"Los Angeles Cal. Court House Ceiling Detail
of Entrance Lobby, Detail of Elevator Lobby, Decorative Painting"
By an unknown artist, ca. 1939
Watercolor and gouache paper
22" x 30 1/2"
National Archives and Records Administration -- Pacific Region (Laguna
Niguel) Records of the Public Buildings Service
Los Angeles, California, Court House
Ceiling Designs In 1937 Congress authorized $7 million for construction
of a U. S. Post Office and Courthouse in Los Angeles, California. The
architect chosen for this large project was Gilbert Stanley Underwood.
Underwood had already designed several important public buildings, including
train stations, lodges in national parks, and the U.S. Mint in San Francisco.
The "stripped classicism" style he chose for the post office and courthouse
was typical of many Federal buildings designed and constructed under the
New Deal. Typical, too, was the care lavished on the building's interior.
Shown here is the design for the decorative paintings on the entrance
lobby ceiling.