We are a member-based nonprofit that works to save historic buildings and educate the community about L.A. County's array of historic resources. Visit our website at laconservancy.org
Conversing with L.A. Conservancy Member and Volunteer Juliet Drinkard
by Liz Leshin
Young Juliet Drinkard with her parents in 1951.
Juliet Drinkard has always loved history, so much so that at the age of 16, she entered an essay-writing competition to highlight a significant African American in history. She chose mathematician and surveyor Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), won the contest, and was crowned Queen of Los Angeles’ “Miss Negro History Week” in 1969.
Then there’s the tour she organized and scripted for a family reunion in 1986 large enough to fill two tour buses that caravanned through many of Los Angeles’ historic areas, starting at Watts Towers, ending in Hollywood, and of course allowing for a shopping stop at Santee Alley. And although she moved out for years-long stretches, she still lives in the huge South Central house she was raised in, purchased by her parents in 1954, which she describes as “looking like a big ship.”
Although living in the home can be bittersweet now that her folks are gone, she has special memories of eating family meals looking out of the big picture windows of the breakfast room into the backyard at her father’s lush garden, which she says was “like being in a professional nursery.”
The Drinkard Family Home.
Juliet’s family home was built in 1910, like many of the other houses in the neighborhood. She describes her parents trying to modernize the house, painting the dark wood white, removing the coffered ceilings and some of the built-ins. Juliet tried to convince her parents not to make these renovations. She says that “Even at 11, I liked looking at older buildings,” both her own house and those of her relatives. Juliet especially likes the opportunities that participating in Conservancy events offers to get inside of homes and other buildings that she wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
Her parents both moved to Los Angeles from the south, her mother from Louisiana her father from Alabama. Her father and his brother lived with their uncle, who “bought a tiny house on a street called “Success” in Compton,” notes Juliet. Her parents met through an uncle on her mother’s side; they dated for a year and got married, spending their honeymoon night at the Clark Hotel on Central Avenue. Juliet describes the special experience of being able to visit the Clark Hotel in the 1980s.
Juliet’s commitment to historic preservation intensified when she started working in downtown Los Angeles in the 1970s. “I went over to see the Bunker Hill area, and learned that the Victorian-era homes had been bulldozed. I felt sick. That area should have been preserved… something should have been done,” she says, adding “It’s important – that’s a part of the history of Los Angeles.”
Newspaper clippings of 1969's "Negro History Week" where 16-year-old Juliet was named Queen.
With her passion for Los Angeles history, it was inevitable that Juliet would find her way to the Los Angeles Conservancy as a member and volunteer (her first assignment was the 2014 special tour We Heart Garden Apartments). She supports the organization “to make a difference in preserving Los Angeles’ history.” She loves to explore Los Angeles, and take friends and visitors to many places around town, with a special affection for historic locations. She observes, “there’s so much to do and see in our own hometown!”
One of Juliet’s favorite historic places to visit is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House. She went to visit three times in a 7-year period before Covid. She said every time she went, she saw something different, and just loved standing in the space and looking around to get the feeling of the place.
Two of her other favorite historic locations in L.A. are Union Station and the Farmers Market, both formative places in her childhood that she still loves to visit. She describes going to the Farmers Market in the early 1960s as an 11 year old. Her mother “worked for a lady whose apartment overlooked the Farmers Market,” and one time her mom gave her five dollars and let her explore the shops on her own. She remembers how exciting that was. “I bought a little box of pastel chalks for $4.95,” which she says she still has to this day.
She describes going to Union Station frequently with her parents when she was young, “starting in the 1950s; relatives were always coming and going.” As a child, she would look through the window at the Fred Harvey restaurant – she wanted to go in but never did. It was a real pleasure for her to volunteer when the L.A. Conservancy held an event to celebrate the grand opening of the Imperial Western Brewing Company in 2018, in the former Fred Harvey restaurant space, which had sat empty for decades. She says, “My dream came true. Over 60 years later, I’m walking through the door, sitting and eating inside.”
Our sincere thanks to Juliet for sharing so many wonderful memories and family photos.
Time, Taste, and Tradition: Preserving L.A.’s Legacy Businesses
Congratulations to the selected recipients of the L.A. Conservancy’s Legacy Business Grant! The five legacy businesses of the first round of our $5,000 grants have been selected and we’re thrilled to introduce them to you:
88 Gifts Shop (1987) in L.A.’s Chinatown
Candelas Guitars (1947) in Boyle Heights
El Aguila Bakery (1973) in El Sereno
Gardena Cinema (1976) in the City of Gardena
SIKA (established in 1992) in Leimert Park
From an essential neighborhood shop selling everything from houseware items to plants to a rare, affordable single-screen movie theatre, these locally-owned businesses boast a combined age of more than 200 years in operation in their neighborhoods and communities. They also represent the essence of L.A.’s legacy businesses: long-standing neighborhood anchors where people connect, memories are made, and a sense of community is nourished.
We hope that their stories demonstrate the value of longtime businesses and that you hurry out to patronize their business in the very near future!
ABOUT THE WINNERS
88 Gifts Shop
Photos courtesy 88 Gifts Shop
311 Ord Street Los Angeles, CA 90031
For over 30 years, the original location of 88 Gifts Shop (88 Gifts) was at 711 North Broadway in BC Plaza. In 2020, owner Annie Ma was forced to relocate her business to its present location.
Ma’s shop sells housewares, plants, and a variety of Lunar New Year gifts to neighborhood residents and tourists. Perhaps most notably, 88 Gifts sells Chinese-language newspapers to Chinatown’s elders, allowing them to remain in touch with news events both here and abroad
Still feeling the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this grant will make it possible to pay for rent increases and avoid another relocation.
CANDELAS GUITARS
Photos courtesy Candelas Guitars
2724 E Cesar Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Brothers Porfirio and Candelario Delgado-Flores moved from Mexico to Los Angeles in 1947 and brought with them a burgeoning music business that specialized in custom guitar marking. The store’s clientele includes famous artists like José Feliciano but it’s also a source of community pride, giving back to Boyle Heights in many ways including the creation of a 501c(3) nonprofit that provides free music lessons to local youth.
After closing for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Candelas was thankfully able to re-open but is still facing the residual effects of the shutdown. The grant will go towards payroll for the business and operating expenses.
El Aguila Bakery
Photos courtesy El Aguila Bakery
5028 Huntington Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90032
El Aguila Bakery was established by Apolinar Casillas in 1973 and has been a beloved fixture in L.A.’s El Sereno community ever since. With a loyal, multi-generational clientele, El Aguila prides itself on its authentic Mexican sweet breads, cakes, tamales, and so much more! The bakery also supports the community by giving back to local institutions such as the city, schools, and places of worship.
But the bakery’s authentic flavors come at a cost. When ingredient prices rose more than 200%, the bakery had to increase its prices, causing sales to slump. This grant will allow them to cover increased costs and make payments to necessary vendors.
GARDENA CINEMA
Photos courtesy Gardena Cinema
14948 Crenshaw Boulevard, Gardena, CA 90249
Gardena Cinema is a single-screen movie cinema built in 1946 and operated by the Kim family since 1976. It’s the only such theatre located Gardena and has provided affordable entertainment options for more than four generations. It's a place where families can enjoy a film together and have meaningful experiences: in addition to their unique film slate, Gardena Cinema also hosts cinema potlucks, popcorn happy hours, and more.
A combination of the pandemic and personal health challenges forced the cinema to be closed for 32 months. The grant will provide them with a much-needed cash infusion toward daily operating expenses.
SIKA
Photos courtesy SIKA
4330 Degnan Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90008
Sika, an institution of Leimert Park Village, has been specializing in custom jewelry, African art, clothing, and other goods for 30 years. Sika, the store’s owner, weathered a downturn in the economy in the 2000s when many businesses left the Village. His resilience has commanded the love and respect of the Leimert Park community and, today, despite concerns about gentrification and displacement Sika remains at the heart of the neighborhood as a cultural gathering place.
This grant will be used toward business marketing and community jewelry-making workshops.
