You have to admire the sort of architect who would take the time to design such a gorgeous, larger-than-life sculpture and then place it twelve stories up where 99% of people won’t even notice, and those who do will have to squint into the sun and barely make out something’s there. This is a close-up of one of the sculptures adorning the Richfield Building, which stood at 555 South Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles from 1929 to 1968. You can see my collection of photos of this architectural wonder on my website:
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From my vantage point up on Bunker Hill in the 1940’s-50’s, this gorgeous building was a defining part of the Los Angeles skyline especially at night when its tower was lighted for all to see, just as much as City Hall. Tragedy struck in the late 1960’s when it was torn down. Although its height would be dwarfed today by subsequent buildings, its beauty and importance would not. As your website photos clearly show, the sculptures were not the only design elements to admire. The rich design details carried through the smallest elements throughout the building. What a loss to subsequent generations.
It was such a glorious building that I see it as a crime against future Angelenos. Especially considering the boring buildings that replaced it.