Texaco never did things on a small scale.
So when the Texas oil giant needed a Western headquarters in the 1950s, it turned to prominent architect Welton Becket, who designed L.A. landmarks including Hollywood's Capitol Records building and downtown's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Becket created a grand high-rise shaped like a T (when viewed from the sky) for a spot on Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles' storied thoroughfare. It rose next door to what was then the Ambassador Hotel, one of the city's most exclusive inns where celebrities cavorted at its legendary Cocoanut Grove nightclub.
