Moving Metal

B y the end of the twentieth century, Reliance had outgrown its old Vernon headquarters and was looking to relocate to a venue better suited to support the continued growth of the professional staff needed to support a thriving multi-billion dollar global corpora- tion. The perfect home was not far away. Located at 350 South Grand Avenue in the Bunker Hill financial district of downtown Los Angeles, the fifty-two-story skyscraper Two California Plaza offered 1.27 million square feet of office space. The building had been designed by the famous Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and was an integral part of the Los Angeles “cultural corridor,” developed in the early 1990s. Topped out at 750 feet in 1992, it was the third tallest skyscraper in Los Angeles and the 367th tallest in the world. When designing Two California Plaza, Erickson had envisioned a terraced tower of steel and reflective glass rising from a base of Brazilian Sanduba granite. To create this impression, he designed “vertically notched sections” climbing to the top of the building. A 1.5-acre water garden with fountains was featured on the ground level, between Two California Plaza and its sister building, One California Plaza. At the center of the plaza, which was linked to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Erickson created “waves of water” that flowed down the terraces into a central lake. When the water was turned off and drained, the area became an open-air amphitheater with the terraces serving as audience seating. Reliance signed an eleven year, $10 million sublease for 44,847 square feet of space on the fifty-first and fifty-second floors in February 2001. It was a substantial upgrade from the Vernon facility and the lease terms were very favorable to Reliance. The glass and A NEW HOME IN THE SKY

water ambience of the plaza provided a stark but welcome contrast to Reliance’s former cramped headquarters in the industrial Vernon steel yard. Visitors and employees alike responded favorably to the new Reliance headquarters.

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