Times Mirror Square is a complex of buildings on the block bounded by Spring, Broadway, First and Second streets in the Civic Center district of Downtown Los Angeles. It was headquarters of the Los Angeles Times until 2018. It is currently vacant, with plans being proposed regarding how to best utilize the existing buildings and the total ground area of the site.

Components

Times Mirror Square includes: The parking garage at 213 S. Spring, stretching from the west side of Spring to the east side of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd streets, is sometimes referred to as the "Los Angeles Times Parking Garage", but is not actually part of Times Mirror Square. On both sides there are relief sculptures by Tony Sheets, Evolution of Printing and Evolution of Los Angeles, respectively, created in 1988–1989.

In popular culture

The Times Mirror Square building appears in Season 2, Episode 5 of The L Word: Generation Q. It serves as the fictitious site of a LGBTQIA+ therapy office.

Gallery

History

Times Mirror Square is located on a major portion of what was in the 1880s and 1890s, the central business district of Los Angeles. On April 13, 2018, LA Times employees were notified that ownership was unable to reach a new lease agreement to remain in the Times Building. The staff of about 800 employees would relocate to a new campus under construction in suburban El Segundo, 17 miles to the southwest when the lease at the Times Building expired on July 31, 2018. Onni Group, a Canadian developer which became the owner after Tribune Publishing lost control of its real estate in bankruptcy reorganization, reportedly wanted to increase the monthly lease by $1 million. The new Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong moved the paper to a building he owned in El Segundo, leaving the building empty. The vacant building is currently underused, with vacant space being used for movie shoots, earning the company as much as $4 million one year. The original building, despite its historic and architectural significance, is not listed as a historical landmark. It is not in the listings of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, California Historical Landmarks, or U.S. Registered Historic Landmarks in Los Angeles. Onni has planned to redevelop the site.

Redevelopment

In 2018, The Onni Group, a real estate development company, proposed to demolish the 1973 wing and replace it with residential units and retail. Two residential towers were proposed, a 37-story tower rising 365 feet and a taller 53-story building rising 655 feet. The plans includes 1,100 apartments with 24 moderate-income units and 10 low-income units. The design emphasizes walkability and retail around the Civic Center area of DTLA. Later in 2018, City Hall approved the demolition of all the additions to the original 1937 building, including the Pereira wing, to make way for the proposed towers. The new underground Historic Broadway light rail station opened on June 16, 2023, on the 2nd Street side of the building, as part of the Regional Connector.