August 5, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Former Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn honored with renamed City Hall building

 

Formerly called City Hall East, a city building was renamed after James Hahn in honor of his services. Courtesy Photo
Formerly called City Hall East, a city building was renamed after James Hahn in honor of his services. Courtesy Photo

A City Hall building Thursday was renamed in honor of former Mayor James K. Hahn, who also served 16 years as City Attorney and one term as city controller.

A “who’s who” of Los Angeles city politics gathered to watch as Mayor Eric Garcetti, Hahn’s sister Congresswoman Janice Hahn and businessman Rick Caruso unveiled signs identifying the 18-story tower as the James K. Hahn City Hall East building.

The building formerly known by just “City Hall East” lies across the street from the main City Hall and houses the city Controller, Fire Department and traffic center offices. It was where Hahn spent many years of his career prior to becoming Los Angeles’s 40th mayor in 2001, starting with his first job with the city in 1975 as a deputy City Attorney, working out of a single drawer at a shared desk.

Hahn is the only elected official in city history to serve as mayor, city attorney and controller.

The cost of changing the building’s moniker, which included emblazoning Hahn’s name in silver lettering on either side of the Main Street entrance, was funded by private donations, with Caruso among the list of top sponsors.

Other funders included business chambers, city employee unions such as fire and police, the Dodgers, NBCUniversal and law firms such as Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and Mayer Brown LLP.

Hahn who is spending his post-mayoral career serving as a Los Angeles Superior Court traffic judge said following speeches praising his single term as mayor that he feels like “Tom Sawyer at his own funeral.”

“But it is kind of good to hear it when you’re alive, isn’t it?” he said.

The newly renamed building is the result of a 2011 council resolution by Hahn’s sister Janice Hahn, who was voted onto the City Council the same night her brother was elected mayor.

The building is a block away from the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, which honors the 40-year career of the political siblings’ father, Kenneth Hahn, on the county Board of Supervisors.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, whose father is former District Attorney Gil Garcetti, noted that he and Hahn both came out of “county” political families, later falling in love with the city of Los Angeles. The two buildings named after the Hahns serve as “bookends” for a family that has had people in various Los Angeles-based elected offices for the past 67 years, Garcetti said.

Garcetti, like several others, credited Hahn with keeping the city whole through secession efforts by San Fernando Valley neighborhoods.

“We would not be a city today if not for Jim Hahn. We might have two or three cities,” Garcetti said.

Caruso, appointed president of the Police Commission under Hahn, said the former mayor may have served just one four-year term, “but actually that was all he needed.”

The billionaire mall developer said Hahn “led the effort to keep us together” through three secession attempts and made a difficult decision of hiring LAPD outsider Bill Bratton to lead the Police Department. The hiring of Bratton meant the ousting of then police Chief Bernard Parks — now a City Councilman — who had been seeking a second term. 

Admirers of Hahn said today Bratton’s hiring was the start of an era of declining crime and improved public safety in Los Angeles.

Hahn today also reflected back to his years as City Attorney, saying he worked with his staff to pioneer ways to tackle neighborhood crime issues, including using of injunction orders to control gangs and employing civil nuisance abatement laws to remove problem, crime-ridden homes.

Hahn was mayor of Los Angeles from 2001 until 2005, when he lost a re-election bid to Antonio Villaraigosa.

Related Posts

Culver City Approves 344-Unit Project, Drops Office Space From Jefferson Site Plan

August 3, 2025

August 3, 2025

More Housing, Less Office Space as Long-Stalled Site Moves Toward Construction Culver City officials have signed off on a revised...

Cary Grant’s Former Beverly Hills Estate Hits Market for $77.5M

August 3, 2025

August 3, 2025

Rebuilt by His Widow, the Home Now Offers Sweeping Views Once owned by Hollywood legend Cary Grant, a Beverly Hills...

LA Housing Permits Rebound in Q2: Wildfire Rebuild and Fast-Tracked Reviews Spur Modest Growth

August 3, 2025

August 3, 2025

New Data Shows a 37% Quarterly Jump in Residential Permits, Long-Term Uncertainty Looms Residential development in Los Angeles picked up...

Federal Court Upholds Stay on Trump-Era Immigration Raids in California

August 3, 2025

August 3, 2025

Detention Horror Stories and Legal Pressure Keep Feds at Bay  A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a temporary order...

Two LA County Deputies Charged in Off-Duty Scheme Tied to Crypto ‘Godfather’

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

Deputies Accused of Abusing Law Enforcement Powers for Beverly Hills Mogul One Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy pleaded guilty,...

Metro Releases Draft Environmental Report for Sepulveda Transit Project, Public Comment Now Open

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

Six Route Alternatives Under Review for Valley-To-Westside Connection The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has released its Draft...

Trump Administration Freezes $200M in UCLA Research Funds Over Student Protests

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

UCLA Says Freeze Harms Life-Saving Research With No Connection to Stated Reason Donald Trump’s administration has blocked $200 million in...

Culver City’s National Night Out Returns August 5 With K9 Demo, Live Music, and Fun

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

This Year’s Celebration Moves to the Culver Steps to Encourage Community Spirit Culver City’s annual National Night Out celebration returns...

City Installs Crosswalks In Sawtelle District After Residents Paint Their Own

August 1, 2025

August 1, 2025

Los Angeles Begins Official Safety Upgrades Near Stoner Park City crews began installing official crosswalks Friday near Stoner Park in...

HARD Summer Returns This Weekend With New Sound Strategy After 2024 Noise Complaints

August 1, 2025

August 1, 2025

Sold-Out EDM and Hip-Hop Festival Runs Saturday and Sunday at Hollywood Park The HARD Summer music festival is set to...

Free Document Shredding, Electronics Recycling Set for Saturday in Culver City

August 1, 2025

August 1, 2025

Culver City Offers Secure Way to Recycle Tech and Shred Paper This Weekend Residents will have the opportunity to responsibly...

Last Call: Culver City Wants Your Input in Hiring Its Next City Manager

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Public Survey Open Through August 1 Invites Residents to Weigh In As Culver City begins its search for a new...

1,000 Additional National Guard Troops Withdrawn From LA as Federal Presence Continues to Shrink

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

National Guard Presence in Los Angeles Slashed Again Amid Ongoing Rollback Roughly an additional 1,000 National Guard troops have been...

Luxury Watches Stolen From Keanu Reeves Recovered in Chile, To Be Returned to Actor

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Six Rolex Watches Worth Over $120,000 Were Seized in Santiago Police Raid Six high-end watches stolen from actor Keanu Reeves’...

Aging Mindfully: Zen-Inspired Senior Living Takes Shape in Simi Valley

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Two Zen-inspired senior living communities are embracing the reality of aging — consciously. Ensō Village, open since 2023 in Sonoma County,...