Reviving History - Los Angeles County Hall of Justice

The 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake caused extensive damage to many buildings in the Los Angeles area, including the historic Hall of Justice.

Built in 1924, the HOJ contained the County courts, Sheriff department, Coroner, District Attorney, and the County jail. The building famously housed Charles Manson while he was waiting trial; and was the site of the Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy autopsies.

The $245 million repair and renovation project, begun in August of 2011, brought this Beaux Arts building back to its original beauty.  Clark Construction Company, the design builder, and AC Martin achieved a LEED Gold certification. At the time of its completion in August, 2014, it was the largest project ever delivered by the County Department of Public Works, Architect and Engineering Division.

The renovation called for converting the structure from a mixed use (office, court, and jail) to an office for the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney and upgrading the structural seismic resistance to comply with current building codes. 

The project includes the structural demolition of the existing 11^th and 13^th floors, retrofit of structural and non-structural elements to meet current seismic performance requirements, and tenant improvements throughout the building. The project also includes a 10-story parking garage with five levels of subterranean parking.

As part of the historic restoration, each of the 1,600 windows were taken apart so that the lead-base paint could be removed before replacement. This was included in the original construction schedule.

The 14-story structure was constructed with a steel frame encased in concrete, concrete floor slabs, granite exterior veneer and hollow clay tile interior partition walls. While workers were performing seismic upgrades to the structural support members they discovered the steel beams were coated in lead-based paint before encasement in concrete. This led to thousands of hours of additional work and a $6 million change order to the project.

Converse Consultants provided geotechnical and environmental services to the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works during the preliminary design Hall of Justice Repair and Reuse project. During construction we conducted additional hazardous materials surveys and prepared remediation plans, and provided materials testing and inspection.

Converse is proud to have worked with the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works for 60 years.  Future Quick Conversations posts will spotlight some of the amazing projects we've been privileged to be part of.

For more information, please contact Beth George at bgeorge@converseconsultants.com.

 

Engineers are Real-World Heroes

One day last month my oldest grandson announced that he wanted to be a hero when he grows up. When asked what kind of hero, he said that he wants to "go to poor places and build pipes that bring them clean water. And I want to give them TV." He's 9, and that's his vision of heroism.

Aside from bursting with pride, I was intrigued with the concept that this boy had decided that helping others is heroic. And helping others in a concrete manner; building pipelines in poor areas to bring them clean water. Then it occurred to me that this is what engineers do every day.

It's not much of a leap to see engineers as heroes. They use math to design amazing things that make people's lives better. Whether it be a roadway surface that lasts longer, thereby saving tax dollars, to gamechanging water treatment plants in 'poor' places, engineers dream. And dream big.

The dreams are realized at the university level, where a team of students at UCR recently developed a reusable debris filter to make storm drains more effective.

Firms are designing water desalination plants to make better use of existing resources. Bridge engineers are designing safer structures that can withstand earthquakes. European and Asian engineers have just about perfected high-speed rail, and are bringing their expertise to our shores.

There is a straight line from my grandson with a dream to Elon Musk, who makes his dreams happen.
Engineers are, indeed, heroes.

Celebrating 70 Years



In 1946, Professor Frederick J. Converse established Converse Consultants (Converse) in Pasadena, California to provide the construction industry with soils mechanics. Converse is an employee-owned corporation, with 9 offices and 100 employees throughout the United States – California (Monrovia, Redlands, Costa Mesa and Palm Desert), Nevada (Las Vegas, Reno, and Elko), Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.




St. Louis Arch

We provide professional services in the fields of geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, groundwater sciences, environmental sciences, and soils and materials testing and inspection. Our mission is to work together with our clients to provide them with responsive and quality services, resulting in the development of long-term relationships.



BART Transbay Tube

 Over the last 70 years we've had the privilege of working on some outstanding projects. These include foundation recommendations for the BART Transbay Tube, the St. Louis Arch and the Castaic Forebay Dam and Powerplant. 

Other projects of note are the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge (concrete testing), Jersey Gardens Mall (foundation settlement design) and environmental studies for 125-miles of transportation corridor in Southern California.



Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge

Looking at our history is great fun and quite inspiring.  Peering into our future, however, is even more exciting!  We see opportunities for responsible growth, and the opening of new markets, all while maintaining our steadfast attention on providing quality service.



Castaic Powerplant

We'll be announcing some fun events to celebrate our 70th anniversary soon.  Until then, follow us on social media to keep up to date with our amazing company!



For more information about Converse Consultants please contact Beth George at bgeorge@converseconsultants.com