Los Angeles Mall

Los Angeles Mall is a small shopping center and interconnected series of public plazas in the Los Angeles Civic Center. It occupies the area around Temple Street between Main Street and Los Angeles Street, with north and south sections joined by a pedestrian bridge and an underground tunnel. Unlike a conventional regional mall, it was conceived as a civic “town square” combining retail, food services, government-related activity, public gathering space, landscape design, and public art. Its principal users included downtown visitors and the large population of municipal, county, state, and federal employees working in the surrounding Civic Center buildings. The complex opened in 1974 as part of the redevelopment of a historically important part of central Los Angeles. The site had once contained some of the city’s oldest commercial blocks, many of which were demolished during the 1940s and 1950s. The mall was designed by Stanton & Stockwell, the architectural firm also associated with the Los Angeles County Courthouse and Kenneth Hahn Los Angeles County Hall of Administration. Landscape design was provided by Cornell, Bridgers, Troller and Hazlett. The project incorporated plazas, lawns, planted areas, mature trees, fountains, a sunken palm court, a food court, and a four-level parking garage with approximately 2,400 spaces. Public art is central to the complex’s identity. Its best-known feature is Triforium, a large, colorful sculpture by Joseph Young unveiled in 1975. The work contains 1,500 blown-glass prisms and was designed to operate with an electronic glass-bell carillon. Other works and features include the Eleanor Chambers Memorial Fountain, also known as Dan-de-lion, a stainless-steel work titled Cubed Square, the Robert J. Stevenson Fountain, Chinese lions installed in connection with the bicentennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and architectural and landscape elements by artists and designers including Tom Van Sant, Howard Troller, and Hanns Scharff. The north and south malls differ in character. The South Mall surrounds City Hall East, an 18-story Brutalist building completed in 1972 and also designed by Stanton & Stockwell. The building includes Millard Sheets’s mural The Family of Man. The North Mall is an elevated plaza framed by mature jacaranda trees and contains Triforium. A sunken plaza near the former Children’s Museum included a food court and the Stevenson Fountain. The pedestrian bridge across Temple Street was designed by landscape architect Howard Troller, with Tom Van Sant contributing its curved steps and handrails. Its structural design included a flexible rubber joint intended to accommodate movement during an earthquake. At its commercial peak, the mall supported a broad mix of tenants. In 1981, reported occupants included 15 shops, nine service businesses, and nine food outlets. Examples included Sav-on Drug Stores, Security Pacific National Bank, Bob’s Jr. by Bob’s Big Boy, and Carl’s Jr. The Children’s Museum was also an important institutional presence. It later moved to another location around 2000. By 2022, the complex was more heavily occupied by offices and services than by traditional retail, with a small number of food outlets including Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill and Quiznos. The mall experienced visible deterioration from the 1980s onward. By the middle of that decade, inadequate maintenance had led some observers to describe it as an embarrassment, and there was discussion about whether the Children’s Museum should assume more of the site. In the late 2010s, growing homelessness in the Civic Center reduced the use of the plazas by the broader public. A 2018 proposal considered converting portions of the complex into housing for people experiencing homelessness. Later redevelopment planning contemplated demolishing the mall as part of a broader effort to diversify, revitalize, and reconnect the Civic Center, alongside the Los Angeles Street Civic Building planned for the former Parker Center site. The mall therefore remains significant both as a piece of civic architecture and as an example of the challenges facing aging downtown public-commercial spaces.

Los Angeles Mall was developed in the early 1970s as part of the Los Angeles Civic Center’s effort to create a more connected and usable downtown governmental district. The project occupies land with deep commercial history: some of the oldest commercial blocks in Los Angeles once stood in the area, but much of that historic fabric was cleared during the 1940s and 1950s. The later mall project replaced the fragmented urban setting with a planned complex of plazas, shops, food outlets, services, parking, landscape, and civic circulation. The complex opened in 1974. Its designers were the architectural firm Stanton & Stockwell, whose other Los Angeles work included the County Courthouse and Kenneth Hahn Los Angeles County Hall of Administration. Cornell, Bridgers, Troller and Hazlett handled the landscape design. The project was deliberately broader than a shopping center: it was planned as a public meeting place for downtown residents, visitors, and the tens of thousands of employees working in nearby city, county, state, and federal buildings. City Hall East formed the principal architectural setting of the South Mall, while the North Mall provided an elevated plaza and the site’s most recognizable artwork. Art and infrastructure were integrated into the design. Joseph Young’s Triforium, unveiled in 1975, became the mall’s signature feature. Its 1,500 blown-glass prisms were paired with an electronic glass-bell carillon, making it both a visual landmark and an experimental multimedia public artwork. Other installations included the Eleanor Chambers Memorial Fountain, Cubed Square, the Robert J. Stevenson Fountain, and Chinese lions commemorating the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. The pedestrian bridge over Temple Street, designed by Howard Troller with contributions by Tom Van Sant, similarly combined practical circulation with expressive design. Its flexible joint was intended to permit movement during earthquakes. The mall’s early tenant mix reflected its role as a daily-use service center. In 1981 it reportedly contained 15 shops, nine service businesses, and nine food outlets. Retail and service tenants included Sav-on Drug Stores and Security Pacific National Bank, while food outlets included Bob’s Jr. by Bob’s Big Boy and Carl’s Jr. The Children’s Museum added an institutional and family-oriented dimension. The complex also included a four-level garage with roughly 2,400 parking spaces. Over time, the mall’s commercial role weakened. By the mid-1980s, maintenance problems had become a significant criticism, and the condition of the site was described negatively. The Children’s Museum eventually relocated around 2000. By 2022, traditional retail had largely given way to offices, services, and a limited number of food outlets, including Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill and Quiznos. The plazas and public areas remained physically important, but their everyday use was affected by broader changes in downtown Los Angeles. Homelessness became increasingly visible in and around the complex during the late 2010s, contributing to a decline in general public use of the plazas. One 2018 idea proposed adapting the site for housing people experiencing homelessness. At the same time, city planning considered a much more extensive Civic Center transformation. Those plans included possible demolition of Los Angeles Mall and construction of the Los Angeles Street Civic Building on the former Parker Center site. The proposed changes reflected a desire to reconnect streets and public spaces, increase activity, diversify uses, and address long-standing maintenance and urban-design issues. Consequently, Los Angeles Mall is best understood as both a surviving example of 1970s civic-commercial planning and a contested redevelopment site whose future has remained uncertain.

