Herald Examiner building to go mixed-use

Time to clean out the jail cell and newspaper-office sets. The century-old Los Angeles Examiner building on 11th and Broadway, known since the early 1960s as the home of the merger-created Herald Examiner, looks finally to be getting the long-discussed makeover. The Julia Morgan design with Spanish, Italian and Moorish touches, opened in 1915, has a pretty grand lobby and will regain the big windows that used to open to the street.

From Roger Vincent in the LA Times:

New York developer Georgetown Co. purchased an undisclosed stake in the beige architectural gem from Hearst Corp. and is partnering with the newspaper chain on a $40-million project to redevelop the building into offices and ground-floor restaurants.

Georgetown plans to preserve and restore the ornate lobby and the iconic Spanish-Moorish facade, while opening up the street-level arched windows that were enclosed decades ago during a 10-year strike against the paper.

"It's been asleep a long time. It's time to wake her up," said Steve Hearst, a vice president of Hearst and great grandson of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper's founder.

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The development, expected to be completed toward the end of 2017, will join a previously run-down Broadway that's changed dramatically in recent years. New establishments such as the trendy Ace Hotel two blocks away have helped lure more investment, including boutiques and upscale restaurants.

Across from the Herald building, which is at 11th Street, a historic 13-story tower formerly known as the Case Hotel is being converted into the boutique Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel. And developer Forest City is building two residential and retail complexes, including one directly behind the Herald Examiner, on land that it picked up from Hearst in late 2013.

I don't know where the idea formed that the building has been vacant. Just last year I posted photos of the standing TV and movie sets available for use in the former newspaper building. HerEx alums had some fun pointing out where their owns desks used to be. "15 standing sets and offers another 30 different looks," the leasing agent said. "Police Stations, a variety of Office Spaces, a Jail, a Bar, Hotels, Apartments, Warehouses / Industrial, Tunnels, Rooftop views, a Construction Zone, and of course, the Historical Grand Lobby."

Here is a jail cell area and the main lobby:

This might be my favorite photo of the building: from when it opened in 1915. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library photo collection.