the main core of campus.
Target
Photo by Tom Davies

Robinson’s/Target

Pereira & Luckman
Designed for the affluent postwar Pasadena shopper, this former Robinson's was planned and sited to include prime viewing spots for the Rose Parade.
Temple Emanuel
Photo courtesy Architectural Resources Group

Temple Emanuel

Sidney Eisenshtat
This great example of Modernism in Beverly Hills was first religious building designed by prolific Modern architect Sidney Eisenshtat.

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Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. - An Initiative of the Getty

Curating the City: Modern Architecture in L.A. is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. This collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together seventeen cultural institutions from April through July 2013 for a wide-ranging look at the postwar built environment of the city as a whole, from its famous residential architecture to its vast freeway network, revealing the city’s development and ongoing impact in new ways. Major support for this project has been provided by the Getty Foundation. pacificstandardtimepresents.org.