Top of page

Notice
In observance of the Federal holiday on Monday, February 16, the Jefferson Building Great Hall and exhibitions will be open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. to guests with timed-entry passes. Reading rooms will be closed to researchers.

Photo, Print, Drawing Union Bank of California Plaza, 445 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA Union Bank Plaza

[ Data Pages from Survey HALS CA-119  ]

More Resources

[ Photo Captions from Survey HALS CA-119  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Union Bank of California Plaza, 445 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Other Title

  • Union Bank Plaza

Names

  • Historic American Landscapes Survey, creator
  • Eckbo, Garrett
  • Bunker Hill Redevelopment Project
  • California Redevelopment Agency
  • Connecticut General Life Insurance Company
  • Harrison & Abramowitz
  • Eckbo, Dean, Austin and Williams (EDAW)
  • Equitable-Nissei Figueroa Company
  • A.C. Martin and Associates
  • Dominick, Hannah, historian
  • Stevens, Christopher M., transmitter
  • Positive Image Photographic Services, contractor
  • Olmos, Tavo, photographer
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter
  • Stevens, Christopher M., transmitter
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 2000

Headings

  • -  Modern architectural elements
  • -  Modern Plaza gardens
  • -  gardens - Modernist
  • -  urban renewal
  • -  corporate headquarters
  • -  banking
  • -  rooftop gardens
  • -  parking garages
  • -  International Style architectural elements
  • -  concrete
  • -  fountains
  • -  sculpture
  • -  architectural sculpture
  • -  trees
  • -  shrubs
  • -  California--Los Angeles County--Los Angeles

Latitude / Longitude

  • 34.052988,-118.257194

Notes

  • -  3rd Place Winner - 2015 HALS Challenge: Documenting Modernist Landscapes
  • -  Significance: Garrett Eckbo's Union Bank Plaza represents an important nexus in the history of American Landscape Architecture, American cityscapes, and of downtown Los Angeles, in particular. The Union Bank of California Tower and Plaza are key landmarks characterizing the paradigm shift from construction and design bound by traditional methods, such as the Beaux Arts, to Modernism, that occurred in the architecture of downtown Los Angeles. As with most creative disciplines, a landscape design sensibility reflects the politics, economy, technology and therefore culture of that era. The Union Bank Plaza is an intact artifact of the American Modernist movement as interpreted via landscape architecture in an urban context specifically, as opposed to the more well-known case studies from the residential realm. The plaza is also an excellent and publicly accessible representation of Garrett Eckbo's thesis on landscape architecture, and his underlying pursuit of a new visual and spatial vocabulary for organizing exterior space.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N175
  • -  Survey number: HALS CA-119
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1965-1968 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: ca. 1994 Subsequent Work

Medium

  • Photo(s): 10
  • Data Page(s): 29
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HALS CA-119

Source Collection

  • Historic American Landscapes Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • ca4198

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HALS CA-119
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Landscapes Survey, Creator, Garrett Eckbo, Bunker Hill Redevelopment Project, California Redevelopment Agency, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Harrison & Abramowitz, Dean Eckbo, et al., Olmos, Tavo, photographer. Union Bank of California Plaza, 445 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA. Los Angeles County California Los Angeles, 2000. translateds by Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, Mcpartland, Marymitter, Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/ca4198/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Landscapes Survey, C., Eckbo, G., Bunker Hill Redevelopment Project, California Redevelopment Agency, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Harrison & Abramowitz [...] Positive Image Photographic Services, C., Olmos, T., photographer. (2000) Union Bank of California Plaza, 445 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA. Los Angeles County California Los Angeles, 2000. Stevens, C. M. M., McPartland, M., Stevens, C. M. M. & McPartland, M., transs Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ca4198/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Landscapes Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Olmos, Tavo. Union Bank of California Plaza, 445 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA. trans by Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, et al Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ca4198/>.