Exterior view of the nearly completed Los Angeles City Hall, 1926–28
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The California Historical Society holds photographic collections that contribute to the understanding of California and its people.
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2020-11-25T07:38:19-08:00
The California Historical Society holds photographic collections that contribute to the understanding of California and its people. This photograph, in particular, is a part of the collection called California Historical Society Collection that portrays the economic, social, and cultural heritage of the state of California. This photographer captured a tall building surrounded by many shorter buildings and a few advertising boards. The tall building is the Los Angeles City Hall building and the main focus of this photograph. The building is shown to have a wide rectangular base, a tower extending up the center, and a pointed tip. Additionally, the building is white and includes many windows. Now recognized as a landmark, the iconic building has been featured on city documents and business licenses (LA Conservancy). This photograph falls under the category of photography and visual communication. This illuminates the promotion aspect related to the theme of photography and visual communication because the building is very recognizable and promotes the amazing architecture that California has to offer. In addition, the photograph tells the story of California's historical architectural importance. It exposes what Los Angeles City Hall was and is today. By looking at the building it is apparent that the photograph was not taken from a low viewpoint looking up at the building or at a higher view looking down. Instead, it seems quite level, the image seemed to have been taken from a distance of a few blocks away. Furthermore, the camera was leveled in a position to capture the building from a central view. This is important because the photographer is allowing the viewer to see the building from a unique vantage point. They become more active in viewing the photograph.
