In 1994, the Northridge earthquake dealt the downtown landmark what should have been a death knell. After a $231-million seismic retrofit and renovation, it was dedicated on Wednesday in a bittersweet ceremony for former Sheriff Lee Baca, instrumental in making it a reality.
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)
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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)
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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)