Historic Highland Park

WANTED: Northeast Newspapers

2011-06-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

WANTED! Northeast Newspapers:
Highland Park News Herald and Journal
Eagle Rock Sentinel
Lincoln Heights Bulletin-News
South Pasadena Journal
Eastside Journal-Los Angeles
El Sereno Star
The Arroyo Seco Journal

Do you have any newspapers- particularly recent ones 1980 to present? Please participate in this joint project of Highland Park Heritage Trust, Occidental College Library and Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society to preserve and digitize these valuable records of our community's past.
Call: 323-257-1900
E-mail: hphtpres@gmail.com

Relighting Highland Theatre Sign

2011-05-18T18:25:00.001-07:00

Photos by Martha Benedict tell the whole story...
http://www.marthabenedict.com/relight

Highland Park is so proud!

Old Cypress Park Branch Library is a NEW Historic Cultural Monument!!!

2011-05-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

Old Cypress Park Branch Library - Richard Henry dana Branch Library Background / History: Richard Henry Dana Branch, later known as the Cypress Park Branch, is a former branch library of the Los Angeles Public Library located in the Cypress Park, Los Angeles, California section of Los Angeles, California.

The Georgian Revival style building was built in 1926 based on a design by architect Harry S. Bent.In 1987, the Richard Henry Dana Branch and several other branch libraries in Los Angeles were added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of a thematic group submission.The application noted that the branch libraries had been constructed in a variety of period revival styles to house the initial branch library system of the City of Los Angeles. With respect to the Dana Branch, the application described the building as a charming one-story New England Colonial Revival Style building. It is designed in an L-plan with a high-pitched gable roof. The portico features paired wood paneled doors with an arched canopy supported by paneled posts.

Thank you to Charlie Fisher for his photos and historic information.

History of Highland Park Mural

2011-01-31T22:57:00.000-08:00

By Nicole Possert

(story from www.eastsiderla.com )
The 33-year-old “History of Highland Park” mural is all about the layers. Layers of graffiti above layers of original paint, layers of history, layers of architecture, art and culture. On January 29, a project began to remove the layers of graffiti and grime and to restore and preserve the 125-foot-long mural, which adorns two long walls of the AT&T building at 1207 N. Avenue 56. The $78,000 project, led by Judy Baca (one of the original four artists), was the result of years of community advocacy and collaboration between AT&T, SPARC, and Councilman Jose Huizar.

After a kick-off event, the actual work began to peel off layers of graffiti and remove inappropriate treatments to the iconic 1977-78 mural. After starting with a lot of elbow-grease and “biodegradable orange peel juice,” the mural restoration crew then followed up with a power-washer that stripped off years of the unwanted graffiti in a manner of minutes, revealing the original mural underneath.
AT&T is paying SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) to undertake this project over the next several months with their muralists and local youth. After the mural is brought back to its original beauty, a new anti-graffiti coating, using the latest industry advancements, will be applied for its ongoing protection.
“Los Angeles is known as the mural capital of the world. This is where the mural movement began,” said Huizar to the audience of about 100. Artist Judy Baca built upon that notion by saying “This project gives great hope for the future of all our murals in LA. It’s the beginning of a wave. A wave to take back these works for the community and bring back to full color and their original beauty.”
Or, leave it to a student from Mrs. Marquez’ 5th Grade class at nearby Yorkdale Elementary, who simply said “The vandalism was so gross. And, that people would falsely believe our neighborhood was not nice and be grossed-out.”
Community pressure, support and stewardship to ignite this project was properly recognized with leaders from Highland Park Heritage Trust (writer is a board member), Arroyo Arts Collective, Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Yorkdale students and parents and most of all the surrounding neighbors who have waited for this day to come for many years.
Origins of the mural
AT&T’s former company, Pacific Bell, commissioned the work to be done by Barrio Planners in 1977, who in turn selected Judy Baca and a team of artists that consisted of Joe Bravo, Sonya Fe, Arnold Ramirez, Sonny Williams and others. Barrio Planners’ Frank Villalobos said “It weaves together the history of Garvanza and Highland Park with the landscape and people of the Arroyo Seco. It was designed to work in conjunction with the street trees that were also planted creating a 3-D effect.”
But there is another layer of history to this story. The original mural was done to “mitigate” the significant alteration and loss of the original 1920’s brick building that the stucco bunker covered as part of a seismic retrofit project. Local historian Charles Fisher remembers it as “a simpler design but similar to the Police Museum building on York Blvd, utilizing gold bricks.” At that time, neither the Highland Park Heritage Trust nor the L.A. Conservancy were not yet formed, But community sentiment for historic preservation took and the result was this mural a new layer in the community’s history.
Mural history
Many of the important murals in Highland Park are interpretations of its history. Time lines and layers of repeating history with a successive generational twist strike the heart of these public art interpretations. “History of Highland Park” utilized historic photographs given to the project by Henry Welcome (Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society) and took contemporary images of its residents in 1977. The wall along Meridian Street depicts many notable historic landmarks (Southwest Museum, York Blvd Bridge), notable people and events (Franklin High School’s infamous football team, Charles Fletcher Lummis and President Roosevelt at Occidental College), and the landscape of the Arroyo Seco with rock walls and native trees mixed with plein-air artists, like William Lees Judson, painting.
As you turn the corner to Avenue 56, the time line shifts to the present, circa 1977, with several scenes capturing that moment in time. The people featured are sometimes seen today visiting with their children (or grandchildren) to show the mural and their place in local history.
The mural itself is 125 feet long and 15 feet high and is one of the largest and oldest murals in Highland Park. It was an early expression and part of the history of the Chicano public art movement. It also helped launch the careers of young artists like today’s renowned Judy Baca.

