blogdowntown
Not currently logged in. [Login or Create an Account]

Stay Connected



 

SB Tower Reveals a Head-Scratcher of a Ground Floor

By Eric Richardson
Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at 03:21PM
600 S. Spring Eric Richardson []

With scaffolding removed, the ground floor at SB Tower (600 S. Spring) is still a head-scratcher.



DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Scaffolding was removed from the ground floor of Barry Shy's SB Tower at 600 S. Spring today, revealing the new look of what was once the headquarters of California Bank.

I'll be honest, I don't get it.

That the 1960 structure's solid, marble pedestal has been chopped up and remodeled beyond recognition is well known. The building got a new paint job earlier this year, masking most of the incongruity there.

But this new ground floor...

Nine live-work units have been installed into the base of the building. Four open onto 6th street, four onto the alley behind the building and one opens onto Spring.

In an effort to cram as many units as possible into the structure, the units have been shoehorned beneath a second floor that's barely eight feet off the sidewalk. The colossal scale of the pedestal makes the doorways feel like they were perhaps designed for dwarfs.

Units along the 6th street side of the building are actually a step down from sidewalk level. Thankfully, they are fitted with drains in their entry area. While that may handle L.A.'s occasional rains, one can only imagine that street-level recessed doorways will find themselves the victim of other, less sanitary fluids.

Even one of the building's two original parking ramps has been scrapped to squeeze in another unit.

Two spaces listed as retail line Spring street. One, in the former bank lobby, contains a lofty ceiling. The second, closer to 6th, can only be described as a cellar.

It's certainly possible that creative users will find uses for these spaces, but standing outside the building today it's tough to see how.

SHARE:

||

Related Stories:


Conversation

Guest 1

Zo on November 18, 2009, at 03:32PM – #1

Crap.

I like the color, I guess. But I agree with the confusion regarding the ground floor windows and entrances.

A door to a live/work space right off the sidewalk... I sure as Hell wouldn't want to live there. Work, maybe. I can only hope that they are used for creative firms, or galleries, or retail, or something with business hours. Just not a work-at-home nudist or something like that. I'd hate to be walking to work and seeing a buck naked midlifer just getting out of the sack.

Sheesh.


Guest 2

Clyde on November 18, 2009, at 03:33PM – #2

I too was confused earlier today when I was having coffee across the street at Syrup. What were they thinking? I wasn't sure if all the street level units were intended for retail so, thanks for clarifying.


() on November 18, 2009, at 03:35PM – #3

Yeah just what everyone in Downtown is always complaining about not having: a glass door that opens directly to the street and windows at street level. What the what? Seriously what is BS smoking?

Also painting marble... I thought I had seen it all. Wow. Personally I think that cutting all those holes in the beautiful marble pedestal and covering up the awesome 60s metal siding was a huge mistake.


Guest 3

nanorich on November 18, 2009, at 04:46PM – #4

Barry really has lousy taste in lettering and fonts.

All of his buildings, which he names after himself...have the worst designed signs in the area. Cheap doesn't even begin to describe his approach whatever it is he thinks he is doing.

And this building stands as a monument to Barry's taste.

But you gotta know that no matter how crappy things look on the outside, there are some amazing surprises going to come out for you on the inside! Probably in the middle of the night....


Guest 4

Ankur on November 18, 2009, at 06:05PM – #5

I'm not sure how the higgens came out looking awesome compared to these chopped up monstrosities.


Guest 5

watigatapitusberry on November 18, 2009, at 06:57PM – #6

OMG...I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT BARRY DID TO THIS BUILDING!! I think everyone needs to start to admit that Barry transformed this building from a nasty looking dump into a brand new looking beauty. No developer would have done a better job. They wouldn't have the "balls" to do what he did. (balconies/paint job) I have to say the retail portion of the building is not the greatest but overall I love it!

(Can we get a before and after pick of the complete building please!)


Guest 6

Robert on November 18, 2009, at 07:00PM – #7

I do like the color..not sure what the building looked like previously. I am happy to see 250 more units being rented out in the historic core...I wish we had more residents on Broadway. To be honest with you, Los Angeles was ruined by a lot of 60s architecture and we lost so many beautiful historic buildings. If Barry Shy would have done this to say..the Herald Examiner Bldg... I would be more upset. Since a lot of people are saying 6th and Los Angeles street is on the border of being very dangerous..drug deals, gunshots etc, I am happy to have more residents to get involved in the neighborhood.


Guest 7

hoovton on November 18, 2009, at 07:01PM – #8

I believe that the reason why the Higgins turned out better is because Andrew Meieran (the owner of Edison) partnered with Shy on that building. Andrew has taste and class. If you have been following the news Andrew Meieran successfully sued Barry Shy over legal issues surrounding his Mercury Liquors project...but dig even deeper. I don't know why someone hasn't questioned if Shy had his laborers properly dispose of asbestos in the Higgens Building...among other things. Allegedly.


Guest 3

nanorich on November 18, 2009, at 07:15PM – #9

Dear Barry,

If you are looking for a believable shill to say your ugly buildings and hideous rehab jobs are not what they seem, I am your girl!

However...if you are bound and determined to destroy the physical integrity of the buildings you buy and redo on the cheap in your effort to uglify the historic core, may I suggest your for your next project, you go with pink. with yellow trim.

While no one ever went broken underestimating the taste of the American public...in your case, plumping the bottomless depths of horrible seem to be your mission in Downtown.


Jamie DeFrisco on November 18, 2009, at 07:29PM – #10

I like the colors, but I think it would have been better to not paint over marble and paint the top portion complimentary to the marble.

