New State Building Dedicated in Van Nuys

A 5-foot-long cake, a high school band that missed its cue for the national anthem, balloons in the colors of American patriotism and about 500 spectators all helped to officially dedicate the new State Office Building on Friday in the heart of Van Nuys.

The building brings together 11 state agencies that had previously been scattered in leased space throughout the Valley. The new state offices are a stroll away from city, county and federal branch offices, making the strip on Van Nuys Boulevard a complete government complex.

By eliminating the need to rent space, the $15-million building, at 6150 Van Nuys Blvd., will save taxpayers $60 million over the next 20 years, officials said.

Many of the building’s occupants say that the most striking about the modern 4-story structure--called the first major state building constructed in Los Angeles in 25 years--is that it does not look anything like a typical government building.

“It certainly surpasses the state buildings I’ve been in,” said county Supervisor Ed Edelman, one of many elected officials from the San Fernando Valley who attended the dedication. “It really looks magnificent.”

Resembles a Hacienda

The building, which resembles a Spanish hacienda, has offices, connected by balconies, that look out onto an open-air courtyard. Hanging above the courtyard is a sculpture that partially shades the buildings and deflects direct rain. The main feature of the sculpture is a massive white frame that looks like huge pick-up sticks. Dangling from the frame are dense Plexiglas triangles representing a flock of birds.

The sculptor, Kristina Lucas, said she created her “Flight of Fancy” to provide employees an occasional respite from work.

Not everyone at the open house, however, grasped the symbolism. “What the hell is that thing?” a husband asked his wife as he looked skyward.

Lucas was one of five California artists chosen to permanently display artwork at the Van Nuys building as part of the Art in Public Buildings Program run by the California Arts Council and the office of the state architect. Other pieces at the building include an exterior glass sculpture that captures the reflections of passing traffic; a painting entitled “State Mural No. 1, Backyard,” and a wooden wall sculpture, which tricks the eye with its false geometry.

The dedication was a long time in coming. Politicians first began pushing for a state building in the Valley about 25 years ago. In recent years, state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys), aided by Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Van Nuys), shepherded bills for the project through the Legislature. A stream of smiling politicians, including Mayor Tom Bradley and the Valley’s county supervisors and Assembly members, took turns at the microphone thanking Robbins, the master of ceremonies, and commenting on how the building will benefit residents.

Robbins remarked, “Whatever problem someone has, if it’s interagency, we can deal with it.” The building, he said, “will increase the level of government service for the San Fernando Valley.”

The building’s occupants include the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, the Department of Rehabilitation, the Contractors’ State License Board, the Department of Industrial Relations and Robbins’ office.

The ceremony ended with the cutting of a huge cake, which bore a likeness to the State Office Building, down to its very shrubbery.