Wendy Gilmartin
The building that housed the LAPD's headquarters between 1955 and 2009 starred in TV shows like Dragnet in its heyday, but its slow, 50-year slide into disrepair gave it a real-world stigma that's left it tarnished and crumbling from the inside out -- most obviously because the community doesn't care to defend it.
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Tanja M. Laden Wilshire Boulevard Temple
If you've ever cruised along Wilshire Boulevard between Western and Vermont, you've probably noticed a massive, domed structure at Hobart Avenue, kitty-corner to an indoor golf driving-range. That building is the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, aka the Best Jewish Reform Synagogue Built by Hollywood, according to our 2011 Best of L.A. issue.
You might have also noticed that, these days, the temple is covered in scaffolding -- signs the 1929 landmark is in the middle of a multimillion-dollar renovation. The large-scale extended project includes a cleaning and restoration of the Warner Murals, commissioned by none other than Jack, Harry and Albert Warner, otherwise known as the Warner Bros. The artist, Hugo Ballin, would have been a whopping 133 years old today, so what better time to revisit his work than the present?
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Marissa Gluck L.A. Times cartoonist Paul Conrad's Chain Reaction sculpture from 1991
A controversy has been bubbling over Paul Conrad's anti-nuclear war sculpture in Santa Monica, Chain Reaction, and the latest fallout may spell the end of the 26-foot tall mushroom cloud near the city's Civic Center.
With the deterioration of the steel, fiberglass and copper sculpture, mostly due to the sea air and sun, Santa Monica's Arts Commission and Public Art Committee have recommended the city deaccession the five-and-a-half-ton piece rather than attempt to preserve it. Citing public-safety concerns, the city erected a temporary fence around the sculpture in June.
Installed in 1991, the sculpture was a gift to the city by the artist, paid for by an anonymous donor for $250,000. It was supposed to have been made of bronze, which tends to require little maintenance and resists the elements over time. Instead, the piece was constructed with a stainless steel internal frame, a Fiberglas core and copper tubing for the chain links.
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Tony DeLap, "The Big Wave," 1989 Stainless steel, Plexiglas sculpture. Wilshire Boulevard at Franklin
It's been over 20 years since artist Tony DeLap built one of the first public artworks in Santa Monica. The Big Wave, an arching sculpture greeting visitors to the city's gateway on Wilshire Boulevard, had suffered greatly in its first two decades from rust and deterioration. Last year, restoration work was completed that not only repaired the corrosive effects of the sea air but also added a new LED lighting system.
While DeLap's iconic sculpture was saved, public art in Los Angeles and its surrounding cities confronts many potential causes of deterioration. In addition to the damage caused by wind, sun and rain (not to mention animals, birds and the occasional errant driver), there is also the problem of dwindling funds for a growing and maturing public art collection. The recent slowdown in real estate development also has meant less capital to create and conserve public art, which traditionally has been funded through "Percent for Art" programs.
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