Historic GlenMary Archway to be the Site of a Mural that Honors the Past, Present and Future of Life in Highland Park

2010-11-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

Historic Glenmary Stairs on Figueroa

On Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 2:30 pm artists Pola Lopez and Heriberto Luna and their team of 15 youth artists will unveil the new mural “Haramoknga – Place Where People Gather” on the site of the Historic Glen-Mary Archway. The mural is the culmination of a 15-month process to collect stories and images from local residents, organizations and historic sites. The site of the GlenMary Archway has been a place for people to gather since the times of the early Tongva people. The original archway was built around 1903 as a waiting station- the GlenMary-Sycamore Grove stop for the red car of the Pacific Electric Trolley.Today the archway overlooks busy Figueroa Boulevard and is only steps away from the Metro Gold line, the 110 Freeway and the Arroyo. The project is produced by LA Commons, with partners Avenue 50 Studio, Franklin High School, Arroyo Arts Collective, Highland Park Heritage Trust, Milagro Community Garden, the family of Lupe Handy, Future Studios, and the Office of Council Member Ed Reyes. Support provided by: Flourish Foundation, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Office of Council Member Ed Reyes, and the Highland Park Ebell.About the ArtistsPola Lopez is a prominent painter based in Los Angeles, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work has appeared in many books and publications, and was awarded three purchase awards by the New Mexico Acclaimed Artist Art in Public Places Program, and can be found in permanent collection at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, The State Art Capitol Art Collection, El Museo Cultural, Millicent Rogers Museum, and the Harwood Museum in New Mexico Heriberto Luna is a painter with deep roots in Highland Park. Luna apprenticed on major mural projects with LA’s influential muralist team the East Los Streetscapers and artist Paul Botello as well as with painters Margaret Garcia and Pola Lopez. Luna has exhibited in 20 Museums including: The Santa Monica Museum of Art, The National Mexican Fine art Museum in Illinois and The Museum of History and Art in Ontario, California and his works are part of the art collection at Arizona State University.

About LA CommonsLA Commons helps L.A.’s diverse neighborhoods give voice to their unique stories through community-based arts programs. Created by local emerging artists, these projects express the cultural and historical essence of the communities. With its Trekking LA program, LA Commons introduces visitors from other parts of Los Angeles, as well as tourists from outside the region, to these arts projects, and to the food, music and cultural history of the communities.

Contact:

Karen Mack, Founder/Executive Director

LA Commons

213.705-4457

karen@lacommons.org

http://www.lacommons.org/

Watch it being installed on the historic wall: (photos courtesy of Linda Miller)

Successful Garvanza Book Signing

2010-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

HPHT had a successful Book Signing event at Figueroa Produce on Saturday, Nov. 6. Charlie Fisher signed his books on "Garvanza" and the "Highland Park," published by Arcadia Press. Many neighbhors came out to purchase the books and it was well received by the community!

