The Hall of Records was estimated to cost $13.7 million in 1961. Counter proposals were made by the Los Angeles County Chief Administrative Officer to preserve the old Hall of Records and move it to the Temple Street location, however, it was estimated that the cost of moving the building would be prohibitively high--$1.5 million to move, and much more to renovate. Originally envisioned as two separate buildings, one for storing records and the other for workers, Neutra and Alexander combined the buildings into one. The T-shaped building has odd number floors on the north side, with double high ceilings and tall windows. The records block on the south side, has floors at 8-ft intervals. Currently, no vital records accessible to the public are in the building, and the windowless south records block designed for storage has been converted to office cubicles. In 1991, the County Recorder's office moved to
Norwalk following merging the office with the County Registrar and County Clerk by the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The Hall of Records houses offices for the Alternative Public Defender, Probation Department, Regional Planning, Sheriff's Department, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney. The Los Angeles County archives are below the building, and there are publicly accessible tunnels to the
Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. There are terraces on the 13th and 15th floors, and at ground level. The upper terraces were designed for a dining room and lounge with panoramic views of downtown. Accessible from the 13th floor, they are currently only accessible to workers. The escalators from the ground through 3rd floor are flanked by grilles and screens designed by Malcolm Leland, also known for his work in the
ModulArt movement. The building was designed to be energy efficient, with large aluminum louvers on the south face running the height of the building. Originally, they turned with the angle of the sun throughout the day to allow more indirect light into the building. No longer operable, they are now locked in one position. The Temple Street side of the building features a Mosaic Mural titled
Topographical Map of Water Sources in County of Los Angeles by
Joseph Young (artist). The mural and reflecting pool were restored in 2007, and again in 2017. The
Civic Center/Tom Bradley subway station serviced by the
Metro D Line and
Metro B Line is directly behind the Hall of Records. ==Critical reception==