ABOUT THE GRANT PROGRAM
When we first announced the grant program in November of 2022, it was the culmination of more than two years of advocacy, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of legacy businesses throughout Los Angeles County.
Longtime businesses add to our rich history and culture. These community anchors have long been one of the focal points of the Conservancy’s work, from responding to threats of demolition to providing technical assistance. We saved the original McDonald’s from demolition in the ‘90s, brought funding for the rehabilitation of the Formosa Cafe’s Pacific Electric Red Car, and rallied to designate Norms on La Cienega, Tom Bergin’s on Fairfax, and Otomisan Japanese Restaurant in Boyle Heights as Historic-Cultural Monuments (HCM). In late 2019, we proudly launched a Legacy Business initiative to raise awareness about and support for these important places in L.A. County.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we understood the immediate threat and unthinkable challenges facing longtime business owners. Thanks to Wells Fargo, we’ve been able to expand our legacy business initiative to include a grant program. This grant provides $5,000 to ten (10) eligible small businesses that have operated and contributed to their community’s history and/or identity for at least 20 years and have less than 25 full-time employees.
So far, the response has been overwhelming. Nearly 400 owners applied for the first round of grants, making the task of choosing just five winners almost seem impossible. Please join our Legacy Business Network and follow us on social media to learn more about our winners and to stay up-to-date on Round 2 of the L.A. Conservancy’s Legacy Business Grant Program!
Membership Matters: An Interview with Sonya Kolowrat
Photo by: Tim Soter
Sonya Kolowrat joined the Conservancy this year, and jumped in feet first, participating in our Community Leadership Boot Camp and joining the Last Remaining Seats committee. Development Director Liz Leshin recently checked in with her.
LL: How did you learn about the L.A. Conservancy, and what compelled you to join?
SK: A few years ago, a friend and I were talking about Downtown LA and all the stunning buildings there, the theaters in particular, and she told me that her father-in-law (Herb Silverman) is a docent for the Conservancy-led tours. That was my initial introduction to the Conservancy.
I’ve also been exploring downtown a lot and recently started an Instagram account dedicated to Los Angeles Terrazzo (@losangelesterrazzo), and when I post about the amazing terrazzo I find, I try to research the building and area, and nearly every time, I am led to the Conservancy website. It was probably my obsession with the old theaters, and the possibility of exploring inside of them that led me to join the Conservancy
LL: You participated in the Conservancy's Community Leadership Boot Camp this year; what did you get out of the experience?
SK: I LOVED my Boot Camp experience! I learned so much – it’s hard to even encapsulate. I learned about all the amazing resources and research tools available. I know the process of landmarking a building and what it takes to do that. I know what city agencies control what, and I know that the Vista Hermosa neighborhood has way too many uncapped oil wells. I made friends too! Most importantly, I learned about what I can do as a citizen of Los Angeles to make my voice heard and help advocate to raise awareness of historic spaces.
LL: Which neighborhood do you live in? And what do you think makes it distinct?
SK: I live in Eagle Rock. I love it for the community feel and I love the location - this unique little pocket between the rest of LA and Pasadena. It’s got two lovely main streets in Colorado Blvd and Eagle Rock Blvd that are filled with really special independent retail shops and restaurants that really seem to support each other. Of course we have our literal Eagle Rock.
LL: You also became a member of the Last Remaining Seats committee. What attracted you to that, and what is your favorite part of LRS?
SK: Last Remaining Seats is such a special and magical series. I work in the music industry, but I LOVE film and old theaters – the glamour they hold, the golden age of cinema, and this is such a great merger of that.
I met Lia, the Conservancy's volunteer coordinator at the in-person Boot Camp meeting, and when we started chatting about the volunteer opportunities I learned that I could volunteer on this committee, so I did! It was great timing, and I can’t wait for the next season. I’ll be at every screening, and part of the appeal for me was really just being able to be inside these lovely spaces. A film I suggested will hopefully be shown, and I’m really excited for the entire potential slate, TBA!
LL: What case would you make to others for joining and supporting the L.A. Conservancy?
SK: If you love your city, it’s important to take an active role in its upkeep. No matter the cause, one voice CAN make a difference. It can be something as small as writing a letter. Los Angeles is unique, magical, diverse and HUGE. There is a lot of work to be done, and it’s so important to protect these spaces and neighborhoods. The saying “if these walls could talk” really could define preservation in Los Angeles, and I feel like the Conservancy is really working hard to make sure that the future of LA also includes the past, and they can’t do it without us!
Membership Matters: An Interview with Etan Rosenbloom
Etan Rosenbloom, photo by Salvador Ochoa
Etan Rosenbloom is a blogger on L.A. history, a lifelong Angeleno, and a new L.A. Conservancy member! His blog Etan Does L.A. follows his journey to visit all of the L.A. County landmarks listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We recently asked him to share his “L.A. story” with us and how the Conservancy’s resources have enriched his life and work.
Note: an edited version of this interview appeared in the L.A. Conservancy's July/August 2022 newsletter.
As a lifelong Angeleno, tell us a bit about where you are from and what sparked your passion for Los Angeles history?
My family lived in Silver Lake in the early ‘80s, back before it was hip. My parents like to tell the story of the unstable neighbor next door who enjoyed throwing statues into our pool! We moved to Altadena when I was 4, where my parents still live. After college I moved into the infamous Alexander Ruler of the World apartments, right across from Paramount Studios – I was “lucky” enough to move in just a couple months before the owner started painting it dark magenta. Since then, I’ve lived in Echo Park, Highland Park, and now Valley Village.
Whenever I moved to a new neighborhood, I would read a book or two about local history. But my passion for Los Angeles history really took off in September 2021, when I launched my Etan Does LA project (more on that later). As I dug into the backstories of the LA landmarks I was visiting, it became clear very quickly that there were giant gaps in my knowledge of how this city became itself. I’ve been hooked ever since.
How did your love of L.A. history and Last Remaining Seats motivate you to join the L.A. Conservancy?
It felt natural to join an organization that does so much important work educating people like me about L.A. history. The endless resources on your website and social media feeds have informed my blog, Etan Does LA, and helped to make connections for me that I might not have made on my own. For that alone, the cost of membership is far more than worth it! My first year of membership was a gift from my mom for my 40th birthday. Couldn’t have asked for a better present.
Last Remaining Seats was actually how I first heard of the L.A. Conservancy. Back in 2014 a good friend of mine invited me to an Last Remaining Seats screening of Citizen Kane at the Orpheum. I had never seen the film before, so to be able to see the genius cinematography and all that incredible visual framing on the big screen was an absolute privilege. Plus, I was seated in the balcony – so I quite literally had a different perspective of Citizen Kane than most people will ever get!
Why do you think it’s important for folks to experience classic movies inside historic theatres?
Going to a movie in a theatre is a wholly different experience than streaming it at home, no matter how immersive your system is. I love the idea of moviegoing as an experience, something you get dressed up for, something as exalted as seeing a play or a concert, something you talk about before and after the film is over. That experience is enhanced immensely by being in a theatre as dramatic and artful as what’s on screen. It encourages you to engage with the building and its history, and also gives you a sense of what moviegoing was like back before we all had 4k TVs.
Tell us about your blog and what prompted you to start it.
My blog, Etan Does LA, documents my quixotic attempt to visit each of the Los Angeles landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places (there are around 600 of them). It started off in September 2021, a time when the pandemic had me feeling pretty disconnected from my city, and I was looking for a safe way to feel like a part of it again.
I was setting off on a short bike ride to the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Burbank, and figured I’d look up a bit of information about it first (fun classic movie fact: the Portal features ornate sculptures by Federico Giorgi, who designed the epic Babylonian sets in DW Griffith’s Intolerance). I noticed the Portal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which got me thinking about all the other things that might be on the list. If a lifelong Angeleno like me has never heard of many of these places, I bet I’m not the only one, right?
