Los Angeles is a vast city with countless significant buildings working their way into native architects' psyche often without their acknowledgement. It is not unusual one of those buildings would show up head on, often seen while driving and only to go back to their reclusive place in mind unless someone mentions them in a conversation and you say "oooh yeeeah..."
I will try to bring those buildings to you as often I ran into them and record their history here as much as available in record books or in people's memories. They are our collective pedigree in this city that do not get to be talked that much unless "ooh yeaah" that is.
Wenceslao Alfonso Sarmiento, also known as W.A. Sarmiento (born 1922) is a Peruvian-born American modernist architect who is known for his apprenticeship in Oscar Niemeyer's office and who is known for his financial buildings since the 1950's. More here on him to start.
And the building by him to start the series, Glendale Federal Savings, Glendale (now known as Hollywood Production Center) :
4 Comments
Fantastic, Orhan. I love these. This one makes me think of the bank/ office building at Pico and Overland... where a recent remodel removed all those wonderful fins, which is criminal.
Thanks for posting.
Thanks citizen. No kidding.. I have to see it. What a nouveau riche act.!
This one in your photos is much more articulated in its massing, more sophisticated.
The West LA one (just east of Westside Pavilion) is a box, but a nice box. Even with the stripping of the shading fins, you can still see the good bones on it.
Thank you for this! I am Wenceslao's grandson, I used to love going over his old drawings with him and still have many of them. I look forward to seeing what else you uncover. I would love to learn more about his professional life; I was only ever really familiar with him as a grandfather and not as an architect.
Stephen
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