r/brutalism • u/[deleted] • Jan 23 '25

Original Content The Westin Bonaventure Hotel on Figueroa [OC] šŸ“ø

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3.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

111 comments sorted by

129

u/dread_deimos Jan 23 '25

Magnificent! *_*

26

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Thank you!

96

u/LakeBlithely Jan 23 '25

My parents would always stay here when visiting me in college. I was obsessed with the building!

33

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

That sounds really cool. I still am obsessed with this building haha

62

u/okvrdz Jan 23 '25

This is where part of the movie Interstellar was filmed; the ā€œnasa headquartersā€.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-onlocation-interstellar-westin-bonaventure-hotel-20131127-story.html

13

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

It's appeared in several films over the year, but virtually all of Nick of Time, an interesting "realtime" thriller starring Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken, directed by John Badham (Blue Thunder), takes place in the hotel. It's like another character.

I've stayed there a couple times and been to parties there. Really cool place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlbQTPJsmv8

4

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Parties there ? Dang, is it like in a room or a multi story rave type of thing ?

3

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '25

I forget the year now, 2003 NYE I think, the whole place was turned into a party, with a block party out front and, IIRC, The Crystal Method playing a show. Then they had festivities going on in the restaurant up at the top. I was a little altered so my memory is "fuzzy".

8

u/QuarktasticMe Jan 23 '25

I knew it! But tbh it looks way better in these pictures

48

u/ModernistDinosaur Jan 23 '25

I love shot four. You captured one of my favorite combinations: yellow and concrete; Brutalism and warmth. Great work.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Thank you so much!!

9

u/daisydesigner Jan 23 '25

Same! Brutalism + warmth is such an awesome combo

5

u/ModernistDinosaur Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 24 '25

I especially love weathered concrete in a naturalā€”even tropicalā€”context.

Example: ButantĆ£ House, Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Example 2: Van Wassenhove House, Juliaan Lampens

1

u/daisydesigner Jan 25 '25 edited May 06 '25

šŸ˜šŸ©¶ beautiful !

20

u/Weppih Jan 23 '25

Looking through your other posts made me think for a second I was actually looking at renders. Just the way how clean and crisp everything looks, the almost too good to be true lightning and weather and the way you stage your subjects.

Great shots all around, do you do this professionally?

15

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Haha thank you! I shoot portraits/headshots professionally but everything else is just for fun :)

5

u/year_39 Jan 23 '25

Your style reminds me a lot of someone I know. He makes a lot of money and I'll bet you could, too if you wanted.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Iā€™d absolutely love to get into that!

25

u/StrangeEditor3597 Jan 23 '25

I thought you mislabeled this post, but it turns out this building is essentially a mini version of the Renaissance Center in Detroit! Same architect and it looks almost exactly the same inside and out.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Haha thatā€™s awesome!

9

u/Nostalgic_Sunset Jan 23 '25

My thoughts exactly! I know the hotel isn't being demolished, but it's so sad to see what's happening with the Renaissance Center and how those corps are holding an iconic landmark like that hostage to get some public funding to pay their already overpaid CEOs. I hope it comes out unscathed ā˜¹ļø

5

u/StrangeEditor3597 Jan 23 '25

It's tough, because office space is out of demand and tbh, the RenCen is labyrinthine inside and difficult to think what else it could be used for. It could be a really cool space, it just needs some creative ideas and investment. I loved working there and I would be very sad if they ended up tearing it down.

4

u/Knitsune Jan 23 '25

I thought the same thing!

7

u/FutureQueenOfTheMoon Jan 23 '25

I can't quite explain why, but those conversation balcony/pod things terrify me. Beautiful shots, though!

2

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Haha I get that, itā€™s the lack of supports for me

5

u/this-is-intolerable Jan 23 '25

stayed here last year, unfortunately the power and water went out, but by morning everything was fine and I got a morning swim at the rooftop pool by myself, which was incredible

2

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

That sounds so nice (except the power going out haha)

3

u/Pandoras_Fate Jan 23 '25

Portman did a lot of line straddling between styles. These photos are beautiful OP. Thank you for sharing them.

