ITALIAN HALL CULUTRAL CENTER
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ARCHITECTURAL TEAM | John Sparano, Anne Mooney, Ludwing Juarez, Jorge Beltran
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER | Nast Enterprises
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER | Silver, Roth & Associates
MECHANICAL + PLUMBING ENGINEER | Maroko & Shwe
HISTORIC PRESERVATION | Spano Architects
COST ESTIMATOR | iParametrics
Italian Hall is a historic structure built in 1908 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it originally functioned as the cultural hub for the Italian community in the late 19th and early 20th century. The building is located within El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, a landmark area recognized as the birthplace of Los Angeles that features some of the city’s most enduring buildings, along with museums, public art and the Olvera Street Mexican marketplace. Today, Italian Hall stands as the oldest remaining building from Los Angeles’ former Little Italy and houses the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA).
The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering – Architectural Division contracted Sparano + Mooney Architecture and our associated engineering team to perform a building evaluation of the existing Italian Hall facility. This study was undertaken in part due to the inclusion of the Italian Hall on the National Register of Historic Places in the Plaza de Los Angeles Historic District. Additionally, before the building could become a fully-functional commercial and recreational facility – and to protect the existing David Alfaro Siqueiros wall mural “América Tropical,” circa 1932, located on the exterior of the southern portion of the building – a thorough assessment needed to be completed.
The facility assessment therefore included architectural, aesthetic and structural integrity evaluations, MEP systems analysis, and building occupancy evaluation. Our team accomplished this task by performing a physical assessment of the existing facility, conducting interviews and discussions with stakeholders, and reviewing the collection of records and documentation of the existing facility. The information we gathered was analyzed within the terms of the objectives outlined and provided to the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering as part of a complete Evaluation Report.