What started as a few photos and a few sentences of history for each site, posted on my Instagram page, has expanded to a website with written histories, videos, and photo galleries. I’ve visited eyepopping modernist homes and humble post offices, missions and bridges, fire stations and funeral homes, craftsman bungalows and Hollywood high-rises, churches and adobes, plus playgrounds, libraries, Civil War-era mountain passes and of course, historic theatres. Every single visit fills in a detail about Los Angeles history that I didn’t know, and more often than not, learning about one site will send me down a joyous research rabbit hole. Like, when you learn that Grammy-winning record producer Joe Henry owned Greene & Greene’s Lucretia Garfield home for over a decade, you want to know which albums he recorded there, yeah? And if you can hear anything craftsman-y on those records?
How is the Los Angeles Conservancy a resource for you, as well as Angelenos in general?
I do a lot of research on L.A. landmarks for my blog posts and videos. The information you find online is often too poorly researched to be reliable, or so impenetrably dense with facts and figures that it’s hard to decide where to start. The L.A. Conservancy’s backgrounders on historic sites and architects are consistently the most accurate and concise that I’ve found. They’ve helped deepen my understanding of the importance of the buildings I visit, and they ground each site in aesthetic and social contexts. I reference your website all the time in my blog posts.
It’s super important that Angelenos experience L.A.’s history as living history. Buildings change over time, and old ones continue to be relevant to different communities in different ways. So I value all the programs that the L.A. Conservancy offers to help people engage with historic sites – whether it’s your regular walking tours, Last Remaining Seats, or one-off events like the Griffith Park 125th anniversary celebration last year. I went to a couple stops on that, learned a ton, and met some fellow L.A. history buffs that I’ve kept in touch with.
I also love how the Los Angeles Conservancy comes into all of this with a preservation mindset. That wasn’t necessarily the outlook I had when I embarked on my project. But I’ve come to understand how fragile history can be, even when it’s embedded in massive buildings of brick and steel! And the L.A. Conservancy plays such an active preservation role – not just through education and advocacy, but also by holding conservation easements. I recently posted about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Harriet and Samuel Freeman House, which was bought in February by a developer who we hope will invest in a complete restoration. The easement that L.A. Conservancy holds on that home is a vital way of preserving its integrity and holding the owner accountable, so that the public can learn from this building for generations to come.
Do you have a favorite historic theatre in Los Angeles and/or a favorite Last Remaining Seats experience?
It’s a tossup between the Mission Playhouse in San Gabriel, and the Alex Theatre in Glendale. In addition to its swoonworthy architecture, the Mission Playhouse was built as a permanent home for a single production, the Mission Play, a three-hour epic about the history of the California missions, written by LA Times columnist, poet and politician John S. McGroarty. I love the idea of an entire building constructed to house a single work of art!
The Alex Theatre just screams classic with every fiber of its Greek/Egyptian-inspired look, and that giant floral spire erupting from its marquee. I’ll admit it though, this is a nostalgic pick…my high school graduation was held at the Alex Theatre. I wore a skintight silver disco outfit and performed Chick Corea’s “Armando’s Rhumba” on piano onstage. The Alex hasn’t been the same since.
As for my favorite Last Remaining Seats experience, I have to say that Blade Runner in July 2022 stands out. It’s not just a classic sci-fi film, it’s a classic Los Angeles sci-fi film. It was so fun to spot famous LA landmarks like Union Station, the Bradbury Building and the Million Dollar Theatre in the film, especially at a time when I’m thinking a lot about how we use and reuse old buildings. And I was sitting at the Orpheum Theatre, just blocks away from all those spots! Unforgettable.
CBS Television City. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy
Television City (TVC) is an iconic place in Los Angeles, both for its commanding presence and stature in the Fairfaix District at the southeast corner of Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, and for its undeniable lead role in making television history. As a place that helps define this city, and a touchtone to our roots dating to the early ‘50s, TVC also illustrates just how vulnerable our heritage can be as part of the ongoing surge in growth and new development throughout L.A.
The potential for loss is the reason the Conservancy had Television City designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) in 2018. It is also why we have worked so hard for the past year to ensure proposed new development surrounding TVC is compatible and does not overwhelm this historic place.
In April, after nearly a year of continuously meeting and working through various aspects, the Conservancy and Hackman Capital Partners, owner of TVC, jointly announced a new, revised plan and win-win solution that provides a balance for preservation and new development at the site.
“Television City is one of the great Hollywood studio lots,” says Michael Hackman, Founder and CEO of Hackman Capital Partners. “We are committed to investing in this important historic resource while ensuring it remains a robust job creator and world-class studio for decades to come. We are pleased to have worked with the Conservancy to find a win-win solution that preserves and celebrates the historic building while putting forth a plan that enhances TVC’s production operations and expands its production capacity.”
CBS Television City's iconic front entrance. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy
The refined plan and solution emerging from our collaboration preserves historic TVC and allows for significant new development at this legendary studio property. A comprehensive framework for a state of-the-art modernization will preserve the historic complex and maintain the 430- foot Beverly Boulevard viewshed.
The new proposal for TVC results in the following modifications – all intended to reduce the proximity, bulk and mass of the intended new construction and impact on the historic TVC complex:
Reduction of proposed new construction directly on top of the historic TVC, eliminating 84 percent of overall volume and 102 feet of height
Limitation to single volume rooftop addition with a maximum height of 36 feet, and set back 55 feet from existing TVC Stage Building north facade
Setbacks for proposed eastern (60 feet from TVS Service Building) and western (150 feet from TVC Service Building) production office buildings
Removal of proposed Flex Pavilion in front of existing TVC Service Building, and establishment of 60 feet no-build zone
This proposed project is still in the early phases of the development and approval process. The Conservancy will remain involved and ultimately a part of the formal review process regarding the design and materiality of the proposed new construction. The Conservancy’s goal has been to preserve TVC, though not freezing it in time, but kept in a way where new development does not fundamentally harm this conic L.A. landmark.
Through compromise and working together with Hackman, we think this solution ensures the studio’s much-needed modernization while protecting this historic building and maintaining eligibility as a City of Los Angeles HCM. We are grateful to Hackman Capital Partners for not only listening, but also working hard with us to achieve a good balance.
After nearly a year of collaboration, the solution now moving forward significantly reworks a previous design concept released publicly in March 2021, a design concept where the Conservancy had raised strong concerns. Environmental review for the Television City 2050 Specific Plan (TVC 2050) is now underway and we anticipate the release of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) soon.
Newspaper clipping announcing the CBS Television City model
A Look Back
In early 2018, the Conservancy started work to protect TVC by initiating the HCM process. This effort followed earlier news that CBS Corporation was interested in selling the twenty-five-acre property. Announcement of a potential sale raised widespread concern over the fate of the architecturally and culturally significant campus, which was identified as National Register-eligible in Los Angeles’ SurveyLA (a citywide inventory of potential historic places in L.A.).
Opened in 1952 and known as CBS Television City, it was the first large-scale facility in the United States designed specifically for television production. CBS hired the local architecture firm Pereira & Luckman. Among the architects on the project team were acclaimed architects Gin Wong, James Langenheim, and Charles Stanton. The campus integrated soundstages, studios, editing rooms, offices, rehearsal halls, shops, and storage, all with expandability in mind. On the interior, flexibility was key then and now: studio walls and even some exterior walls can be moved and rearranged to accommodate the needs of specific productions.
For more than six decades and counting, Television City has been the portal for some of America’s most beloved television shows. From within its modern and custom designed stages, television broke new ground, from variety/sketch comedy television shows like The Carol Burnett Show to the life of Archie Bunker and the controversial issues of the day in All in the Family. Today, it is home to such popular newer productions like The James Corden Show as well as longtime shows such as The Price Is Right.
For more about the history of this preservation issue, please visit our website.
On #InternationalWomensDay, March 8th, 2022, the Conservancy is taking a closer look at the women’s movement here in Los Angeles. Our FREE virtual conversation “People + Places: ‘70s Women Spaces and Places” shines a light on the courageous women who fought for their rights and the spaces where they could thrive.
Moderated by Adrian Scott Fine, the Conservancy’s Senior Director of Advocacy, our distinguished panelists are a group of women historic preservationists and academics who are passionate about telling these stories and saving the places associated with them: The Woman’s Building in downtown L.A., the Alcoholism Center for Women in Westlake, and The Crenshaw Women’s Center.
