The requested page could not be found.YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsBusiness Closings The bank executives trooping into Doug Boyd's conference room to discuss a new advertising campaign seemed right at home.Maybe that's because the Melrose Avenue graphic arts office they were visiting used to be a bank. Its conference room is in the vault.Inside there, Boyd speculates, "they felt safe."And it's safe to say they aren't the only ones who are looking at bank vaults in a whole new way these days.The stately Boyd Communications office at the edge of Hollywood is one of hundreds of former Los Angeles-area bank and savings-and-loan offices that have been converted to new uses in the wake of mergers, moves and cutbacks in the financial services industry.But cashing in on the surplus buildings has turned out to be harder than expected--especially for those who didn't bank on getting stuck with a room-sized vault as part of the deal.It can cost as much as $50,000 to demolish two-foot-thick, steel-reinforced concrete walls outfitted with a 2 1/2-ton, multiple-lock door.

And that's presuming the vault can be torn out without taking the rest of the building with it.That has sent new owners of some empty banks and thrifts scurrying to find new uses for old vaults.Some have been converted to wine cellars, print shops and computer rooms. Luckier landlords have leased to pawn shops, credit unions and loan companies that need secure places for cash and valuable documents.A few have been turned into offices. An empty savings and loan building in Malibu was used as a disaster assistance center last year. Public information officer John Treanor of the Office of Emergency Services ended up sitting at a desk inside its 12-foot-wide vault."I was nervous the first day, until somebody came and showed me how to keep the door from shutting," Treanor acknowledged."They tied a rope around the door handle to secure it. And they taped over the latch part on the wall, too. I had no apprehension after that--I kind of enjoyed the privacy."In Brentwood, a former Bank of America branch has been reborn as a flower shop.

Freshly cut roses, carnations and other blossoms are stored in the vault."Nobody ever steals our flowers," joked Amanda Toland, manager of The Woods Fresh Flower Market on Gorham Avenue.The vault is refrigerated and its combination locks have been disconnected. kijiji doors for sale torontoBut some customers still think cold cash is inside: "People are very curious. sliding doors for archwayWe tell them we need it because our flowers are very expensive," said sales clerk Dominique Wuth.An old Security Pacific branch on Pine Avenue in Long Beach has been converted into a nightclub called the Vault. glass door handles dublinCustomers walk through a vault door to get into part of the club.auto glass repair scottsdale az

A larger vault may eventually be used as a private dining room, said Rich Macello, the club's beverage manager.A former Century Savings and Loan branch in Malibu now houses a Jon Douglas Realty office. baldwin door hardware partsIts vault became the photocopy and fax room after its steel door was unbolted and hauled away. keyless front door deadbolt lockLandlord John Perenchio said the 5,000-pound door is in storage--awaiting the day when it can be put to use in something like a bank-themed restaurant.sliding screen door self closerDon Hecker, administrator of Jon Douglas' commercial division, said there seems to be little demand beyond that for used bank-vault doors. New, they cost about $10,000. As scrap, they fetch about $50."

There used to be a market for them, but banks aren't expanding anymore. So old doors have become a nuisance," said Hecker, who has converted an old savings and loan office in Ventura and is doing the same to a former thrift branch in Encino. He has also required landlords there to get rid of the doors.But in Westchester, developer Alan Aratow said he was afraid to tamper with the three huge vault doors inside the Security Pacific branch he has subdivided into 11 shops and offices."It might wreck the floor if we tried to roll the doors out of here," he explained.Aratow instead is courting tenants who need secure storage space. Among them is a company that rents safe-deposit boxes to travelers who do not want to leave cash or jewelry in hotel safes.Merchant Patricia Lyon, whose Buddies for Kids clothing shop is in the front of the Sepulveda Boulevard building, wishes that she'd rented one of the vault areas."I think it would have been cute to have a toy jail in there for children," she said.

"The space I have apparently used to be the bank's new accounts section."Others have put vaults to good use.A 68-year-old bank building on Vermont Avenue in Koreatown is headquarters for United States Credit Bureau, a collection agency that uses its 10-by-14-foot vault for storage of documents and cash.Agency President Mel Shaw said his company has owned the building since 1947--making it one of Los Angeles' premier bank recyclers. He said he has seen Northern California banks converted into restaurants where vaults are used as dining areas. One uses the slogan, "Put your mouth where your money used to be," Shaw said. Seizure Led to FloJo's DeathHis 104 scores make his caseRestaurant review: South Beverly GrillBrutal Murder by Teen-Age Girls Adds to Britons' ShockComaneci Confirms Suicide Attempt, Magazine Says Create and organize lightboxes on the go with your Apple or Android device.Contact Daily News reporter Sarah Grothjan at 360-577-2541; on Twitter at @SarahGrothjan. 17 photos of groundhogs to celebrate Groundhog Day 2017