I went to hear Stephen Gee talk about his new book about LA City Hall. Stephen Gee is the one who has been working tirelessly to bring the architect John Parkinson back into LA history.
So here’s my little part. I went looking through my photos to find images of the Title Guarantee building. Designed by John and his son Donald in 1930. 
A wonderful example of Art Deco. Pay close attention, this picture was taken maybe four years ago. Things have changed.
The tower and rooftop are the same.
When built, the tower acted as a billboard, someone said there is now an apartment there. Not sure if that is true.
A few years ago, Starbucks opened up on the ground floor. Eight years ago there was one Starbucks up in Wells Fargo Plaza, on Bunker Hill. Today there are all over downtown, which just goes to show how much development is going on.
I took this picture just the other day. After 40 years of being an empty lot, the Title Guarantee building will be surrounded by a large massive development. I’ll keep posting along the way.
Stephen Gee was able to turn the book into a documentary. I will be setting my DVR for Oct. 7, I also might be buying the DVD. It will be available on Amazon sometime next month.
Also, one of the great-granddaughters was at the lecture. She recently moved back to LA and of course is working with Stephen Gee to bring John Parkinson back to LA lore.
Leah