Panelists lineup: Kate Eggert (Co-founder Gosney-Eggert Historic Preservation Consultants); Lindsay Mulcahy (Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator, L.A. Conservancy); Evanne St. Charles, LEED AP O+M (Senior Associate, Architectural Historian & Preservation at Architectural Resources Group), and Sian Winship (President Society of Architectural Historians/Southern California Chapter).
In advance of the event, we asked them to share a few brief thoughts on women’s history in L.A. and the people that have inspired them in their work! Read on to learn more.
Is there a particular woman that you learned about during your research that inspires your work? Why?
Evanne St. Charles: I don’t think I could choose just one woman! I think it is the thousands of women who came to The Woman’s Building in search of belonging and purpose. Their ability to work collectively for change is what inspires me.
Lindsay Mulchay: I not only learned about inspiring women but was lucky enough to get to know several, like the writer and activist Carolyn Weathers, who reminds me to lead with my heart.
Sian Winship: Alice Stebbins Wells (1853-1957) was the first full-time uniformed policewoman in the country. What a game-changer! And Carol Downer (1933-present), founder of the Women's Self Help Clinic Movement, as an alternative to the male-dominated medical profession. What a visionary!
How has your experience studying sites of women's history shaped your personal life or identity?
Sian Winship: I happened to be researching the Women's Rights Context during the #MeToo movement. It was shocking and disturbing to see how history repeats itself.
Lindsay Mulchay: It affirms for me that organizing is based in relationships and that those relationships flourish in spaces that foster safety, self-expression, and community connection.
What aspect of The Woman’s Building’s history is timely to understand today?
Evanne St. Charles: The Woman’s Building was an institution created by women, for women. Its goal was to give women – and underrepresented communities more broadly – a place where their voices could be heard. Organizations that lift up the voices of underrepresented peoples continue to be central to the creation of a more just and equitable society.
What aspect of women’s history is timely to understand today?
Lindsay Mulachy: The strongest movements are intersectional – they cast a wide net and center the most marginalized.
Sian Winship: We've been taught that Northern California led the way. This is not true. California women would have had the right to vote in 1896 if it had solely been the votes of Southern Californians...
Many of the most important sites from Second Wave Feminism were not purpose-built buildings. They don't give up their significance to the casual observer. Once they start talking, however, their importance is undeniable.
The Alcoholism Center for Women in the 1970s. Photo courtesy the Carolyn Weathers Collection.
Membership Matters: An Interview with Alan Merson!
Alan Merson has been a Conservancy member since 1990 and supports the organization in multiple ways. Director of Development Liz Leshin explores why.
How did you first get involved with Los Angeles Conservancy?
I became a member of the Los Angeles Conservancy while working for Morley Builders, focusing on historic seismic upgrade projects. One of these projects was the Powell Library at UCLA which won a Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award.
Why is it important to you to support preservation?
For me, it began growing up in Carthay and attending Carthay Circle Elementary School. At that time, the Carthay Circle Theater was demolished by a wrecking ball. My early introduction to preservation was on the playground, watching a wrecking ball demolish the historic theater.
The earlier preservation awareness and neighborhood education begins, the better. I think there is a huge opportunity, through public education, to highlight neighborhoods where schools are located. This could include informing students how the adjacent neighborhoods were developed, designed by architects, built by contractors, etc. Public educators can speak about the architecture of the schools they teach in and the adjacent neighborhoods where the students and their parents live.
Supporting preservation coincides with the need for greater public education and awareness of relevant preservation issues. Through greater education and awareness, will hopefully inform more of the public to care more about the areas in which they live and work.
What compelled you to become a member of the Pillar Society?
Los Angeles Conservancy has been included in my estate planning for many years. Once the Pillar Society was created, joining became a very easy decision. The Pillar Society recognizes and makes public what I was already doing. Hopefully, the public recognition will incentivize and motivate others to do the same.
Why do you think others should consider becoming members of the Pillar Society?
See above.
You very generously provided a matching gift to the Conservancy's Preservation Advocacy Fund in 2021. What motivated you to do this?
Supporting the matching gift initiative is a great way to leverage funds, which increases the effectiveness of the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Advocacy efforts.
You have been a Conservancy member since 1990, working your way up to being a Granite Cornerstone member; why do you feel membership support is important?
As a long-term Los Angeles Conservancy Member, my support has increased in multiple ways over the years, including LAC’s recent support of the nomination of the Carthay neighborhood as a National Register Historic District through the Carthay Neighborhoods National Register Nomination Fund.
As property values rise, the tension between development and preservation also increases, as does the need to support the LAC and other preservation groups.
Happy Anniversary, Linda Dishman! Celebrating 30 Years of Leadership.
Linda Dishman (center) and Conservancy volunteers celebrate the Palace Theatre’s 100th birthday in 2011 as part of Last Remaining Seats. Photo by Gary Leonard.
Happy thirtieth anniversary to Linda Dishman, the Conservancy’s president and CEO! Focused and fearless, Linda has been a force of leadership for the Conservancy and the historic preservation movement throughout California.
Linda joined the Conservancy as executive director in March 1992. Since then, the organization has grown to 5,000 members—the largest membership of a local historic preservation organization in the country—and our budget is now $3 million.
From all of us at the Conservancy, a heartfelt congratulations and thank you! We asked Linda to reflect on her time at the Conservancy.
What do you love about working at the Conservancy?
It’s the people! I have a poster on my wall that says, “People make history, people preserve it.” That really encapsulates why our work is so meaningful. We save historic buildings because they mean something to people.
The best part is when I talk to people and they [talk about] a building that has meaning to them. Sometimes it is a school they went to, a little neighborhood store they visited every Saturday with their grandmother, or the house where they grew up that holds their memories. And, sometimes we hear stories about buildings that we all know and celebrate, like City Hall and the Central Library.
We respect that people’s stories reside in many places throughout Los Angeles. They’re what makes Los Angeles so special!
How has preservation changed in the last thirty years?
There is greater public awareness and appreciation for historic buildings and what they do for communities. We can point to many examples that showcase the value of historic preservation on a project. Take the Tower Theatre, for example. It was vacant for over thirty years. Then, Apple came in with a strong vision to adaptively reuse the space in a way that celebrated its historic character on par with its cutting-edge technology.
How has the Conservancy changed since you started?
The Conservancy has more members and staff, more experience, and more great work under our belt! We’re doing more to celebrate the full story of Los Angeles, including nominations of culturally significant sites, community outreach, and a wildly successful legacy business campaign. I’m excited for us to expand this work further. The Conservancy also has more tools and has developed best practices we’re now sharing with the public through our Community Leadership Boot Camps. Win or lose, there is much to be learned from every advocacy effort.
Our work to specifically tell a broader, more inclusive story through our advocacy and educational work has grown the perception of what’s worth saving in truly meaningful ways.
How has the Conservancy stayed the same?
We remain rooted in our values to find win-win preservation-minded solutions. When we’re working on advocacy issues, we focus on options that preserve the historic building and also meet the project’s end goals, whether it is adding housing units or turning a commercial building into office space. The Conservancy is eager to demonstrate how historic preservation can be a tool in helping Los Angeles address critical issues, like housing or climate change.
What was one of your greatest losses at the Conservancy?
It’s really tough to lose a building, especially a building you’ve worked a long time to try and save. That was certainly the situation with the demolition of the Ambassador Hotel in 2005 and 2006. We were sad. I was sad. We did everything possible to provide an alternative to demolition. We’d never had the capacity to do that before. We exhausted every resource and idea. By the time we lost, we lost. But we looked at the effort and thought: how do we use this loss as we look to the future? We learned a lot.
It's interesting, people still tell me how sad they are about the loss of the Ambassador—even those who were not that supportive at the time.
What is one of your most memorable moments in a historic building?
In talking about the Ambassador Hotel, it brings back the memory of being in the pantry where Robert Kennedy was assassinated.
It was a place of great sadness and being there in person was very powerful. It really resonated as a sacred place. What happened in that pantry changed the direction of our country. The Conservancy wanted the pantry to be preserved for that reason, so students could understand the assassination in a broader context, understand the history of our nation, and be inspired.