All photographs are courtesy of Martha Benedict. For more pictures of the event, go to:

http://www.marthabenedict.com/fisher/index.html

R.I.P. Arroyo Seco Parkway

2010-08-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

On Two Historic Roads Renovation Encroaches on Preservation Wheels ...The Pasadena Freeway is narrow and twisty by today's standards It was ... The Pasadena Freeway and Merritt Parkway are two historic roads that are crumbling ...wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/.../on-two-historic-roads-renovation...

Garvanza Sign Debate

2010-06-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

See this LA Curbed Article about Garvanza:

Who needs community meetings when you can just post your renderings for the world to see? For the last two weeks, this sign was up at the corner of Avenue 66 and Crescent Street in the Garvanza section of Highland Park, the notice talking up a seven-unit condo building. Not surprisingly, there's a tangled mess behind the story of the sign: Developer Alex Ma has stated he wants to tear down two homes on the site for his building, while locals in the neighborhood--an area known for its historical late 19th and early 20th century homes--want him to incorporate the structures in his condo development. It's a "volatile and contentious situation," says Tina Gulotta-Miller, Secretary of the Highland Park Heritage Trust, who has been battling Ma for years over the site. Who knows why exactly the sign was put up (presumably it was put up by Ma or an associate), but is it supposed to taunt the neighbors? Get them on his side?
Complicating everything: Here comes an HPOZ.>>>
While the purpose of the sign may not be clear, Ma originally submitted plans to the city back in 2006 to tear down the two homes on the site, and put up the condo project. According to a rep for the Dept of City Planning, Ma was told by the department to do an environmental impact report for his condo building because of the historical nature of the bigger house. Ma, who didn't respond to request for comment, hasn't completed an EIR yet.
But complicating his plans is the fact that this neighborhood is in process of being designated an Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ), a label that makes altering residences more difficult. Once the HPOZ is in place, "he would have to get approval to tear down [the homes]," says Charlie J. Fisher, Co-chair of the Garvanza Improvement Association. "Which he won’t get from the HPOZ board."
Both Gulotta-Miller and Fisher believe that Ma could preserve the two existing homes, and build his seven units on the site. "I've said to him, 'take the existing structures, you got three units and they could be converted to condos,'" says Fisher, who works as a historical consultant. "And you have space to build out the rest."
For now, neighbors have to deal with a boarded up properties, which haven't seen tenants in years, according to Gullata-Miller. She also accuses Ma of trying to tear down the larger home three years ago, and says he was only stopped when neighbors came out and called the city to complain.
Meanwhile, back to that big sign. Building and Safety launched an investigation after a complaint was made, and the sign was removed yesterday.
And for those interested in the HPOZ issues, there's a workshop tonight (6pm and on) for the proposed designation at the Highland Park Senior Citizen Center 6152 N. Figueroa St. This new HPOZ would essentially expand the existing HPOZ and rename the whole area to the Highland Park-Garvanza HPOZ. It's expected the study will go before the Cultural Heritage Commission on July 15th.

This Old House Looking for Old LA House to Renovate

2010-05-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

THIS OLD HOUSE® PLANS FIRST-EVER RENOVATION IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

The ever popular television series This Old House is looking for a historic home to renovate in Los Angeles County. Below is an article describing the submission process:

"The TV crew is hoping to find a dynamic family with a classic old house in need of help, with plenty of things to save and update. However, the project's scope must be "just right" - not a whole house, but more than just a kitchen. The renovation must be able to be completed in about five or six months, with constructionpotentially beginning as early as August 2010 and finishing by January 2011. The ideal project should already be underway with architectural plans and/orhave the ability to be "fast-tracked" to the building phase.
The selected project will be featured on multiple This Old House episodes airing on PBS in early 2011. The deadline for submissions is June 14, 2010.
Please note that the renovations are completely funded by the homeowners and not by This Old House, though the show coordinates product discounts and donations where possible. All donated items are considered gifts, on which the homeowners pay taxes.
This Old House is reviewing proposals now. To be considered, submit the following:
· Brief description of the renovation project - be sure to also include house style, location and year built· Low-res digital pictures of the home's interior and exterior· Brief description of the current owners· Low-res digital pictures of the homeowners· How much you plan to spend· When you need to start and conclude the project
Please e-mail proposals to pickmyhouse@thisoldhouse.com or submit them via regular mail to: This Old House Project Proposals, P.O. Box 130, Concord,Massachusetts 01742.
Select homeowners will be contacted by show producers for furtherinterviews. Due to the volume of proposals received, This Old House willnot be able to respond personally to everyone or return submitted materials.
For more information about this and other This Old House projects, pleasevisit http://www.thisoldhouse.com/. Viewers can also become a fan of This Old House on Facebook or follow the show on Twitter.
* * *
MEDIA CONTACTSDawn NewellSenior Account ExecutiveWGBH Boston617-300-5344dawn_newell@wgbh.org
Tara Rafieymehr PettinatoAccount ExecutiveWGBH Boston617-300-5328tara_rafieymehr@wgbh.org
Karen AffinitoSenior ManagerThis Old House Ventures, Inc.212-522-3740karen_affinito@timeinc.com
* * *
This Old House is produced by This Old House Productions, Inc., for This OldHouse Ventures, Inc., and is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. VicePresident of Television Operations is Michael Burton. Senior producer and director is David Vos and senior series producer is Deborah Hood. Series creator is Russell Morash. Funding is provided by GMC, Home Depot, Lumber Liquidators and State Farm. This Old House is the No. 1 multimedia homeenthusiast brand, offering trusted information and expert advice throughaward-winning television, a highly regarded magazine and an information-driven Web site. This Old House Ventures, Inc., is a business of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner.
WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the sourceof fully one-third of PBS's primetime lineup, along with some of publictelevision's best-known lifestyle shows and children's programs and many public radio favorites. For more information, visit http://www.wgbh.org/."

More Arroyo Seco Parkway Updates

2010-04-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Below is a photoshop rendering of the median and side barrier proposed by Caltrans:
All photographs are courtesy of Martha Benedict. This is a current photo of the existing condition on the same stretch of freeway:

Poppies along the parkway...

Historic Curb on the Avenue 43 offramp.

Arroyo Seco Parkway Progress or Preservation?

2010-04-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

It's time to blog about what is happening on the Arroyo Seco Parkway, the Parkway "Improvements" and the preservation impacts to this Historic Scenic Byway. Anyone who drives on the 110 Freeway from Pasadena to Los Angeles has seen the construction activity. The surrounding communities of Highland Park, Garvanza, Hermon, Mt. Washington and Montecito Heights have expressed serious concern over the proposed "improvements" to the scenic byway, but our concerns have mostly fallen on the deaf ears of Caltrans.

Since construction began in November 2009, a number of hot issues have arisen from Caltrans's insensitivity to the character-defining features of the freeway. Indigenious Western Sycamore Trees were slated for removal in the name of saving the historic curb.... Then days later, HPHT Board Member, Steve Crouch found original curb material of the Arroyo Seco Parkway next to the northbound Bridewell exit in the staging area. Photographer Martha Benedict, who sits on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council took these images which show an original stamp "Haddock Contractors LTD, 1940". This is historic material that was not supposed to be removed for the barrier project but obviously has and is on it's way out.

On Thursday April 15th, our underserved community received a small victory in our battle to preserve the parkway. Assemblymember Anthony Portantino called on Caltrans to investigate urgent concerns about the Arroyo Seco Parkway upgrade. He has asked Caltrans District Director Michael Miles to address the problems with the community's input before any irrevocable steps occur. See his letter to Caltrans.

The Last Day of the Southwest Museum

2009-12-28T10:30:00.001-08:00

View from Parking Lot towards the Southwest Museum and Carcacol Tower: At 5:15 pm on Sunday, December 27th, the Southwest Museum closed its doors indefinitely. According to the Gift Shop staff, the Museum might reopen in five to six years. It will probably not open back up as a Museum, but as a Cultural Center. This was a sad day and a loss for our community. One older couple drove all the way from Orange County to visit the Museum for the last time. They took their children to the Museum 40 years ago! They found out it was closing and felt compelled to say goodbye.

