A rare opportunity comes this Saturday afternoon when two extraordinary murals that grace the lobby of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building in the Historic West Adams neighborhood of Central Los Angeles go on view.
The West Adams Heritage Association, California African American Museum, Los Angeles Conservancy and Mural Conservancy LA are collaborating on the project. Great team!
The murals depict early African-American contributions to the building of California. They live in the lobby of the iconic building, designed in 1947 by Paul Williams for the first African American-owned insurance company west of the Mississippi. The Late-Moderne building, with its notable integrated murals by artists Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff, was recently designated HCM 1000, Los Angeles’s newest Historic Cultural monument.
This notwithstanding, we’re informed that the murals are currently endangered, threatened with removal. Confused by this …
Golden State mural viewing | 1999 W. Adams Blvd. (at Western Ave.) | Saturday, Oct 22 | noon to 3 pm
LA is filled with treasures! The Golden State Mutual murals are intricately datailed and are filled with eye-opening historical elements. Do see them on Saturday if you can!
You’ll also receive a stunning booklet containing illustrated pieces on dozens of African Americans who lived, worked and created in West Adams over the last century. The book is published by West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA), co-sponsor of Saturday’s tour.
AND WAHA’s 25th annual progressive dinner tour of gorgeous homes takes place Dec. 3-4. Go to http://www.westadamsheritage.org and ask to be placed on the mailing list.
The murals are threatened with removal by the California State Insurance Department’s “Conservation Liquidation Office”, even though they have been designated as integral in the HCM nomination. (Historic Cultural Monument #1000). After Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company went out of business, the CLO become responsible for liquidating the assets of the company.