What is something people may not know about you?
People think I’m from Los Angeles, but I actually grew up in Sacramento. My mother was from South Pasadena, so I was raised hearing stories of her going to the Broadway theatres, riding the streetcars downtown, and ice cream sundaes at Chatam’s in Westwood Village. She went to UCLA. Even before I came to L.A., I had a strong sense of the history of Los Angeles.
One of my most precious memories is when I was five and came down to Los Angeles with my mom. My grandmother took me to the Ambassador Hotel and we had lunch at the patio there. Maybe that’s why it was poignant when we lost the building.
What is one of your favorite preservation moments?
The evening when the Downey McDonald’s reopened. Saving the Downey McDonald’s was a really hard fight because we were up against one of the biggest corporations in America, who for a variety of reasons didn’t want this building to survive. Thankfully, they changed their trajectory and decided to restore the building. At the opening event, there was a big black-tie affair in the parking lot. The servers came out with platters covered by silver domes for each person. When they opened the silver dome, there was a Quarter Pounder with fries. It was the perfect way to celebrate McDonald’s reopening!
Linda’s interview with Preservation Magazine in 1992, not long after she became the new executive director of the L.A. Conservancy. Photo courtesy Preservation Magazine
Linda at the 1993 rally to save “The Town House.” In response, the City Council approved Historic-Cultural Monument designation. Photo: L.A. Conservancy Archives.
Linda at a 1994 rally to save the historic McDonald’s in Downey. The rally gained international publicity and the building was saved. Photo: L.A. Conservancy Archives.
The West L.A. Civic Center and L.A.’s Historic Preservation Problem
Think you know what’s up with the proposed redevelopment of the West L.A. Civic Center? The November 9th, 2021 West L.A. Commons community meeting shed some light and details on the project but few on preservation, much like the project itself.
Here’s the scoop:
Built between 1957-1965 to meet growing demand for government services, the West L.A. Civic Center is significant for its Modernist architecture and role in expanded government services following WWII. More recently, it’s become hallowed ground for L.A.’s skateboarding scene, attracting skaters worldwide with its stairs and ledges. In January 2021, the County and City selected Abode Communities and AvalonBay Communities to redevelop the site.
As currently planned, the 1960 Courthouse, 1961 branch City Hall, 1962 Community Center (Senior Center), and 1965 Amphitheatre are to be demolished.
(Only the 1956 library will stay--for now--and is not a part of this project scope.)
This means an eligible historic district marking an important part of West L.A.’s growth will be erased.
Two facades of the branch City Hall were planned to be kept (which is not preservation) yet that is now being reconsidered, citing soil conditions. The same goes for the now-doomed Googie style Amphitheatre, despite being marked for preservation in the proposal that was selected by the City and County.
As a public-private venture between the City, County and the developer (AvalonBay and Abode Communities), preservation was supposed to be a priority, at least it was in the official Request for Proposals (RFP) process, stated as one of ten key aspects to be addressed.
So … what is happening here?
Preservation through adaptive reuse is readily achievable in this project, and can complement the proposed new mixed income housing. New buildings of the same footprint are to replace the branch City Hall and Courthouse. The existing Amphitheatre can be repurposed and kept.
It is easier to demolish everything and build subterranean parking over the entire site than build around the historic buildings. Yet easy does not equal better. Until someone in leadership steps forward and presses for an alternative that successfully marries the old with the new, this development team will continue to seek the easy way out. As a familiar pattern that keeps repeating itself across this city, L.A. can do and deserves better.
Please join the L.A. Conservancy in pressing City Councilmember Mike Bonin and County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for another alternative! Email them at: [email protected] and [email protected]. Be sure to cc [email protected] so that we can track!
Membership Matters: An Interview with Helen Tocco!
Interview by Gabriela Philo
Helen Tocco recently spoke to us about her experience in the Conservancy’s Community Leadership Boot Camp, and why she is a Conservancy member.
Which neighborhood do you live in?
And what makes it distinct? I live in Palms. It is a wonderful walkable community with tons of great restaurants and local businesses, a Metro stop, good freeway proximity, and you can even find street parking here.
You’ve been a Los Angeles Conservancy member since 2018. What compelled you to join?
I learned about the Conservancy when they got involved to try to help save the Tabor House, which was a historic home in Palms. Unfortunately, the building was demolished, but it led me to want to learn more about the Conservancy and L.A. historic buildings.
This Spring, you joined the Community Leadership Boot Camp. What did you get out of the experience?
I am an architect in my day job and I work on historic easement and historic tax credit projects around the country, so I am always looking to expand my learning and the Boot Camp seemed like a great opportunity. I also wanted to learn how to be more prepared to save the few remaining historic buildings in Palms if any more face demolition like the Tabor House did.
You're on the Board of the Palms Neighborhood Council; why do you think it's important to be active in neighborhood activities?
L.A. is such a big city that Neighborhood Councils are crucial to help our city government keep tabs on specific local concerns and build community engagement.
Which programs of the L.A. Conservancy do you like and why?
The Conservancy’s walking tours are fun and educational, and I am so happy to see that they are back! The Conservancy has also done a great job with virtual tours and presentations during the pandemic so that we could stay engaged with historic preservation from the comfort of our homes.
First Baptist Church of Venice: Making a Path to Preservation An interview with Naomi Nightingale
Local advocates of First Baptist Church of Venice. Photo courtesy Mike Bravo
Interview by M. Rosalind Sagara
The First Baptist Church of Venice and adjacent parking lots located at 671-685 and 686-688 East Westminster Avenue are among the last remaining significant historic resources associated with the history and development of Oakwood, an early African American neighborhood in Los Angeles. These properties tell the story of pioneering African Americans who financed and built an important center of spiritual, cultural, and social life in Venice.
In 2018, the Cultural Heritage Commission denied the Historic-Cultural Monument nomination of the church property. The community persisted and with newfound support from Councilmember Mike Bonin, a new application for landmark designation was considered by the Cultural Heritage Commission on June 3, 2021. The Commission unanimously recommended listing and the nomination now heads to the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and then to the City Council for final approval.
Naomi Nightingale, Venice resident, community organizer, and recent graduate of the Conservancy’s Community Leadership Boot Camp, helped gather new information for the nomination. In addition, she has had a front-row seat to the nearly four-year journey the community has been on to landmark the church property. Naomi spoke to Neighborhood Outreach Manager M. Rosalind Sagara in June about what she’s learned about the landmarking process and her community through her work on this preservation issue.
RS: When did you get involved in preserving the First Baptist Church of Venice?
NN: In 2017 when I saw Laddie Williams sitting in front of the church. I stopped and asked her why she was there. I learned the church had been sold and it shocked me. I also learned there were some people who were members of the church who had filed a lawsuit to prevent the sale and to keep the church, but they were not successful. The judge ruled that the sale of church was legitimate; the court would not rescind the sale. So, at that point, the community decided we were going to fight to preserve it. Then owner Jay Penske had filed a permit for an adaptive reuse with the intent of making the church his personal home and the community was affronted and appalled by that.
RS: How did you secure support for the nomination from the Council District and others?
NN: I think Councilmember Bonin saw that the community was adamant, that we were relentless, and that our efforts for the church were coming from a place of history, significance, bonding, and ties, for our grandparents and other people that we knew. While we are talking about the church, we’re seeing the erasure of our history through the destruction of buildings and the removal, or the exodus of people and families. I think he thought we were not going to go away. We pressed our Councilmember, “What support have you given us? What recognition and acknowledgement of the contributions and the culture of this [African American] community have you given us?” I think from that point forward, there was a shift. He saw us as a formidable force in reference to the church and what we said made sense in terms of the historical significance of the church and the community.
We felt that not only the Councilmember, but developers, and other people in other parts of the community didn’t have an understanding about what the church meant to the African American community. To them, it was like “What’s the big deal?” These were people who actually lived here in the community, Caucasian people, who may not have really paid attention, or had no connection with what was going on. The more that we were able to put the word out, spread the news so to speak, and engage people about what the church meant and who Arthur Reese was, the more we found support. There had not been a lot of information out there about him except for he was the guy who did the amusement parks, or was the guy who helped with the decorations, but being a homeowner, a land owner, civically engaged, that was not information about Reese that people knew.