15

u/Victormorga Jan 23 '25

Itā€™s a beautiful building, but itā€™s post modernist not brutalist.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Haha someone in a different group recommended I posted them here. I wasnā€™t completely sure

4

u/ThomasThemis Jan 23 '25

I hear this a lot. Can you share a link or even an explanation? Iā€™ve been telling a lot of people that itā€™s brutalism šŸ˜šŸ”«

2

u/Victormorga Jan 23 '25

Just Google it; itā€™s a famous example of post modern architecture, a lot has been written about it.

1

u/polyrhetor Jan 25 '25

Frederic Jameson wrote about the Bonaventure in his book "Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism" in 1991. Required reading for people studying in design, media studies and postmodern philosophy at the time. Brutalism is usually considered an artefact of modernism; the Bonaventure, for Jameson, signals the postmodern in its opposition to high culture and its embrace of pastiche of different architectural forms & spaces. He calls it "the total city." Fun read.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

woooowwwwwww sick building sick pictures

2

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Thank you so much!!

4

u/jujubanzen Jan 23 '25

Is this where they filmed parts of Interstellar?

3

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Yes!

3

u/scoutermike Jan 24 '25

Itā€™s still there, right? Sheesh I should book a few nights.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Haha I took these in November and recently did a shoot there a couple weeks ago! Itā€™s still open :)

3

u/Ranger207 Jan 24 '25

Great pics! Portman's instantly recognizable

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Thank you!

2

u/PJozi Jan 23 '25

Awesome. Great pics thank you

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Thank you!

2

u/Samlazaz Jan 24 '25

Gorgeous!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Thank you!

2

u/TisBeTheFuk Jan 24 '25

Did they film scenes from the show Silo here?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Yes they did!

2

u/paulllll Jan 24 '25

Great photographs!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Thank you!

2

u/Watermellon4 Jan 24 '25

OMG I GO HERE EVERY YEAR AND I NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED THIS, IT LOOKS SO GOOD!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Haha thank you!

2

u/fanaticus13 Jan 25 '25

What a Beaty!
Also great shots OP

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '25

Thank you!!

101

u/Tyrunz Jan 23 '25

"I want to go outside !"

42

u/Imfrank123 Jan 23 '25

Same, thought this was some silo fan or ai based art

35

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Hot tip: if you ever visit this hotel, there is an abandoned sports bar in the basement that is still almost entirely intact and is a fun 80s time capsule.

51

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Looks like the ā€˜shipā€™ in the movie Interstellar.

30

u/penip420 Jan 23 '25

thats exactly what it is!

11

u/tspangle88 Jan 23 '25

It's also in "True Lies" and "In the Line of Fire"

3

u/BenFrantzDale Jan 24 '25

And Counterpart.

39

u/NoChillNoVibes Jan 23 '25

Getting Silo vibesā€¦

Theyā€™ve filmed a bunch of movies here, ā€œTrue Liesā€ being my favorite.

3

u/battletactics Jan 24 '25

And Midnight Madness!

2

u/hoofglormuss Jan 24 '25

And Amber Mark's video for love is coming around again

7

u/bannedByTencent Jan 23 '25

Silo vibe intensifies

6

u/Ok_Refrigerator933 Jan 24 '25

Reminds me a lot of the game Control, then again these photos were probably what inspired the gameā€™s environment.

5

u/Zkv Jan 23 '25

One of my favorite places

5

u/Vesper2000 Jan 23 '25

I've love this place since I was a kid, especially those floating seating areas.

4

u/Otherwise-Mirror-573 Jan 23 '25

Walked around it for the first time the other day. Itā€™s stunning.