The first Museum of Los Angeles closed its doors and gates on Sunday, December 27, 2009.

The Southwest Museum Store is closing!

2009-12-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

If you've never been to the Southwest Museum, now is the time to do it! The Museum Store will be closing its doors by December 31st.

This is jewel of our community and the subject of a controversial preservation battle in Northeast Los Angeles.

Come visit and show your support!!!

Saturday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Sunday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Address: 234 Museum Drive Los Angeles , 90065
Major Cross Streets: North Figueroa Street and Avenue 45

Painting of the Museum by Wendy Hultquist.
http://wendyhultquist.com/index.htm

See the recent LA Times Article Below for more info:

Southwest Museum of the American Indian store is closed
Supporters of the institution feat it's a sign that the Autry National Center is relegating the institution to a secondary role.

By Mike Boehm
December 18, 2009

The only part of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian regularly open to the public -- the museum store that had weekend hours only -- will close next month when its space is taken over by a conservation project.The decision by the Autry National Center of the American West, which runs the Southwest Museum in Mount Washington and the larger Museum of the American West in Griffith Park, to virtually suspend public operations for an estimated three years immediately inflamed the already heated suspicions of some Southwest Museum supporters.The Autry critics, including Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar, fear that the Southwest is being relegated to a minor role, if not being written off entirely as a site for displaying a prized collection of almost 300,000 Native American artworks and artifacts."I'm very disappointed," Huizar said Wednesday. "It's actually confirming our suspicions that they had no intent to make this a viable destination" for museum-goers.But Autry spokeswoman Joan Cumming said long-range plans remain unchanged. They call for revitalizing the Southwest Museum as a "multiple-use" facility that would include space for educational programs and community events, as well as galleries that would show parts of the collection not being displayed in Griffith Park.

The project that is prompting the closure is the conservation of the museum's collection of Native American beadwork. Like much of the Southwest Museum's collection, Cumming said, the beads are fragile and need preservation work and that outweighs devoting more resources immediately to making the Southwest a public attraction."We understand it's a historic building and it's important to the city, but I don't think [critics] understand how complicated it's been. The collection could just disappear, so it's got to take priority," Cumming said.

Huizar and members of a community group called the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition say they have trouble believing the Autry's promises. They fear that the Autry wants to turn the 1914-vintage building into a mere warehouse for the collection, avoiding the expense of running it as a public museum while commandeering its collection to bolster the Griffith Park site as an attraction.Failing to keep it open and busy could hurt the northeastern Los Angeles neighborhood's economy, the group has said. They see the museum store's imminent closure as a sign that the Autry could revoke promises it made when it rescued the financially tottering Southwest in a 2003 merger that kept the Native American trove in L.A. when it was feared that it might be dispersed.But Cumming said closing the museum store now for an expected three years is a matter of needing its space for a large project to conserve the Southwest's large holdings of Native American beadwork, preparing them for an exhibition that could be three years off. Conservators "need a lot of space to lay out tables, shelves and equipment," she said.While the Southwest remains closed, she said, the only public programming will be monthly Saturday events, including lectures, that will require an admission charge for people who aren't Autry Center members. Annual membership dues start at $55 for two people and $65 for a family. The events will be promoted on the Autry's website.The first lecture, on Jan. 23, is "Surprising Discoveries Inside the Braun Library," in which a librarian or curator will show some of the prime holdings of the research library on the Southwest Museum's campus. The library remains open to researchers by appointment, Cumming said.