RS: In your research for the nomination of the church was there a story that stood out to you?
NN: I was ecstatic to learn about the church’s architect George Williams. It seemed that so much hung on who the builder or architect of the church was. It seemed that because people were not able to name him previously, there was less importance or significance to the church because Paul Williams, the architect of the congregation’s previous church, was so huge. When I discovered information about George Williams from the AIA and newspaper clippings, that brought absolute joy to my heart!
RS: What has kept people motivated to stay involved over the years?
NN: The real desire to not allow our history to be erased. That was at the top of the list. To take the church away and to make it into someone’s personal living room, bedroom, or living quarters was just sacrilegious. We just could not allow that to happen. To lose the church would be to lose so much more in terms of our history, the personalities of our community, the hard work that we knew, the stories that were told about our family members who lived on that street, people who went to that church, and people that we still know today. To us, even though the church was sold it was still a living, breathing, important piece of our lives. And there just wasn’t the will to let it go.
RS: What activities did you organize to help keep people engaged?
NN: We met on those church steps every single Sunday for almost four years. We passed out fliers and engaged people as they passed by. We invited other people. We had radio and T.V. appearances. This was early on when we were going before the Westside Commission and I think I was asked at the time what will you do, what’s next? “We’re not giving up.” I was raised with the idea that if you had the fire in your spirit, that meant you were still supposed to go. As long as there is any spark of possibility, then you don’t accept no. I didn’t know just like a lot of us did not know what the outcome was going to be, what the next step was going to be, but we all knew that whatever it was going to be, we were not going to stop.
RS: Could you talk about how the Black Lives Matter Mural in front of the church came to be and how it’s related to the community’s effort to preserve the church?
NN: When we met with Councilmember Bonin, we said we needed to not only preserve the church, but we needed to also have an imprint within the Oakwood community that also acknowledged the significance of the community. And we thought the Black Lives Matter mural would do that. We had a big rally there following George Floyd’s death and we had probably at least 400 people, or more out there. We held a march and that raised the importance of the church to the community and to lots of other people, White, Black, Brown. Not just in the Venice community, or the Oakwood community, but from outside, people from the beach, from Santa Monica, students from USC, and other parts of the city. The church was on the map of the Oakwood community as being the first African American church in the community and its longevity was known, but it helped us get widespread acknowledgment. People from Alabama were writing and inviting me to other meetings about rural communities in the South! I was able to get information about how other people are going about trying to save or resurrect their communities.
RS: At the June 3rdCultural Heritage Commission meeting, Councilmember Bonin requested that the parking lots adjacent to the church and those across the street where the earlier church building had stood be included in the Historic-Cultural Monument nomination. Can you tell us more?
NN: The City staff findings recommended the church for designation, but the parking lots were excluded because they believed they had no significance to the structure itself. We were not in agreement with that recommendation. From the beginning, we wanted the lots to be included. I was prepared to make a case for including both the adjacent lots and those across the street on the day of the hearing. Arthur Reese owned the lot where the previous church stood. The land was deeded to him. He donated the lot to the church and was a deacon there. The church was built on the land. And then across the street, that used to be a boat yard. The community purchased that land, some of them giving up their deeds or monies to help build collateral for the purchase of the land, and then the church was built. So how anyone could say there’s no connection or historical significance? To me it’s just a land grab and we’re not going to accept that, and I told them why. The people that established the Oakwood community, that worked it, made it what it is, that gave to the land, that brought their families here, all of that is part of the richness of the Oakwood community and land is wealth. And, so as the erasure of the community continues it means that the wealth that was built here is also being erased. For the community, there was never a separation between the seven lots. We always spoke in terms of the seven lot ties to the church’s history.
RS: What’s next?
NN: I’m in the process of writing a plan for the future use of the church. I know the property is still owned by a private party, but I’m writing it anyway. It’s based on ideas that the community has talked about. I will present it to the community and we’ll see how it goes.
The Conservancy’s longtime friend and former staff Volunteer Coordinator Connie Humberger died on May 25 at the age of 91. The only child of Maria Rivas and Andres del Tiempo, her birth name was Concha Dolores del Tiempo. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Connie graduated from Manual Arts High School in 1947, attended Los Angeles City College, and went to work for Pacific Telephone. In 1951, she married William Humberger and moved to Glendale, where she resided until her death. She was predeceased by her husband, and is survived by her daughter, Andrea Humberger.
Connie began working for the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) in the late 1960s. Fluent in Spanish, she taught English as a Second Language at Horace Mann Elementary School, and later worked with bilingual education programs.
Connie had a deep love for the city of Los Angeles and its built environment, especially City Hall and the downtown theatres. So, after leaving GUSD, she spent more than 20 years working for the L.A. Conservancy. She managed the Downtown Walking Tour program, and was a founding member of the Last Remaining Seats Committee.
Warm, positive, generous, and enthusiastic, Connie was known as the heart and soul of the Conservancy. Several of her L.A. Conservancy co-workers and friends shared memories of Connie.
L.A. Conservancy Colleagues
Linda Dishman: Connie had an amazing ability to connect with everyone. She especially loved her volunteers. That said, she expected everyone to perform their assigned duties. One time on a tour, I was covering for someone as a line monitor at Connie’s site. It was great to meet and talk with members. Connie told me afterwards that I couldn’t be a line monitor again because too many people wanted to talk with me which distracted me from my assigned duties.
I learned a great deal from her and I am grateful for the many years we worked and laughed together.
Bruce Scottow: A long time ago ("a hundred years ago" as Connie was often given to defining long-past events) I paid a visit to the Conservancy's downtown office to check out their library. I was doing some research work on historic buildings and heard their resources were excellent. A short time after settling in at the table, a woman came into the room, introduced herself as Connie. Well, my research came to a halt as over the next hour, we launched into stories about just everything under the sun. I recall that the receptionist had to ask us to "keep it down," So began our 20-year friendship.
Within a short time, I became a volunteer with the Conservancy, helping as a walking tour docent, LRS volunteer, and special tours volunteer. No matter what my role, Connie made me feel welcomed and valued, as she did all volunteers. This was something that proved an essential lesson as I later replaced her as Volunteer Coordinator on her retirement. I "channeled" Connie dozens of times through my career at the Conservancy, but try as I might, I quickly knew that nobody could ever fill her shoes. She was unique and I miss her every day.
Annie Laskey: I was hired at LAC in 2000 to run the Walking Tour program so that Connie could go to part time and focus on volunteers (although anyone who knew Connie knew that she never ever could do anything part time!). Stepping into a job that has been run for years by an adored, amazing, and smart woman is daunting – who could possibly replace Connie?! I’ll never forget how she used every ounce of her loving, forceful nature to essentially tell all the docents, “Annie is taking over the program for me, you had better love her or you will answer to me!”
She had the heart of a lion and the soul of a hostess: along with advice, there were always flowers on the table and food for the guests. I was lucky to be friends with her for 20 years, and never stopped being amazed by her energy and joy.
Connie at a 1987 Volunteer party. Photo and scanned party invitation courtesy Ed Trosper.
Cindy Olnick: Connie got such a kick out of Southern “salads,” which consist mainly of dairy products. I’d send her photos when visiting family. Her favorite was pear salad with mayo and cheese, dyed red and green for Christmas. This delightful treat will always remind me of La Doña.
Trudi Sandmeier: Connie was one of my heroes - a model of empathy, compassion, and understanding, she had a gift for seeing the special part of all of us. I learned a great deal about how to be a better human from her. Her vibrant personality will live on in my memory, but she will be profoundly missed.
Gregg Davidson: I met Connie as a volunteer at the Lafayette Square house tour in 1987. That summer Connie was on the planning committee for the inaugural Last Remaining Seats series and from that point on we became dear friends for the rest of her life. No matter which LA landmark we discussed there would be a Connie anecdote or story connected to it.
Kevin Geary: I had the privilege of working with Connie Humberger at the LAC for two years. Anyone who knew Connie can testify to how well organized she was...most of the time.
