LOS ANGELES The rebuilt 45-story Wilshire Grand Hotel will be permitted to have an elaborate series of digital lighting, signage and advertising along its façade, the Los Angeles City Council has decided.
The hotel and an adjacent office tower will be allowed to display various kinds of digital advertising on the first 10 floors, while the tops of the two skyscrapers will feature digital signs promoting the buildings’ owner and major tenants. And on dozens of stories in between, LED lights would display noncommercial imagery that would fade in and out, Los Angeles Times reports.
The proposal is controversial in Los Angeles, where critics say the lighting scheme would disrupt and denigrate the city’s skyline. But the City Council approved it by a unanimous vote, with one councilman calling the lighting plan “art” and another saying he is “amazed” that there is any opposition.