Lankershim Arts Center, also known as the Department of Water and Power Building, is an art center and historic building located at 5108

Lankershim Boulevard Lankershim Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road the runs for in the eastern San Fernando Valley in the Los Angeles, California. Geography Lankershim Boulevard's northern terminus is at San Fernando Road in Sun Valley, Los Angele ...

in the NoHo Arts District in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Originally built for the

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal Public utility, utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of wat ...

, the building has since been

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

into a

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

and

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: * Gallery (surname), a surname Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery ** Online art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ' ...

space. It was designated a

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cul ...

in 1980.

History

The Department of Water and Power Building was designed by Charles S. Lee in the

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

style in 1939. Designed to be light and flamboyant, the building was originally a neighborhood administration office for the

Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of water per day (487, ...

, and was built when the organization believed their buildings should be monumental symbols of a benevolent government role in daily life. The building was designated a

in 1980 and it was refurbished in 1990, after which it became the Lankershim Art Center, a gallery and theater space that features of gallery/performance space, a dance floor, and a 44-seat theater. Since its conversion, the building has been home to the Road Theatre Company and the

Art Directors Guild The Art Directors Guild (ADG; IATSE Local 800) is a labor union and local of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) representing 3,278 motion picture and television professionals in the United States and Canada. The ...

’s Gallery 800. The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs owns and operates the space.

References

{{LAHMC 1930s architecture in the United States North Hollywood, Los Angeles Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Art Deco architecture in California

Streamline Moderne architecture Streamline Moderne architecture in the United States