Once, Connie and I had to attend a community meeting to give people details about a possible tour in their neighborhood. I was not only new to the LAC, I was also new to LA. I had no idea where we were heading. Connie gave me the directions but also suggested I follow her in case she left out anything. Thank goodness I was able to follow closely without losing her! We ended up taking what seemed like five different freeways, and three of them were not even part of her directions! But we made it! Connie remained one of my closest friends for 25 years. I will miss her terribly.
Conservancy Volunteers
Rory Cunningham: Connie and I met at the very first meeting of what became the Last Remaining Seats Committee at John Miller and Richard Mouck’s beautiful home. We subsequently served as co-chairs for the final night of the very first LRS at the Los Angeles Theatre in 1987. Her grace, charm and great humor endeared her to everyone who had the honor of knowing and/or working with her and it’s why she became such a revered friend of mine for more than 3 decades.
Christy McAvoy: Friend, mentor, collaborator, teacher. Connie and I shared a deep appreciation for the value of educational experiences in preservation. The level of commitment and the extraordinary quality of the docent core is a living embodiment of her achievements.
Jan Westman: I met Connie when I came to the Conservancy as a volunteer docent, she was always available whenever I needed help. We remained close friends after her retirement until her passing. I miss her greatly.
Tom Sutherland: Connie Humberger was one of the brightest stars in the Conservancy Constellation. I worked with her many times over the last 25 years; every time was a pleasure, especially those with the LRS Committee. I shall miss her greatly in the days to come.
Kari Fowler, Historic Resources Group: I looked forward to seeing Connie every year at the LA Conservancy luncheon so we could discuss our shared affection for Spongebob Squarepants.
Mary Ann Lovato: I have had the utmost pleasure to know Connie Humberger for over 25 years. She was my instructor for the Volunteer and Docent Program in 1995. Connie was devoted to the L.A. Conservancy’s preservation efforts and highly valued each and every docent. She was very knowledgeable of every building, neighborhood, boulevard, avenue, courtyard, et. al. in Los Angeles. She loved Los Angeles and made a sincere effort to preserve its evolving history. The L.A. Conservancy lost a true gem. Connie Humberger will be dearly missed.
Ed Trosper: Whatever the event, whether it was a hot day, a cold day, or a rainy day, when you heard Connie's laugh, you knew you were going to have fun. When holding court at an afterparty, it seemed there was always a group around her. She remembered every story of triumph or face plant, and would share them with a guffaw at the end.
Kevin Geary: I had the privilege of working with Connie Humberger at the LAC for two years. Anyone who knew Connie can testify to how well organized she was...most of the time.
Once, Connie and I had to attend a community meeting to give people details about a possible tour in their neighborhood. I was not only new to the LAC, I was also new to LA. I had no idea where we were heading. Connie gave me the directions but also suggested I follow her in case she left out anything. Thank goodness I was able to follow closely without losing her! We ended up taking what seemed like five different freeways, and three of them were not even part of her directions! But we made it! Connie remained one of my closest friends for 25 years. I will miss her terribly.
Connie with Trina Escartin. Photo courtesy Trina Escartin.
Trina Escartin: Connie was a kind and loving spirit who genuinely cared about people. I am one of many who adored Miss Connie and it was an honor to know her.
Marcia Hanford: In decades of warmly remembering details about every volunteer, Connie kept a watchful eye that clear expectations and working conditions were well managed for all events. Her bilingual skills were precious. At the time of the first Last Remaining Seats, the Broadway theatres featured mostly Spanish-speaking films, and some movie house staff could only communicate through Connie. She kept those wheels in motion, and the film reels turned on time.
Tom Gardner: I have known and loved Connie since meeting her at the Conservancy about 35 years ago, she as the new Volunteer Coordinator, and I as an active volunteer, and we have socialized throughout the years. Connie's Easter Party was always one of the highlights of our year. We always enjoyed our outings together and our many phone calls (always filled with laughter even near the end).
Mary Alice Wollam and Bob Brennan: Connie was curious, funny, vivacious, and loved Los Angeles, but I think her greatest talent was being a friend. Connie used that talent to offer the volunteers encouragement, a sounding board, sometimes under the most hilarious circumstances. I have a bucket of Connie stories from so many LAC tours and events, but what I cherish most is the years of friendship that she gave Bob and me.
Memorial gifts may be made to the L.A. Conservancy or the Maria and Teresa Rivas Scholarship fund at the Glendale College Foundation.
Stop the L.A. City Council from Weakening the Cultural Heritage Ordinance!
The clock is ticking on the Historic-Cultural Monument nomination for Taix French Restaurant and Los Angeles' local landmark program!
On Wednesday, June 2nd, the Los Angeles City Council is poised to make a decision on a recently amended Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) nomination for Echo Park's Taix French Restaurant that protects merely two exterior signs and a bar top; not the Taix building.
But this isn't just about Taix.
As currently proposed, Taix's HCM nomination not only undermines the L.A.'s Cultural Heritage Commission but single-handedly devalues the city's entire preservation program, established in 1962. By designating fragments of Taix restaurant, the City is completely disregarding the demolition of the historic building and allowing the developer to circumvent environmental laws. The developers would even be able to use a streamlined process to get the project built.
The narrowed scope resulted from a recent proposal by District 13 Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell—and unanimous support by the City of Los Angeles’ Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) committee. (Please read Emily Reyes' piece in the Los Angeles Times for more.)
This isn't historic preservation. It is architectural salvage.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
After Echo Park's Taix French Restaurant was sold by the family to developer Holland Partner Group in 2019, the Los Angeles Conservancy was in conversation with new owners about plans for the legacy business and its historic building.
Recognizing the uncertain future of Taix, the Friends of Taix was formed and wrote a Historic-Cultural Monument nomination with the Conservancy's support.
There is no debate; Taix is a historic resource. The City identified Taix as an eligible historic place through its SurveyLA program, as did Holland Partner Group, through a study they commissioned. Everyone agreed it is historic.
Early schematics developed by Holland Partner Group retained a portion of Taix as part of their development plans. Yet, the project unveiled in May 2020 called for the building's demolition, replacing the historic restaurant building and surface parking lot with a planned, majority market-rate housing and retail development.
The L.A. Conservancy stands up for historic places and supports new housing and greater density where it makes sense—especially when it involves much-needed affordable housing.
What the City and the Holland Partner Group are offering, in this case, is a false choice, claiming we either save Taix or build housing. Through some creative design and a willingness to think outside the box, we can do both. Otherwise, it's a 'lose-lose' proposition, not only for Taix and Echo Park but all of Los Angeles as we continue to confront these growth challenges.
WHY DOES SAVING TAIX MEAN SAVING L.A.'s LANDMARK PROGRAM?
In December 2020, the Cultural Heritage Commission concluded that Taix was a historic resource, recommended approval of its nomination, and forwarded it to the City Council. It also rejected Holland Partner Group's request to designate only signage and the bar top; essentially, Councilmember O'Farrell's modification.
Historic nominations are sometimes modified or reduced in scope, especially as part of the political process. We have never seen it done to this extreme, where a designated monument no longer represents a place but instead just architectural fragments.
The Conservancy and community partners are pressing for a win-win alternative, which we firmly believe is possible with creativity and collaboration.
The Holland Partner Group wants to gain approval for its project through the City's streamlined Sustainable Communities Project Exemption (SCPE) process. Their problem is this cannot happen if there is an adverse impact on a historic place through demolition. Calling the modified Taix nomination, essentially architectural salvage, a Historic-Cultural Monument does not give Holland or the City the ability to circumvent the process.
The Conservancy and community partners are concerned about the dangerous precedent this sets for future nominations. This power play opens the door for Historic-Cultural Monument nominations to be hijacked and manipulated for purposes other than heritage conservation, which devalues a program that until now has helped preserve well over 1,200 historic places throughout Los Angeles.
Would saving two signs and a counter from the Cinerama Dome or Grand Central Market be the same as preserving the places where people build lasting connections?
Of course not.
Would you call THIS historic preservation?
Whether you support saving Taix or not, the issue is now much larger and consequential. This decision will have a lasting, detrimental impact on L.A.'s historic preservation program.