Conservation work that was already proceeding on other parts of the collection besides the beads will continue as before, as will renovations to the museum building. Autry officials say they've spent about $7.5 million since the merger on repairing the building and conserving the collection.A small gallery space in the Southwest Museum has been used once a month for contemporary art shows by NELAart, a consortium of artists and galleries in northeastern Los Angeles. Cumming hopes they can still be accommodated, perhaps in the Casa de Adobe, a reconstruction of a 19th century ranch house that's on the property.Last summer, Huizar and other City Council members had hoped to secure a formal written guarantee from the Autry that it would get the Southwest up and running as a fully functioning museum. The guarantee was to be a condition for the Autry to proceed with a planned $100-million-plus expansion and renovation of its Griffith Park campus, which is on city-owned parkland.But in August, the Autry pulled the expansion off the table. Its president, John L. Gray, wrote to council members that legally binding promises to upgrade the Southwest and keep it open no matter what would be "financial and programmatic commitments we cannot responsibly make."Museum officials say they have raised $136 million in donations and pledges toward the $175-million project. That includes $53 million for non-construction endowment funding. Cumming said the donors are willing to let the construction money go to an alternate plan, and Autry leaders are exploring ways to expand exhibition space within the existing Griffith Park building.An alternate project that wouldn't change the museum's footprint might not require the lease amendment and environmental impact report approval that had given city officials leverage over the previous plan.

Although planning is in its early stages, Cumming said, one of the goals, held over from the abandoned expansion plan, is to carve out 20,000 square feet of exhibition space that would house artifacts from the Southwest Museum's collection.Huizar said he's trying to find funding sources that could alleviate Autry leaders' fears that it could stretch their institution's finances if they take on improving the Griffith Park museum while renovating, reopening and running the Southwest Museum.A low-interest construction loan drawn from the city's share of federal economic stimulus funds could speed the needed improvements to the Southwest's building, Huizar said. He added that he's exploring the creation of a "park assessment district" that would collect special taxes from property owners near the museum and funnel them to the Autry to help offset the cost of operating the Southwest.Huizar said that would require a vote by the affected property owners to create the district and OK the assessments. He said he's been trying unsuccessfully to set up a meeting with Gray of the Autry to go over those possibilities."We have options we think could really work," Huizar said. "We still want them to honor their commitment to restore it and reopen it."

Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

The Little 6422 Garvanza House

2009-12-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

Here is an example of advocacy on a small level that has made a difference to our community in Garvanza!
This is an early 20th century or possibly late 19th century bungalow with all its original features, that is until they showed up one day and gutted the interior. There were permits for an addition but no permits to knock down interior walls, knock out exterior walls and replace windows and doors. I was called by Danny Bohbot, a fellow Garvanzan to go check out the property. They were in the process of demolishing this house. But I stopped them through Building and Safety and the Housing Department came out and sited them and posted a stop work order! They were also ordered to restore the house, to put back the windows and doors and exterior walls they had begun to demolish on the sides and back of the house. I know they gutted the inside, as I was too late for that, but at least they restored the windows and did the new addition with clapboard instead of stucco. They are also landscaping it and put up a really nice looking fence along the alleyway. Oh and there are security bars inside the windows, at least they are not obtrusive. Anyway, just wanted you to see these pictures. (6422 Garvanza St.)

Tina Gulotta-Miller, Secretary Highland Park Heritage Trust

Movie of Glenmary Stairs

2009-11-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

On our last Walking Tour October 24th, we featured Robinson Jeffers, Poet and Alumni of Occidental College. We walked down the Glenmary Stairs on Figueroa Street directly across from the Sycamore Grove Park.

Thank you Tina Gulotta-Miller, Secretary of HPHT for providing the video.

Highland Park is Front Row Center at Adobe Max Conference in Los Angeles

2009-10-12T16:48:00.001-07:00

Do you recognize the building in the middle of the poster? The Highland Park Hall on Figueroa Street is front center of the Photoshop montage at the Adobe Max Conference held last week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Poster was created as a back drop for one of the bars at the conference.

Photo courtesy of David Wolf, Architects Toolbox

Los Angeles Preservation Ordinance 2009

2009-09-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Below is direct correspondence from Ken Bernstein, Director of the Office of Historic Resources.
_______________________________________
Today, the City Planning Commission voted 7-1 to approve the staff recommendation on the proposed amendments to the Cultural Heritage Ordinance.

Most of the discussion focused on the review of interior spaces in Historic-Cultural Monuments. The Commission supported the staff recommendation, which emerged from meetings of a Working Group on Interiors, to go back to the status quo on interior review. Under this proposal, all interior permits would continue to be referred to the Cultural Heritage Commission and the Office of Historic Resources for review, as has occurred since 1962. As in the current ordinance, the CHC could not deny approval of interior work altogether: it could only object to the issuance of the permit for no more than 180 days, with a possible 180-day extension of the objection period upon approval of the City Council.

