parker center

By Guy McCarthy

As millions of people can testify, the 5.4-magnitude temblor at 11:42 a.m. July 29 2008 made the earth tremble from Tijuana to Las Vegas.

It also shook this eight-story building in downtown Los Angeles, which is headquarters for the largest law enforcement agency west of the Mississippi.

No damage was reported this time. But Parker Center was yellow-tagged after the 1994 Northridge quake, meaning the building had been damaged and it might be unsafe to occupy, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Parker Center, constructed in the 1950s and opened in 1955, was built to primitive earthquake standards, according to the Times.

That is one reason a new LAPD headquarters is under construction on Spring Street, across from the Times building and City Hall.

Sometimes I work in the press room on the ground floor at Parker Center, but that section is just one story and a basement area.

I worked night shifts this past week, so I was not there at 11:42 a.m. Tuesday. For a brief report on what it was like where I was sleeping when the temblor hit, see the previous post, terremoto.

Click here for another photo of Parker Center taken Thursday morning.

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