Los Angeles isn’t generally famous for its innovative urban design. But there have been many attempts to transform the city into a modern metropolis through visionary architecture and transportation projects. In their exhibition Never Built: Los Angeles, the Architecture and Design Museum is showing off the coolest of what might have been.
Frank Lloyd Wright Huntington Hartford Sports Club, 1947
Picture: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
B+U Downey Office Building, 2009
Picture: B+U Architects
Goodell Monorail, 1963
This monorail system would have carried passengers between downtown and LAX.
Picture: Courtesy Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Research Library and Archive
John Lautner Griffith Park Nature centre 1972
Picture: Getty Research Institute
KiribatiKelker & DeLeuw Subway Plan, 1925
Early plans for LA’s subway system featured extensive coverage throughout the city — a far cry from the limited routes of today. In the end, it was money and politics that dictated what was eventually built.
Picture: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Research Library and Archive
Lloyd Wright Civic centre Plan, 1925
Picture: Eric Lloyd Wright
OMA LACMA proposal, 2001
The LA County Museum of Art considered this ambitious proposal with a huge canopy roof. Ultimately, the board voted for a more conservative proposal.
Picture: OMA
Pereira and Luckman, LAX original Plan, 1952
An original plan for LAX had a glass dome covering the entire airport. Apparently, there was also talk of building it on an island off of Santa Monica.
Picture: LAWA Flight Path Learning Center
Santa Monica Offshore Freeway, 1965
LA’s heavy traffic forced planners to consider radical measures like this off-shore highway in Santa Monica. It was scrapped — to the delight of beach-goers.
Picture: City of Santa Monica
William H. Evans, Tower Of Civilisation, 1939
This 400m tower built with magnesium was proposed for the 1939 World’s Fair.
Picture: Huntington LIbrary
Never Built: Los Angeles will be on view from July 13 – September 29. [via Untapped Cities]