But what might happen to the Times building is a little harder to gauge, said developer Tom Gilmore.
"It is virtually worthless as a piece of real estate, other than the L.A. Times," Gilmore said. "Maybe in 20 years, when downtown is so overbuilt, and we are really dying for space. But we are still building out buildings in downtown."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 51 words Type of Material: Correction
Standard Hotel: A list in Friday's California section, with an article about the possible sale of the Times building, named several former corporate buildings in Los Angeles that have been put to new uses and said the Standard Hotel building once housed Standard Oil. The building was home to Superior Oil.
For Hise, newspapers are an important piece of an ongoing civic dialogue but are part of an industry that is in flux.
"This isn't a shock in some ways," Hise said. "But it's worth having a conversation about what an actual physical presence of a newspaper means in a city."
Author D.J. Waldie agreed, saying the building holds a power that goes beyond the newspaper published there.
"We tend to think of Los Angeles as a place where the past is being constantly erased," Waldie said. "If it should disappear, its symbolism would be lost to us. Its history would turn into a reference in a book rather than a presence in our lives."
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cara.dimassa@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Changing use
Here are some former corporate buildings in downtown and vicinity that have been put to new uses:
Standard Oil Co. building: Now the Standard Hotel
Barker Bros. Furniture warehouse: Now Barker Block, a condominium and retail development
Nabisco West Coast headquarters: Now the upscale Biscuit Co. lofts
Herald Examiner newspaper building: Planned for condominiums and stores
Westinghouse building: Now the Little Tokyo Lofts
Mobil building: Now Pegasus lofts
American Cement building: Now lofts