We felt that this compromise lessened any potential burden on property owners, while still protecting Monuments whose significant interiors are often inseparable from the building's overall architectural significance. The new ordinance would require that exterior work, additions, or new construction be subject to a "Certificate of Appropriateness" that could be denied. The ordinance version approved today also maintains our staff recommendation to enhance protections for historic properties by giving the Cultural Heritage Commission the power to deny demolition requests for Monuments.

Next, the ordinance will go to the City Attorney for review and possible refinement. The City Planning Commission also voted to request that the City Attorney and Department of City Planning staff review and refine how the Cultural Heritage Ordinance provisions will interact with requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Because these reviews may take a few months, we anticipate that the ordinance may not proceed to the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and City Council for final approval until early 2010.

Sincerely,Ken Bernstein

Charlie Fisher: Community Hero

2009-08-05T17:45:00.001-07:00

Charles J. Fisher was given the "COMMUNITY HERO" award last Thursday night at the Heritage Square Museum Summer night concert. Susie Hansen's Latin Band was the featured live music for the warm summer evening. Charlie has volunteering tirelessly in the Highland Park community and greater Los Angeles area for Historic and Cultural Resources. He is commended for his work as the Chair of the Highland Park HPOZ Board. He also serves as Board member of the Highland Park Heritage Trust. Charlie is pictured here next to his wife Anne Marie Wozniak, Membership Officer for the HPHT. Thank you Charlie and Anne Marie for all your community service!

Sycamore Grove Walking Tour

2009-07-05T20:53:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful Walking Tour on June 27th!!! We had a very engaged and interesting group of people, including a couple from Orlando, Florida! At the La Boheme House, we tasted delicious jellies made by Hillary Danner from her fruit trees and fresh squeezed lemonade. We're hoping to see the Baker House next door for the August 22nd tour. Sign up for the next tour!

Tour docents include: Pat Griffith, Charlie Fisher and Justine Leong. Troy Evans and Heather McLarty are always gracious hosts of the Hiner House. And to top it off, refreshments at the Avenue 50 Studios! Thank you Kathy Gallegos for being a great hostess of the Studios.

The "Sousa Nook":

Entrance to "La Boheme": Hillary and her Jenkin's Jellies:

Successful Move for the Donnelley House!

2009-06-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

See the pics below taken by Charles Miller last night.
The House was moved by truck from Chinatown to Ave. 64 in Garvanza!

Update to Donnelley House Move!!!

2009-06-22T11:14:00.001-07:00

The Donnelley House is scheduled to move Thursday, June 25, starting at 11:59PM. The move will be finished by Friday, June 26 at 1:30am. At 7am on Friday morning, the house will lifted by a crane 100' up in the air to its final resting spot.

Come watch the show!!!

The Donnelley House is Moving to Garvanza!

2009-06-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Donnelley House is moving to the Northeast Community of Garvanza! The 1870s Gothic Revival Cottage will be coming through Highland Park from Chinatown to Garvanza along Marmion Way to Monte Vista, turning onto Piedmont then N. Figueroa Street, proceed East on York Boulevard and, finally, North to its new home at 1135-1153 N. Avenue 63 across from the Church of the Angels. Due to a Caltrans glitch this week, the move was postponed until the week of the June 22.

The Donnelley house has been located on 829 W. Bartlett Street in Chinatown since it was moved there in 1886 on land that had been subdivided by former Los Angeles Mayor Prudent Beaudry. John A. Donnelly and his family initially leased the land from Beaudry, but then bought it in 1889. Beaudry also owned the land in Garvanza where the house will settle until he sold it to Augustine Campbell-Johnston whose family established a ranch on the property. The House is one a very few remaining extant structures dating from the period of Los Angeles history between the Civil War and the coming of the Great Land Boom of 1885-1888.

