Gallery: Documenting the Never-Built Dreams of the City of Angels
01tower-of-civilization
*Tower of Civilization, 1939 Los Angeles World's Fair Courtesy Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens The 1939 World's Fair was held in [New York](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World's_Fair) but Los Angeles wanted it. The tower would have been 150 feet wide and 1,290 feet tall (the current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa is 2,722 feet). "It would have been the tallest structure in the world at the time," writes Lubell. "It was going to be made of metal and plastic, with laser-like lights radiating from its top. A helixical walkway, totaling 3 miles in length, would have allowed visitors to climb to the top."*
02goodell-monorail
*Goodell Monorail Courtesy Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Research Library and Archive Monorails have been proposed for Los Angeles more than once. This system was proposed in 1963. "The proposal, and another by the German company Alweg, lost momentum because of a proposal to build a subway down Wilshire Boulevard, which also didn't happen (but may soon!)," writes Lubell.*
03bu
*B+U Mixed-Use Office Building, Downey Courtesy B+U Proposed in 2009, just in time for the real estate crisis. One of the more recent entries in the exhibit.*
04lax
*LAX Original Master Plan Pereira and Luckman Courtesy Los Angeles World Airports Flight Path Learning Center "The original plan was rejected by city building department as unbuildable and by the airlines who did not want to have a shared terminal space. The [Theme Building](http://www.flickr.com/photos/brachiator/477994281/) emerged out of these early, much more spectacular drawings," writes Sam Lubell.*
05cvic-center
*Civic Center Lloyd Wright Courtesy of Eric Lloyd Wright/ UCLA Special Collections "The was Wright's entry into a competition for the design and layout of civic center. We really can't say how likely he was to win the competition. We can only say he lost to a much more politically-connected group called Allied Architects, whose best-known legacy is the splendid [City Hall](http://www.flickr.com/photos/calvinfleming/6131051030/)," writes Lubell.*
06olmsted-parks
*Olmsted and Bartholomew Parks, Playgrounds and Beaches for the Los Angeles Region Courtesy Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens "The bands of red and green represent parks. The red bands are regional parks, the green are urban parks, all connected by a string of landscaped parkways. These parks would have completely encircled the region, from the San Gabriel Mountains to Catalina Island. The entire coastline, from Malibu to Palos Verdes would have been permanently set aside as parkland, free of any development whatsoever," writes Lubell.*
07huntington-athletic-club
*Frank Lloyd Wright Huntington Hartford Athletic Club Courtesy Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Had this built it would have been atop Runyon Canyon, in the foothills just above Hollywood. Just a five minute walk from the corner of La Brea and Hollywood Boulevards.*
08pacific-ocean-park-redevelopment
*Pacific Ocean Park Redevelopment Courtesy Edward Cella Art and Architecture* In an effort to to replace the ramshackle Pacific Ocean Park pier, this 600 room hotel would have seemed to be floating 300 feet offshore. In the end, developer Jack Morehart lost the property and the city of LA acquired the land, clearing the area of all development.
