The Mobil Oil/General Petroleum Building, spanning a full block of Flower Street, represents a significant stage in the evolution of the high-rise office buildings of Los Angeles. It was designed by architects Wurdeman and Becket and building contractor P. J. Walker. When completed in 1949, it was not only the first major office building constructed downtown after World War II, but the largest in the city. The General Petroleum building was Wurdeman and Becket's first major office commission and one of the first steps in the prominent firm's redefinition of the modern architecture idiom in Los Angeles. Limited by the 150-foot height limit in effect at that time, the architects opted to expand the building's footprint and make it modular in every way, with movable partitions and flexible interior arrangements. They used innovative techniques and materials in the structural system, fireproofing, and fenestration. The most notable exterior features are the long aluminum fins that divide the inset horizontal bands of windows into vertical strips. These are sun shades, designed to lower the cost of air conditioning the building.
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/pegasus-apartments 612 S Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017