Preservationist Brad Chambers is the owner of the Garvanza land. He plans to place the house on a hillside above Avenue 64, across the street from the Historic Church of the Angels, which is an Ernest Coxhead designed stone Gothic church that was built in 1889. Chambers has a proven track record with preservation and restoration, including in the area of stucco removal. He received an award from the Highland Park Heritage Trust for the removal of stucco and the restoration of another Garvanza area home several years ago. In addition, Chambers is currently serving on the Whitley Heights H.P.O.Z. Board in Hollywood.

The house had been sheathed in stucco since 1986 and was scheduled for demolition until it was researched for the landowner and its true rarity was determined. Arrangements were made with Chambers to move the house to the Garvanza property where he moved and restored another historic Chinatown home several years ago.

In preparation for the move, Chambers had the stucco removed and exposed the structures original siding and shingled gable. The aluminum slider windows were removed and historic windows matching the original openings were installed. At its new site, the house will be lifted by a crane onto its new foundation that is on a small bluff at the rear of the Garvanza property. Once reassembled and restored, the house will be nominated as a Historic Cultural Monument for the City of Los Angeles. Below is a before picture:

Lummis Day in Sycamore Grove Park

2009-06-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

Lummis Day rocked! The beautiful day in the park was full of live music, tasty treats and local booths.

At the Highland Park Heritage Booth, Tina and Charles Miller were having tons 'o fun. Brian Sheridan was looking happy from Heritage Square. The Main Stage at the Historic Band Shell featured many local musicians. Janet Hansen was holding the fort at the Office of Historic Resources SurveyLA Booth. Casa de Adobe was open for the day .The courtyard hosted a plein air painter and other artists. A family even brought their baby duck!

Map of LA in the 1920s

2009-06-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

This post is for map lovers. The map below shows Elysian Park in the center.

Arroyo Seco Parkway Now and Then

2009-06-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Arroyo Seco was once untouched and untamed. It was a muse for many artists and craftsman looking for a "simpler way of life". Looking towards the Southwest Museum to the West, this photo was taken in 1937.

Ever wonder what the Arroyo used to look like before it was turned into a concrete flood channel? The photo below shows how it looked before 1937 when plans to build a Parkway began.

After the freeway was constructed in the 1940s, this photograph was taken near Shults Street, looking South.

Below is a photo taken in 1954. It shows the Pasadena freeway (now known as Arroyo Seco Parkway) at the Marmion Way exit. View is looking towards the North.

In the not so distant future, Cal Trans will work on the oldest freeway in the West.

See the image below for the State's "improvements" to the Parkway. Such changes include, a low concrete wall with "curve decoration" dividing the north and south bound sides. A guardrail with a "stone-like" stamped concrete base, chain-link and "historic-style" lamp posts.

What do you think?

Gold Line is Old Line!

2009-06-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Old photographs are wonderful windows into the past. We often forget what came before and take for granted what we have. Not too long ago, before the Metro Gold Line went in, Marmion Way had two lines of transit running side-by-side. The Santa Fe Railroad and the "Yellow" Car. The Yellow Electric Car was part of the L.A.R.Y. (Los Angeles Railway). The photo below shows the W line and the Locomotive trains travelling concurrently.

For those of you who take the Gold Line from Mt. Washington, you most likely park on this stretch of road near the Southwest Museum station. Look at how it was in the 50s.

Highland Park Heritage Trust wins an Award!!!

2009-05-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

HPHT won a Community Outreach Award from the Office of Historic Resources on Saturday, May 30th at the 2009 Citywide HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) Conference. The force behind such an honored award is our HPHT fold-out brochure, now soon-to-be in its 3rd printing! The informative and creative brochure was the result of hard work by the volunteers of the HPHT. Particular thanks goes to Nicole Possert, Janelle McGlothlin, Amy Inouye and Charly Kemp for their tireless efforts. There was excellent HPHT representation at the conference. Charlie Fisher, Tina Gulotta-Miller, Charles Miller and Justine Leong were all in attendance to accept the award on behalf of the HPHT.

Another win for our community was the Pisgah Village on Echo St. The project received a Rehabilitation Award.

Yeah for Highland Park!!!

The wonderful host of the conference was the Angelica Lutheran Church in the Pico-Union HPOZ. This beautiful Gothic Revival church was built by Swedish immigrants in 1925. They were gracious hosts to the 100+ Preservation-minded people on Saturday.