SB Main has a couple of ground floor units that have doors that lead to an outside alley. Either way, I would be more concerned with safety than with someone expelling fluids on your doorstep. There's the fear that someone might try to break in or try to follow you into your place. It's a lot easier for someone to attack you if you live right on the ground floor than if they have to get through a secured door, possible security, and not get noticed by someone else in the building.

I think it's great that Barry Shy maximizes his space. I'm sure he's only doing it to maximize profits. I think it's great to add balconies and utilize roof top space. I'm not saying his buildings are great or that he doesn't do everything cheaply.


Guest 8

Benjamin Pezzillo on November 18, 2009, at 07:37PM – #11

It's refreshing to have Spring Street completely free of scaffolding!


Guest 9

blahman on November 18, 2009, at 09:20PM – #12

we live in a modern age, and this ground level design is just assinine


Guest 10

TheSoxKid on November 18, 2009, at 11:13PM – #13

The retail is not the best looking I've seen, especially the corner space which does indeed look like it was built for a family of dwarves. That being said, I've got to hand it to Mr. Shy who single-handedly took what was easily the ugliest building in downtown and transformed it into something quite magnificent. Furthermore, I've heard that the units in this building are among the nicest in downtown and priced similar to the other SB Properties. If this is true, I'm moving there for sure and my money says that the entire building fills up in 3 months tops.


Guest 11

Xavier Grobet on November 19, 2009, at 07:22AM – #14

SB is sooooo Cheap... look at what he has done to all his buildings. No taste. We even had a huge Elvis robot statue in our lobby, thank God it's now in another building. We should create a Downtown Good Taste Commission and keep an eye on him.


Guest 12

Tronadoes28 on November 19, 2009, at 08:38AM – #15

Yeah, I can see those low doorways becoming pee magnates for a certain group of downtown residents as well as maybe a few barhoppers.


Guest 13

Oscar on November 19, 2009, at 09:23AM – #16

I wish this guy could buy the city hall, the library or the WD concert hall... haha, can you imagine? real fun... real fun ... ... ... hehehehehe ... ... ... hehehe


Guest 14

E. on November 19, 2009, at 10:32AM – #17

But Xavier, bad taste makes for some good laughs and makes things interesting! It would be sooo boring if everything around us was designed with "good taste" (whatever THAT is...) Your "Downtown Good Taste Commission" that keeps an eye on people sounds a bit tyrannical to me.

SB is cheap, though.


Valerie Watson on November 19, 2009, at 10:44AM – #18

Still laughing at the sight of a mini forklift ramming a wooden palette into the Spring St. facade in an attempt to knock a hole through the marble. Poor building. :(


Guest 15

Mike on November 19, 2009, at 11:07AM – #19

Wow, this is seriously ugly. Is that building a women's prison or a ammunition depot? I'm confused.


Guest 3

nanorich on November 19, 2009, at 11:42AM – #20

All he needs is painted statuary and bars on the windows to give this thing the Barry Shy touch.

Pissing the door ways? Fools! that is a feature, not a bug!


Friskie Buffet on November 19, 2009, at 01:38PM – #21

too fortress-like; does nothing to enliven the sidewalk environment; ugly!


Guest 16

Li on November 19, 2009, at 05:03PM – #22

Barry Shy is cheap but so are his rents, so he's always going to have a market for his buildings no matter how ugly they may be.


Guest 17

current SB resident on November 19, 2009, at 06:03PM – #23

Just wait until you see the units in the podium!! Super low ceilings (maybe 6.5 feet in places?) and some overlooked the alley behind. Who would live in a place like that?
Oh - but the penthouses facing spring and 6th have awesome views... and the balconies are surprisingly roomier than they appear.


Guest 18

Joe on November 20, 2009, at 01:21PM – #24

Poor Barry. Just lost $ 14 million dollars from being a dumbass slumlord. Now this.

He's done a remarkable job unveiling downtown's next great urinal.


Guest 8

Too Funny on November 20, 2009, at 03:18PM – #25

This is how the street units would be listed in New York City:

Close to mass transit. Private street access. Close to nightlife and garage. North facing windows. Call 1-800-SHYSTER


Guest 19

peenee on November 20, 2009, at 03:48PM – #26

you rock! this building would rock if it's in nyc but it's not. it's la minus all the nyc conveniences.


Guest 20

Mrs. S on January 19, 2010, at 10:34AM – #27

I stare at this building every day out of my window, and the colour is nice enough, but as far as the lower floors and the windows/ enginerring choices (my father is an engineer) this is sooo confusing, and just doesn't make much sense as far as whom they are marketing to. It's like a 'fancy' prison.

I also have recently walked by the lobby area, and whom ever commssioned that mural should be punished in the worst way. A jungle themes mural? It is like a mural for a toddlers room circa 1990. They will have trouble renting, with that as a first impression. Not to mention the lack of light.

Please if you need interior design help, I or many other designers would be happy to. I wish there was a way to enforce keeping the original class of the interior design of some of these building. If I see one more zebra striped carpet, to entice a 'younger crowd' I will scream. "Keep the jungle out of the concrete jungle!"



Add Your Voice

In an effort to prevent spam, blogdowntown commenting requires that Javascript be enabled. Please check your browser settings and try again.

 

Search:


Story Location:

Loading... Please wait.




On Twitter

New Comments


Recommendations



blogdowntown Photo Pool

Photos of Downtown contributed by readers like you.

Downtown Blogs


Downtown Sites


Elsewhere