Parker Center
Parker Center was the headquarters for the Los Angeles Police Department from 1954 until October 2009, and is located in Downtown LA. It is named for former LAPD chief William H. Parker. Originally with the prosaic name, the Police Administration Building (PAB), ground for the center was broken on December 30, 1952 and construction completed in 1955. The architect was Welton Becket. The building combined police facilities that had been located throughout the Civic Center area. The location was previously home to the Olympic Hotel[1].
On July 16, 1966, Chief Parker had a fatal heart attack. Soon after-wards City Council made a motion to rename the Police Administration Building "Parker Center."
Plans were being considered for Parker Center as it was considered outdated and in need of expensive seismic retrofits to continue using it. A number of sites in downtown Los Angeles were discussed as possible sites for the new headquarters. Ultimately, the City Council selected the property directly south of City Hall, where the old Caltrans Los Angeles Headquarters had been located. Ground was broken for the new Police Administration Building in January 2007, and the new building was dedicated October 24, 2009.
[edit] In entertainment
The Center appears in most episodes of the 1967 version of the television drama Dragnet. The earlier Dragnet series which ran from 1951 through 1959 also featured the outside of the building beginning with the 5th season in 1955.
The popular NBC cop drama Hunter starring Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer also used the Parker Center as police headquarters in seasons 6 and 7. The TNT series The Closer also used Parker Center as a location.
The Center is also featured as one of the main locations in Police Quest: Open Season, the fourth installment of the Police Quest series, a 1993 PC video game by Sierra Entertainment. The Center is often mentioned in the novels of the Harry Bosch series, written by Michael Connelly, and was also one of the sites of the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the not-guilty verdict on the alleged LAPD abuse of Rodney King.
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Coordinates: 34°03′07″N 118°14′27″W / 34.0519261°N 118.240748°W
