california plaza

There is so much respect for skylines and obsession with landmarks that sometimes we forget that some pieces of Architecture are really great… especially in Los Angeles and they don’t have to be designed by Frank Gehry…

I must add the Braly/Continental Building in Downtown LA as one of my favorite buildings in the Los Angeles Area.

located at 408 S. Spring Street

It is one of the first skyscrapers in this area… created in 1903, it has 13 floors and measures 174 ft.

It was created right as Los Angeles created a 150 ft maximum height on structures… although the city did not carry through with their stringent Haussman like ideals, and let several skyskrapers be built the 1960s and 1970s.

An interesting fact is that The Braly Building was actually the tallest building in Los Angeles until 1928 when City Hall was completed.

What makes the Braly building a lovely piece of Architecture is how stately it is. It was created in Beax Arts style and is a delicious example of the period it was built in. It is now located in the “Financial District” of Downtown, and is quite a center piece. It can be seen from a distance and there are lovely views of it from the California Plaza, actually some of the best views of it can be seen from here for free :).