Joel Silver Buys a New Office: A Former Post Office in Venice

Joel Silver, producer of films like "The Matrix" and "Lethal Weapon," was forced to move after Warner Bros. declined to renew his deal 

Joel Silver has selected the new headquarters for his Silver Pictures production company, announcing on Wednesday that he has purchased a former U.S. Post Office in Venice, Calif.

Getty ImagesSilver, one of the most successful producers of the last quarter century, had been based at Warner Bros. since the mid-1980s. Warner Bros. decided in April not to renew his deal, and Silver has since signed a five-year pact with Universal.

It has long been rumored that Silver was looking at the former post office, which was built in 1939 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. Silver, an architecture buff who has previously bought and restored a Frank Lloyd Wright home and other architectural landmarks, still must restore and renovate the post office, a task that should be completed by 2014.

“As a longtime preservationist of architecture, I’m thrilled to move forward with the restoration and renovation of the former Venice Post Office,” Silver said in a statement.  “While we are still in the very early stages of the process, I am committed to the rehabilitation of the building and its unique WPA features and the restoration of the treasured Edward Biberman ‘Story of Venice’ mural.”

Also read: Warner Bros., Joel Silver Part Ways After 25 Years (Updated)

Silver is best known for producing action-heavy blockbusters, such as “The Matrix” trilogy and the “Lethal Weapon” films.

At Warner Bros., Silver inhabited Frank Sinatra's old office, a coveted piece of real estate. It remains to be seen who will claim that now.

Though buildings tend to blow up in Silver's pictures, the bombastic producer has promised to be an ideal resident. 

“I applaud Joel’s commitment to restore, renovate and re-purpose the historic building,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement. “This is a great example of adaptive reuse at its best.  Silver Pictures relocation from Burbank to the City of Los Angeles will create new jobs, bolster our local economy and demonstrate that Los Angeles continues to be the capital of the entertainment world.” 

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