Conceived as “an urban, indoor Garden of Eden,” the space was designed to display contemporary sculpture designed by Robert Graham, Joan Miro, and Jean Dubuffet. It is Halprin’s only atrium design. Fountains connected by geometrically laid-out runnels provide the sound of running water throughout the garden. It’s currently known as the Wells Fargo Court.
This space is well maintained by the maintenance staff at the Wells Fargo Center. On-site security ensures that the sculptures and plantings are protected, and the fountains and runnels appear to be running regularly.
However, the publically accessible indoor garden’s existence is unknown outside of the daily users who have offices in the building. Furthermore, no mention of Halprin’s contribution to the indoor space is available online excepting a brief mention by the Los Angeles Conservancy.
Postscript
When the site was first included in the exhibition it was well-maintained, However, in December 2017, without warning, Brookfield Properties, which owns Wells Fargo Center, removed the sculptures from the Halprin-designed atrium and had the site demolished.
Los Angeles Open Space Network
Condition: F
Demolished
Visibility: F
None
National Register of Historic Places
Alan Ward, FASLA
Ward, a principal at Sasaki in Boston, Massachusetts, is a planner, designer, author, and photographer. His photographs have appeared in more than 200 books and magazines and have been in numerous exhibitions, including the award-winning exhibition Built Landscapes: Gardens of the Northeast. His most recent exhibition Luminous Landscapes, debuted at the National Building Museum in 2016. Ward’s recent landscape design work includes the rehabilitation of the landscape at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
