Saban Building
{{Short description|Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument}}
{{About|the May Company Building at Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles|other May Company buildings|May Company Building (disambiguation)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Saban Building
| logo =
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| image = The May Company Building 2021.jpg
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| image_caption = The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' Saban Building in 2021
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| coordinates = {{coord|34.0633|-118.3610|type:landmark_region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
| former_names = {{bulleted list|May Company Wilshire Building|LACMA West}}
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| status = Completed
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| building_type =
| architectural_style = Streamline Moderne
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| address = 6067 Wilshire Blvd.
| location_city = Los Angeles, CA 90036
| location_country = U.S.
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| namesake = Cheryl and Haim Saban
| groundbreaking_date =
| start_date = 1938
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| opened_date = {{start date and age|1939}}
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| renovation_date = 2021
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| ren_cost = $368 million
| client =
| owner = Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
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| material = Concrete and steel
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| floor_count = 6
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| architect = Albert C. Martin, Sr.
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| ren_architect = Renzo Piano
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| public_transit = {{rint|losangeles|lacmta}} {{rint|bus|1}} 20 {{rint|bus|1}} 780 {{rint|losangeles|D}} Wilshire/Fairfax (expect 2025)
| website = {{URL|academymuseum.org}}
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{{infobox historic site
| name=May Company Building (Wilshire, Los Angeles)
| embed = yes
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| designation1=Los Angeles
| designation1_date=September 30, 1992
| location =
| locmapin = United States Los Angeles Western
|map_caption = Location in Western Los Angeles
| coordinates =
| architect = Albert C. Martin, Sr.
| architecture = Streamline Moderne
| built = 1939
| built_for = May Company
| original_use = Department store
| rebuilt = 2020 (expected)
}}
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The Saban Building, formerly the May Company Building, on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles, is a celebrated example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The building's architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., also designed the Million Dollar Theater and Los Angeles City Hall. The May Company Building is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission (July 1994). Historic-Cultural Monuments. City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. The building was operated as a May Company department store from 1939 until the store's closure in 1992, when May merged with J. W. Robinson's to form Robinsons-May. The building has been the home of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures since 2021.
The Los Angeles Conservancy calls it "the grandest example of Streamline Moderne remaining in Los Angeles". It is especially noted for its gold-tiled cylindrical section that faces the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, of which it occupies the northeast corner.{{cite web |url=https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/may-company-wilshire |title=May Company Wilshire |website=Los Angeles Conservancy |date= |author=}}
History
= May Company =
The May Company Building, completed in 1939, is a landmark Streamline Moderne structure. It was deemed a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1992.{{Cite web |last=Nichols |first=Chris |date=2018-04-06 |title=The Academy Museum Is Restoring This 1939 Mid-Wilshire Landmark Los Angeles Magazine |url=https://www.lamag.com/askchris/academy-museum-restoration/ |access-date=2021-06-07 |website=Los Angeles Magazine |language=en-US}}
= LACMA West =
File:Highsmithmaycompanywilshire.jpg
After being vacant for two years, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) acquired the building in 1994 and used it—under the name "LACMA West"—as exhibition space.{{cite web |url=http://www.lacma.org/overview |title=Overview |website=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |date= |author=}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-22-me-34973-story.html |title=May Co. Building to Reopen as LACMA West |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=October 22, 1998 |author=}} In 2014, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures agreed to a 55-year lease with LACMA to include the May Company Building, as well as the adjacent land to build the David Geffen Theater.{{Cite web|last=Boehm|first=Mike|date=2014-06-02|title=Film academy to pay LACMA $36.1 million for movie museum lease|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-cm-academy-lacma-deal-20140602-story.html|access-date=2021-06-07|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}
