Brass Theft Tests the Mettle of City Hall

Brazen scavengers descended on Los Angeles City Hall over the long holiday weekend and plucked a load of historic brass railings and other exterior fittings from the 68-year-old building.

City Hall security police put the loss at about $130,000 and suspect that the brass boosters may be allied with transients arrested in recent months for pilfering railings, sprinklers and other metal fixtures from the grounds of the county seat of government, the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.

Authorities said the thieves sell the metal, including historic brass plates and lettering, to scrap metal dealers at a fraction of its actual value. The officials despaired at trying to stop the thefts, saying patrols that once protected Civic Center buildings have been pared to a minimum.

“A [stolen] letter here, a letter there, and pretty soon the entire Civic Center mall is gone almost,” said Gonzelo Cureton, head of the 50-officer security force run by the city’s General Services Department. “On the 1st Street side [of City Hall], part of the railing is still out there, but they will probably be back there tonight to get that.

“We don’t have the personnel,” Cureton continued. “We just don’t have anyone to put out there. They are trying to save money on the front end [by cutting staff], and they are losing it on the back end.”

Cureton said the city’s theft problems began about a month ago at Fletcher Bowron Square northeast of City Hall. Bronze lettering listing the name of the square was lifted, and then Bowron’s bronze bust was torn from its pedestal.

Bowron was mayor for nearly 27 years and, among other things, oversaw the construction of City Hall before he was defeated by Norris Poulson in 1953.

The Civic Center is notoriously devoid of activity after hours and on weekends. Officials suspect that, late at night, bolts attaching railings to the three City Hall stairways were simply pulled free. Brass coverings to the building’s fire hydrants at the Spring, Temple and 1st street entrances also were taken.

A similar scenario existed last year at the county Administration Building, two blocks away, county officials said. County safety police tracked one transient to an encampment beneath the Harbor Freeway, where a scrap metal company purportedly arrives once a week to buy the latest pickings, said Jesse Rodriguez, building manager for the Hall of Administration.

“I guess it’s hard times, and they are doing anything to get money,” Rodriguez said.

“Unfortunately, it’s unsightly for these buildings.”

The building officials said several transients were arrested after the county thefts and the problem slowed. But limited resources have hampered policing efforts at the Hall of Administration.

“There are going to be times it is still going to be opportunistic for them to do it,” Rodriguez said.