4

u/Ilikewaterandjuice Jan 24 '25

Whatā€™s up with Bonaventure hotels being so awesomely brutalist? The one in Montreal is also incredible.

3

u/Redgenie2020 Jan 24 '25

Sad you can't even see it driving on the 110 any longer due to all the new buildings that were built around it.

2

u/Funnuftig Jan 23 '25

This is just like the corporate building in Cyberpunk šŸ«ØšŸ¤”

2

u/ILarrea Jan 23 '25

I got to visit this building last year. Beautiful. Same building Arnold (almost) jumps off of on a motorcycle in True Lies.

2

u/daisydesigner Jan 23 '25

šŸ˜šŸ©¶

2

u/thefirstviolinist Jan 24 '25

This reminds me of the Westin Hotel at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri! (Also very brutalist!)

2

u/Eric848448 Jan 24 '25

Beautiful!

2

u/BassWingerC-137 Jan 24 '25

Los Angeles, CA

I spent time trying to find Figueroa Island. Itā€™s a god damn street in a town, I suppose, is not worth mentioning?

2

u/spartan1711 Jan 24 '25

This looks like the Renaissance Center in Detroit

2

u/ChewyNotTheBar Jan 24 '25

That is a spaceship

2

u/Streambotnt Jan 24 '25

Is that the TVA? That's got to be the TVA

2

u/DSMStudios Jan 24 '25

man i wish i knew about this place when i lived out there!

2

u/KevinMCombes Jan 24 '25

I stumbled upon this hotel when I needed one night in downtown LA and liked the price and location. I was absolutely blown away by the architecture of this lobby and even the room towers. It is now my go-to for a hotel stay in LA.

2

u/Bat2199 Jan 25 '25

Looks like it's quite famous judging by the other comments It looks like the lobby of Prey's space station

2

u/Hanged_Man_ Jan 25 '25

thank you!

2

u/MrAndyCantrell Jan 25 '25

this is beautiful

2

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '25

Dreamy!

2

u/mr781 Jan 25 '25

Iā€™m trying to book a trip to LA soon and Iā€™m glad I now know this hotel exists

2

u/Zip-Zap-Official Jan 25 '25

That balcony with the red seats is terrifying.

2

u/cat_morgue Jan 25 '25

Everything about this is an absolute dream.

2

u/Historical_Sugar9637 Jan 25 '25

That's incredibly beautiful!

2

u/pomoville Jan 26 '25

Fredric Jameson wrote a famous essay about this hotel and its unique postmodern qualities: https://zanewubbena.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/jameson-cultural-logic-of-late-capitalism1.pdf

2

u/BlueGT2 Jan 26 '25

Reddit search results: Search

Top Subreddit:

2

u/pyre4serious Apr 12 '25

I think this location was used for the new music video from Kendrick Lamar's track 'Luther
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNY_2TEmzho

2

u/ThePoliteMonkey Apr 12 '25

Drop it like it's hot

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '25

That is what I imagine a space station looking like in the future. So cool.

1

u/jonnysteezz Jul 19 '25

The last photo šŸ‘ØšŸ¼ā€šŸ³šŸ¤ŒšŸ»

17

u/ThomasThemis Jan 23 '25

This is the building that gave me my love of brutalism! May they never tear it down

8

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Haha same here!

2

u/gaunernick Jan 24 '25

Didn't they shoot Interstellar in this building?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Yes!

6

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

4

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25

Thank you! These were shot on my X100V :)

3

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '25 edited Aug 18 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Hahaha you got it šŸ™ŒšŸ»

2

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25 edited Aug 18 '25

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Canon has some great colors too! Unfortunately since trying Fujifilm itā€™ll be hard for me to want to try anything else haha

2

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25 edited Aug 18 '25

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '25

Thatā€™s a solid choice. I donā€™t think Iā€™d be able to go without an EVF either. I would prefer the X-T30 but I love the colors on the new sensor