Skip to Content
Architecture

Preview NEVER BUILT: LOS ANGELES ~ Opens July 28th at A+D Museum

3-Santa-Monica-Offshore-Freeway,-1965-(courtesy-City-of-Santa-Monica)
Santa Monica Offshore Freeway, 1965 (courtesy-City-of-Santa-Monica)

This intriguing exhibit of architecture that never got built in Los Angeles offers a window into a future that wasn't and a past that dreamed its way to oblivion. These images represent some of the structures that were conceived but never created in Los Angeles. Some of them would've been today's white elephants, while others are missed by people who don't even know they might have existed. Full information and more images below...


A+D Architecture and Design Museum>Los Angeles (A+D Museum) is pleased to announce the highly anticipated exhibition, Never Built: Los Angeles, on view July 28-September 29, 2013. Curated by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin and designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects, Never Built: Los Angeles will explore the “what if” Los Angeles—what the city might have been—through a compendium of urban projects that never made it past the drawing board.

1-Lloyd-Wright-Civic-Center-Plan-1925-(Courtesy-Eric-Lloyd)
Lloyd-Wright Civic Center Plan 1925 (Courtesy Eric Lloyd Wright)

5-OMA:Rem Koolhaas LACMA proposal, 2001 (courtesy OMA)
Rem Koolhaas LACMA proposal 2001 (Courtesy OMA)

In words, drawings, models, videos and other media, Never Built: Los Angeles will examine visionary works that had the greatest potential to reshape Los Angeles. The exhibition will be organized in segments that explore unbuilt buildings, master plans, parks, follies and transportation schemes, all of which could have transformed both the physical reality and the collective perception of the metropolis. The stories surrounding these projects shed light on a reluctant city whose institutions and infrastructure have often undermined inventive, challenging public schemes.

Never-built large-scale visions include Olmsted and Bartholomew’s groundbreaking 1930 “Plan for the Los Angeles Region,” which, had it not been upended by business groups, would have increased the amount of green space in the notoriously park-poor city several times over; the Maguire Group’s 1980 plan for Grand Avenue, which would have injected unity and architectural exclamation into the placeless spine of downtown; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Doheny Ranch, which would have replaced the monotonous suburban housing model with a collection of unique buildings clustered in a landscape of dramatic terraces and ravines.

Unrealized buildings include OMA/Rem Koolhaas’ 2001 plan for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which proposed to raze much of the disjointed complex and create a new one under a giant translucent roof; Jean Nouvel’s 2008 Green Blade, a condominium tower entirely clad in cascading plants; and John Lautner’s 1960s plan for Alto Capistrano, a series of spaceship-like apartments hovering above a mixed-use development. Additional ill-fated projects include various low- to moderate-income housing projects and plans for over 100 miles of subway tunnels that would have cohesively linked the vast metropolis. Many of these schemes—each promoting a denser, more connected, more vibrant city—are still relevant today.

6-Pereira-and-Luckman,-LAX-original-Plan,-1952-(Courtesy-LAWA-Flight-Path-Learning-Center)2
Pereira and Luckman LAX proposal 1952 (Courtesy LAWA Flight Path learning Center)

4-B+U-Downey-Office-Building,-2009-(Courtesy-B+U-Architects)2
B+U Downey Office Building 2009 (Courtesy B+U)

By allowing viewers to see Los Angeles in a new light, Never Built: Los Angeles examines what it is about Los Angeles that attracts some of the world’s most creative architects, yet often causes grand architectural schemes to flounder. The exhibition sets the stage for a renewed interest in visionary projects for the future of Los Angeles, challenging the city to think big again.

2-Goodell-Monorail,-1963-(Los-Angeles-County-Metropolitan)
Goodell Monorail 1963 (Courtesy LACMA)

To learn more about the exhibition, visit the A+D Museum website.

NEVER BUILT: LOS ANGELES EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION
July 27, 2013, 6:00-9:00PM
A+D Museum, 6032 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036
Opening Reception Admission: $20 Individual, $15 Students with valid ID, A+D Members FREE
Museum Admission: $10 Individual, $5 Students/Seniors, Children under 12 and A+D Members FREE

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

No Cops, No Chaos: Long Beach’s Peaceful Protests vs. L.A.’s Police-Fueled Clashes

Like my favorite Basque band, Eskorbuto, famously proclaimed in their political anthem: “Mucha Policia, Poca Diversion.” The logic is straightforward: No police, no violence; too many police, too much chaos.

June 18, 2025

Kids of Taqueros Take Over East L.A. Taco Stand to Keep Families Safe

Jonathan, his brother, two sisters, and the children of other employees announced last Friday via social media that they would be temporarily taking over the business, saying: “We continue the work in honor of our parents.”

June 18, 2025

L.A.’s DIY Underground Hardcore Scene Raises $10K For L.A.’s Undocumented Families Affected by ICE

"We're in crisis mode," says Victor Campos, the Director of Mosh for Youth. "Immigrants build our communities, and they thrive with immigrants. If we look at who's being taken by the raids, it's hard-working Latinos. They're going to Home Depots, to swap meets, to places of business, and taking our people away. Families are left broken and shattered by these raids, so it's our responsibility as individuals with platforms to do something about it."

June 17, 2025

Unhoused Residents and a Chef Getting Off Work Get Unintentionally Caught in Violent Police Actions Against Protesters in DTLA

A Black woman in a wheelchair who did not appear to be involved in the protests found herself trapped among dozens of protesters. When a line of police advanced towards her and the remaining protesters, two people put their bodies on the line a sthey struggled to move her wheelchair away from the police.

June 17, 2025

Who Allowed ICE To Arrest Vendors and Customers at The Santa Fe Swap Meet?

Suspicion is falling on management, despite its formal denial that employees knew anything about it. "“Who let them in? That’s what we want to know,” said a vendor. “They have speakers; they could have alerted people,” said one vendor.

June 16, 2025

Sheriff’s Department Says Little Girl Seen In Viral Video Was Taken Into ‘Protective Custody’ by DCFS, Not ICE

L.A. TACO has confirmed that the viral video posted today by Union Del Barrio showing a little girl crying in the backseat of a truck has to do with a warrant for a murder investigation.

June 16, 2025
See all posts