Beverly Hills City Hall
Beverly Hills City Hall | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | City hall |
Architectural style | Spanish Revival architecture |
Address | 455 North Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, 90210 |
Completed | 1932 |
Renovated | 1982; 2008 |
Design and construction | |
Architect | William J. Gage, Harry G. Koerner |
The Beverly Hills City Hall is a historic building and city hall in Beverly Hills, California.
Location
The building is surrounded by North Santa Monica Boulevard, North Rexford Drive, South Santa Monica Boulevard, and North Crescent Drive.[1] Its main entrance is at 455 North Rexford Drive, which faces the Beverly Hills Public Library, adjacent to the Beverly Hills Police Department.[1][2][3] A few doors below on North Rexford Drive is the Beverly Hills Fire Department, next to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden.[1] Behind it, on South Santa Monica Boulevard, is the Beverly Hills Civic Center.[1]
History
In the 1910s and 1920s, before this building was constructed, city administration services took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel.[4] However, in 1925, a two-storey building was erected on Burton Way to serve as a city hall and fire department building.[5] Yet five years later, a petition signed by 2,000 residents which was presented to the Beverly Hills City Council called for a new building in a new location.[5]
Thus, in 1930, land was purchased from the Pacific Electric to build the city hall.[5][6] Construction lasted from 1931 to 1932.[6] The building was designed by architects William J. Gage and Harry G. Koerner in the Spanish Revival architectural style (though sometimes also characterized Churrigueresque).[3][4][7][5] When the city hall opened in 1932, it was called by The Los Angeles Times the "largest and most expensive City Hall of any municipality its size in the country."[5][6]
The building was renovated in 1982.[2] Additionally, it was expanded from 49,000 to 67,000 square feet.[2] Moreover, the ground-floor reception area was renovated in 2008, when the main entrance was moved from North Crescent Drive to North Rexford Drive.[2]
The building appears in the movie In a Lonely Place (dir. Nicholas Ray, 1950).[8] It is also used as the police department building in Beverly Hills Cop (dir. Martin Brest, 1984).[9]
For the Beverly Hills centennial in 2014, a 15,000-slice cake in the shape of the Beverly Hills City Hall was designed by chef Donald Wressell of the Guittard Chocolate Company and decorated by Rosselle and Marina Sousa.[10][11] It cost US$200,000 to make.[10]
As part of the Beverly Hills Centennial Arts of Palm Installation, sculptor Brad Howe designed four sculptures outside the City Hall.[12] According to The Beverly Hills Courier, it is "the largest short-term public art installation ever to be held in Beverly Hills."[12]
Purpose
The building houses the city administration, including the office of the Mayor of Beverly Hills and board meetings of the Beverly Hills City Council.[2] Additionally, it houses the Municipal Gallery, an evolving art space designed by interior designer Gere Kavanaugh.[13]
Inside the building, a sculpture by Auguste Rodin called Torso of a Walking Man can be seen.[14]
Heritage value
In May 2013, the Beverly Hills City Council voted to add the building to its list of historical preservations.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Google Map
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 City of Beverly Hills: City Hall
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Beverly Hills City Hall, Time Out
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 BEVERLY HILLS, A BRIEF HISTORY, Beverly Hills Historical Society
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Eve Bachrach, Beverly Hills Landmarking 1932 Churrigueresque City Hall, LA Curbed, May 7, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Mount Plesant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005, p. 115
- ↑ Jeff Dickey, Los Angeles, Rough Guides, 2003, p. 114
- ↑ Karie Bible, Marc Wanamaker, Harry Medved, Location Filming in Los Angeles, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2010, p. 93
- ↑ Gabriel Solomons, World Film Locations: Los Angeles, Bristol, England: Intellect Books, 2011, p. 56
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Martha Groves, For Beverly Hills' centennial, a 15,000-slice cake — of course, The Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2014
- ↑ Amy Scattergood, A Chocolate Cake for 15,000 People Comes to Rodeo Drive, LA Weekly, April 30, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 'Arts of Palm', The Beverly Hills Courier, August 22, 2014 Volume XXXXVIIII, Number 34, p. 1
- ↑ City of Beverly Hills: Municipal Gallery
- ↑ City of Beverly Hills: Public Art in Beverly Hills
Coordinates: 34°04′22″N 118°24′02″W / 34.0729°N 118.4005°W