

The 1930 Art Deco building at La Brea and Willoughby in Hollywood had seen better days, but did a developer really need to demolish it? Originally a fancy dry cleaner designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements (of the El Capitan, Belasco Theater, and Twilight prom house fame), the structure was most recently known as the Mole-Richardson Building, housing its namesake company's production supply store. The developer went through the Department of Building and Safety to demolish the building, reports Larchmont Buzz, getting a permit for the teardown in April. The Mole-Richardson Building wasn't protected, but it seems crazy that 84-year-old architecture can be destroyed without a say from city planners or the Office of Historic Resources. It's not clear what's planned for the parcel, which is across the street from the giant under-construction La Brea Gateway mixed-user.

· La Brea's Mole-Richardson Building Razed [Larchmont Buzz]