• 2022

  Commercial mix shifts toward services

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The complex was described as being used mainly by services and offices, with only a few remaining food outlets such as Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill and Quiznos.

• 2018

  Housing and Civic Center redevelopment ideas emerge

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Proposals included using the site for housing people experiencing homelessness and potentially demolishing the mall as part of a broader Civic Center revitalization project.

• 2000

  Children’s Museum relocates

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The Children’s Museum moved away from the mall site around this time, reducing the complex’s family-oriented institutional activity.

• 1985

  Maintenance concerns become prominent

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  By the middle of the decade, poor maintenance had become a major criticism and prompted debate about changing the complex’s use.

• 1981

  Early tenant mix documented

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The mall was reported to contain 15 shops, nine service businesses, and nine food outlets, illustrating its intended role as a daily-use Civic Center service hub.

• 1975

  Triforium unveiled

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph Young’s glass-and-electronic public artwork Triforium was unveiled in the North Mall.

• 1974

  Los Angeles Mall opens

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The Civic Center shopping and plaza complex opened with retail, services, food outlets, public art, landscaped spaces, pedestrian connections, and a large parking garage.

• 1974

  Civic artworks and pedestrian bridge introduced

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The complex received the Eleanor Chambers Memorial Fountain, Cubed Square, and the pedestrian bridge over Temple Street, whose design combined structural flexibility with sculptural detailing.

• 1972

  City Hall East completed

  [1]Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The 18-story City Hall East building, designed by Stanton & Stockwell, was completed and became the principal architectural setting of the future South Mall.

A civic-oriented downtown shopping and public-space complex rather than a conventional enclosed retail mall, combining everyday services with government-center access, public art, landscaped plazas, and pedestrian connections.

• Retail · 1974

  Retail shops

  The mall historically offered a small collection of everyday retail stores rather than the extensive specialty assortment of a regional enclosed mall. Its 1981 tenant list included 15 shops, with Sav-on Drug Stores among the named retailers. Retail was oriented toward Civic Center employees, visitors, and nearby residents.

• Food service · 1974

  Food outlets and food court

  Food service was a central practical function of the complex, serving workers and visitors in the government district. Early outlets included Bob’s Jr. by Bob’s Big Boy and Carl’s Jr., while the later mix included Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill and Quiznos. A sunken plaza near the former Children’s Museum also contained a food court.

• Services · 1974

  Professional and financial services

  Service businesses formed an important part of the mall’s original operating concept. The 1981 tenant mix included nine services, among them Security Pacific National Bank. In later years, offices and services became more prominent than conventional retail.

• Public space · 1974

  Public plazas and civic spaces

  The North Mall, South Mall, sunken palm court, lawns, planted areas, fountains, mature trees, and pedestrian routes constitute the complex’s most distinctive offering. These spaces were intended for public meetings, informal gathering, circulation, and interaction with civic buildings and public art.

• Public art · 1975

  Triforium

  Triforium is Joseph Young’s signature Los Angeles Mall artwork. Unveiled in 1975, it uses 1,500 blown-glass prisms and was designed to operate with an electronic glass-bell carillon. The sculpture occupies the North Mall and functions as the complex’s best-known visual landmark.

• Parking and access · 1974

  Parking garage

  A four-level parking garage with approximately 2,400 spaces supported access to the Civic Center shopping and public-space complex. It was part of the original infrastructure intended to accommodate workers, visitors, and shoppers arriving in downtown Los Angeles.

• 2018

  Consideration of housing and Civic Center redevelopmentStrategy

  Background

  The mall faced declining retail activity, maintenance concerns, and increasing homelessness in the surrounding Civic Center. City planning discussions considered how to diversify and reconnect the district while addressing the underused public spaces.

  Action taken

  Proposals included converting the site or portions of it into housing for people experiencing homelessness and, in a broader redevelopment scenario, demolishing the mall alongside construction of the Los Angeles Street Civic Building on the former Parker Center site.

  Aftermath

  The proposals established demolition and major redevelopment as possible future directions, but the available reference material does not establish that demolition was completed.

  Source

1. 1Los Angeles Mallen.wikipedia.org