Los Angeles City Hall

Los Angeles City Hall is the center of government in the city of Los Angeles, California. It is located in the Civic Center district of Downtown Los Angeles in the city block bordered by Main, Temple, 1st, and Spring Streets. The building was designed by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin, and was completed in 1928. It has 32 floors and stands at 454 feet high. Due in part to seismic concerns, prior to the late 1950s the City of Los Angeles did not permit any portion of any building other than a purely decorative tower to be more than 150 feet high. Therefore, from its completion in 1928 until 1964, the City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles, and shared the skyline with only a few structures having decorative towers, including the Richfield Tower and the Eastern Columbia Building. The city hall's distinctive top portion was based on the Mausoleum of Maussollos.