= Academy Museum of Motion Pictures =
The May Company Building was renamed in recognition of philanthropist Cheryl Saban and entertainment executive Haim Saban's $50 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=50000000|start_year=2017}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) donation to the museum in 2017.{{Cite web|last=Malkin|first=Marc|date=2018-12-05|title=Why Haim and Cheryl Saban's $50 Million Donation to Academy Museum Almost Didn't Happen|url=https://variety.com/2018/scene/news/why-haim-and-cheryl-sabans-50-million-donation-to-academy-museum-almost-didnt-happen-1203080683/|access-date=2021-06-07|website=Variety|language=en-US}} The Saban Building has served as the main building of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures since 2021.{{Cite web |last=Baldwin |first=Eric |date=2020-02-17 |title=Academy of Motion Pictures to Open this December in Los Angeles |url=https://www.archdaily.com/933601/academy-of-motion-pictures-to-open-this-december-in-los-angeles |access-date=2021-06-07 |website=ArchDaily}}
In 2012,{{Cite web|last=Rathe|first=Adam|date=2020-06-14|title=The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Might Be the Most Exciting Development in This Year's Oscars Race|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a32816472/academy-museum-of-motion-pictures/|access-date=2021-06-07|website=Town & Country|language=en-US}} the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson asked Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano to design the 300,000-square-foot campus consisting of the former May Company Building and a spherical addition attached by three glass bridges.{{Cite magazine|date=October 16, 2017|title=Academy Museum of Motion Pictures|url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/academy-museum-of-motion-pictures_o|access-date=2021-06-07|magazine=Architect Magazine}}
The museum's design plan called for the renovation of the original structure, which included a full restoration of the exterior—most notably its cylindrical façade.{{Cite web|last=Cramer|first=Alex|date=2018-12-05|title=Tom Hanks Helps Unveil Academy Museum's Newly Restored Building|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/academy-museum-motion-pictures-unveils-newly-restored-saban-building-1166886/|access-date=2021-06-07|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}} The cylinder comprises more than 350,000 glass and gold leaf mosaic tiles. While the restoration project, led by preservation specialist John Fidler, aimed to preserve as many of the original tiles as possible, those that had to be replaced were sourced from Orsoni, their original manufacturer in Venice, Italy. The majority of the Saban Building is covered in Texas limestone panels which had started to deteriorate. Fidler used an English technique called helifix anchor that allowed them to cut away at the spoiled and broken stone and remove the corroding metal fundamentally restoring the exterior of the building.{{Cite web|title=AMPAS Restored Classic LA Building for New Museum|url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/news/2019/05/01/academy-museum-of-motion-pictures-breathes-life-into-classic-la-architecture|access-date=2021-06-07|website=Spectrum News|first=Kristopher|last=Gee}}
Renzo Piano was also commissioned to design the building's new spherical addition.{{Cite web|date=2020-02-10|title=The Academy Museum's Giant Sphere Only Looks Like A Galactic Superweapon (There's A Movie Theater Inside!)|url=https://laist.com/news/entertainment/academy-museum-oscars-motion-picture|access-date=2021-06-07|website=LAist|first=Mike|last=Roe}} The 130-foot-tall sphere building is home to the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and is topped by the glass-domed Dolby Family Terrace which offers guests a panoramic view of the city and the Hollywood sign.{{Cite web|last=Chandler|first=Jenna|date=2017-09-28|title=Film academy releases new renderings of its museum on the Miracle Mile|url=https://la.curbed.com/2017/9/28/16375410/academy-museum-construction-renderings|access-date=2021-06-07|website=Curbed LA|language=en}}
Appearances in popular culture
The building was featured in Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 702.{{cite web |title=May Company- Visiting (702) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University |url=https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/1999/10/28/may-company-visiting-702/}} It is also featured prominently in the 1988 film Miracle Mile starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham.
References
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External links
- {{Official|https://www.academymuseum.org/en/about/the-building}}
- [https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/may-company-wilshire Historic photos of building] via Los Angeles Conservancy
{{Commons category}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Los Angeles
Category:Department store buildings in the United States
Category:Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles
Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1939
Category:1930s architecture in the United States
Category:1939 establishments in California
Category:Streamline Moderne architecture in California
Category:May Company buildings
Category:Retail buildings in California