The Citadel shopping outlet is one of the strangest buildings I have ever encountered. The shopping center is located just off the 5 freeway, which happens to be the freeway I took to get to the LACMA during the time that my Ancient Art class was studying the Citadel of Sargon the II. I immediately wondered what an ancient fortress has to do with shopping. Well, it turns out that the building was actually home of the Samson Tire company in the 1920s; the owner liked the idea of playing off the Samson and Delilah story by designing the building after an ancient Assyrian palace. The idea was that the building would convey "strength and style of a mighty civilization". It wasn't until 1990 that the building was converted into an outlet mall; complete with added adornments that complement the original design.
This is a sketch of the palace of Sargon the II.
This is one of the guardians from the Palace of Sargon; this winged creature is called a Lamassu, intended to intimidate all intruders.
This is a Lamassu, atop a giant electronic sign that diminishes anything impressive about the sculpture. This building weirds me out, the way past and present meld is not seamless. It does make for an interesting advertising gimmick though.
The Citadel shopping outlet is one of the strangest buildings I have ever encountered. The shopping center is located just off the 5 freeway, which happens to be the freeway I took to get to the LACMA during the time that my Ancient Art class was studying the Citadel of Sargon the II. I immediately wondered what an ancient fortress has to do with shopping. Well, it turns out that the building was actually home of the Samson Tire company in the 1920s; the owner liked the idea of playing off the Samson and Delilah story by designing the building after an ancient Assyrian palace. The idea was that the building would convey "strength and style of a mighty civilization". It wasn't until 1990 that the building was converted into an outlet mall; complete with added adornments that complement the original design.
This is a sketch of the palace of Sargon the II.
This is one of the guardians from the Palace of Sargon; this winged creature is called a Lamassu, intended to intimidate all intruders.
This is a Lamassu, atop a giant electronic sign that diminishes anything impressive about the sculpture. This building weirds me out, the way past and present meld is not seamless. It does make for an interesting advertising gimmick though.
