NoMad hotel joins crop of boutique inns giving second life to LA's historic office buildings
LOS ANGELES_The Bank of Italy once owned one of the finest office buildings in downtown Los Angeles, a 12-story neoclassical monument built in 1923 with towering Doric columns, an ornate, gold-ceilinged lobby and marble floors.
By the late 20th century, however, it had fallen into neglect and for several years it was a shuttered eyesore - before reopening in January as the ritzy NoMad hotel, where rooms typically cost more than $400 a night.
In its most elegant restaurant, guests seated on a mezzanine overlooking the grand old bank lobby dine on foie gras, suckling pig and black truffle tartes.
The return to glory of the temple of finance created by pioneering California banker A.P. Giannini at 7th and Olive streets reflects the economic comeback of downtown and the rush to provide a unique kind of lodging for a new wave of visitors drawn to the reviving city center.
These days, older
