Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Google Sets Sights on Iconic Venice Office Space

binoculars-building.jpg
Photo by oybay © via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

You value independent local news, so become a sustainer today to power our newsroom.

Google is making a big move in Los Angeles, and announced yesterday that they are "leasing more than 100,000 square feet of office space in three buildings, including the famed Binoculars Building" in Venice, according to the LA Times. The internet search engine giant is making the move as part of a "major expansion" in SoCal, and could signal the establishment of "a new center of operation in the region."

With the new offices come new jobs--about 6,000, they say. The move is timely and strategic, notes the Times:

The hiring spree comes as Google fights for top talent against upstart rivals including Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. — so a marquee location in Los Angeles could help the company score points with potential hires. In its recruiting efforts, Google has bragged that its Santa Monica offices "are strategically located just a few short blocks from sunny beaches" and benefit from "over 300 days of sunshine."

New Google employees will get to work in one of the city's most interesting office spaces. The Binoculars were commissioned in 1986 by Jay Chiat of famed ad agency Chiat/Day to form as an eye-catching visual connection between the segments of the building as designed by Frank Gehry. Designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, the Binoculars were inaugurated in 1991.

Google opened their Santa Monica campus in 2003; it is now one of the company's biggest outposts. Employees will be moving into the Binoculars building and going to work for Google this year.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today