L.A.’s Hall of Justice dedicated after costly renovation

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca walks up the main staircase for his first look at the refurbished Hall of Justice.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A crowd gathers at the Spring Street entrance for the dedication of the newly refurbished Hall of Justice. The landmark dates from 1925.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The Hall of Justice is where the sensational trials of Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan took place.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A view of the lobby of the renovated Hall of Justice. Former Sheriff Lee Baca’s appearance at the dedication was a bittersweet moment for a man who’d been so instrumental in the building’s refurbishment.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors get their first view of the vaulted entryway at the Hall of Justice, which was severely damaged in the Northridge earthquake of January 1994.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

For historical reasons, a jail cell that once housed murderer Charles Manson is left untouched at the Hall of Justice.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

George Meyer, 86, a former jailer in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, looks at a display photograph of Charles Manson being escorted to the Hall of Justice in 1971. Meyer said he remembers securing Manson after his many court appearances.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

An old placard hangs on the wall in the lobby of the renovated Hall of Justice.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca admires the craftsmanship in a court chamber on the eighth floor of the renovated Hall of Justice.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca walks up an ornate iron staircase at the Hall of Justice. “There isn’t anything about this building that I didn’t have my hand in,” he said.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)