Demolition is forever. It cannot be undone. Act now before historic places in Los Angeles are a thing of the past.
Let your City Councilmember know that you disagree with the precedent of salvage designation and you don't want that concept to come to your neighborhood.
On June 2nd, the Los Angeles City Council must vote to keep our preservation program intact by designating the full site of Taix French Restaurant.
HOW TO HELP:
FIRST, contact Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell where this project is locate and your city council member.
Email him at [email protected] and call his office at (213) 473-7013. Also, contact Planning Director Craig Bullock in O'Farrell's office at [email protected]. Also, contact/share/tag on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CouncilmemberMitchOFarrell and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mitchofarrell/
SECOND, contact the owner, the Holland Partner Group (HPG). Email CEO and Chairman Clyde Holland at [email protected] and call their office at (562) 285-5300. Also, contact/share/tag on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HollandPartnerGroup/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/holland_partner_group/
THIRD, please copy Adrian Scott Fine at the Conservancy, [email protected], so that we can track progress.
FOURTH, join the Friends of Taix to support their efforts, https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsoftaix/ and support through GoFundMe.
An Iconic Mural in the Heart of Historic Filipinotown
Photo credit: M. Rosalind Sagara
Named one of the top 20 iconic murals in Los Angeles by L.A. Weekly, “Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana” (“A Glorious History, A Golden Legacy”) in Historic Filipinotown’s Unidad Park turned 25 years old last year. Commissioned by the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) and created by artist Eliseo Art Silva in 1995, the mural tells a story of the awakening of Filipino national and political consciousness, and pays tribute to Filipinos, both locally and nationally.
In May, the L.A. Conservancy’s Neighborhood Outreach Manager M. Rosalind Sagara interviewed artist Eliseo Art Silva about the mural, Historic Filipinotown, and how the two contribute to our growing understanding and appreciation of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage in Los Angeles.
RS: What inspired Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana?
ES: Chapter eight of Jose Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere is titled "Recuerdos," and it depicts a scene wherein the main protagonist encounters a kind of inverted telescope which converges Europe and Manila in one scene. Rizal calls it "The Spectre of Comparisons": a charged space where nationalism, art, and the imagination emerge from. It was the kind of space I wanted to recreate in the expansive “Great Wall of Pilipinotown" so that ultimately, we can emerge both a Creative Economy and Ethnic Economy within the Filipino enclave of Los Angeles. At that time (1994-1995), the area was not yet designated as HiFi. Filipino leaders Uncle Roy Morales and Joel Jacinto have said that the Filipino mural was integral to the successful designation of the district as Historic Filipinotown.
RS: How does the mural fit in to the story of Historic Filipinotown?
ES: There were four murals in Filipinotown painted by Filipino Americans with a Filipino theme prior to “Gintong Kasaysayan,” and two more painted after, but only “Gintong Kasaysayan” has been preserved. Three of the murals were lost to demolition and the other three were painted over without protest or resistance. The other artists that painted Filipino murals within the neighborhood are Faustino Caigoy, Orlando Castillo, and Papo De Asis.
Since previous attempts to Filipinize Filipinotown were largely limited to Bahay Kubo ("Nipa Hut") aesthetics and the mentality it generates of minimizing the achievements of pre-colonial Philippines as a major player of The Filipino Story, “Gintong Kasaysayan” shifts the Filipino perspective. From one largely shaped by the Americanization movement, designed to rid the Philippines of Filipinos, to one that takes The Filipino Story as the main protagonist. It elevates Filipinos as a major player in America’s cultural landscape so our own Filipino community can earn and deserve that equal seat at the table of power and influence. Why have a seat at the table if all that we bring to the table is the stories of foreigners in our country told "on their behalf"?
What the “Gintong Kasaysayan” mural offers to the city is what the Filipino community can offer and why they deserve that equal seat at the table. What the mural provides is The Filipino Story. It challenges people to answer the question: What is "Filipino" in Historic Filipinotown?
At times, it aims to make people uncomfortable that they do not know enough about the story of Filipinos in this country and city, along with making Filipinos uncomfortable that they themselves do not take their own Filipino Story seriously enough to make it the main event in their own lives and humanity.
Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, 2020
RS: Has the mural encountered challenges over its lifetime and how have these been addressed?
ES: Yes, many challenges have surfaced throughout the more than 25 years that the mural was in public view in that area of the city.
First of all, the Filipino community had not held an annual event in front of the mural until I initiated the Larry Itliong Day celebration in 2015 at Unidad Park. Because “Gintong Kasaysayan” was largely ignored by our own community for most of its two decades in the neighborhood, there were several instances when we almost lost the mural or the cultural integrity of the site.
When I moved to the East Coast in 2000 and lived there for 15 years, the mural came to a point when the residents around the mural wanted to cover the it with a 15-foot-tall fence to accommodate 25 community garden beds which would have obstructed the entire length of the wall. Had I not happened to visit the site while the meetings were being conducted, that community garden would have completely covered the entire length of the mural.
My personal protest produced the current mural signage for the public to recognize the significance of the mural and the site to the City of Los Angeles and the Filipino community. There was also a time when the neighborhood came close to erecting a life-size full figure monument honoring Bishop Romero at the center of the dap-ay space.
(Author’s note: The dap-ay is circular in form and intended to create a communal gathering space. It is a character-defining feature of Unidad Park and is believed to be the first of its kind outside of the Philippines.)
RS: What is your favorite part of the mural?
ES: The shifts in meaning. I like the parts intended to be ambiguous, challenging and uncomfortable.
RS: How do murals link the past to the present?
ES: I believe that murals are the best way to document communities. At its best, art and murals are not didactic, yet reveal core truths. I see murals as a kind of palimpsest intended to build upon previous stories and images which have ceased to be relevant, active and engaging.
RS: Do you have favorite mural in L.A.?
ES: América Tropical by David Siqueiros is my favorite mural in L.A
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Activities and Adventures for Kids
Los Angeles is one of the most, diverse cities in the world and it’s never too early to start teaching kids about its incredibly rich history. The L.A. Conservancy preserves the historic places and make L.A. County unique, and we’re dedicated to bringing local history to life through a variety of interactive programs and online resources that connect kids to the city around them.
For Asian American Pacific Islander Month, we’ve created a list of resources and tools for kids that highlight the vital contributions of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in Los Angeles County? These tools connect places with people and stories, encouraging kids to discover historic places through arts and exploration.
DISCOVER
Discover L.A.’s historic Chinatown and Koreatown with a self-guided walking tour! As with so many neighborhoods in L.A., Chinatown and K-Town are home to multiple community identities (for example, Little Bangladesh borders four blocks of Koreatown to the north) which leave an imprint on the blocks, buildings, and architecture.
Download these self-guided walking tour maps, then get outside and visit some cool historic places like Cathay Bank in Chinatown and the Da Wool Jung gazebo in Koreatown. Interested in a guided experience with an L.A. Conservancy docent? Take your kids or students on a virtual field trip: “A Woman's Place: Union Station and Chinatown!” On this interactive, virtual outing, you’ll learn more about important female figures in Chinatown such as Yiu Hai Seto Quon, one of the founders of Chinatown, as well as historic structures found there!
Recommended for grades 3-12.
**************
CREATE
Create specially designed crafts or do fun activities to learn about historic people and places. Download the “People of Chinatown'' word search which includes short biographies of historical figures like actress Anna May Wong and Peter Soohoo, one of the founders of L.A.’s Chinatown. For younger kids, download the coloring page featuring people who impacted L.A.’s historic Chinatown. Kids can also watch a video on how to make a biography cube for one of these historic figures. Download the cube template here and watch the how-to video below:
BONUS ACTIVITY! Check out this fun craft shared by our partners at the Chinese American Museum (CAM) in Downtown Los Angeles. Download the instructions to make your own more lantern and learn more about CAM’s work here.
Recommended for grades 3-8 but fun for all ages!
**************
CONNECT
In addition to the rich histories of downtown L.A.’s Chinatown and Koreatown, the AAPI community’s contributions to L.A. span the whole breadth of the county. After all, L.A. is home to a number of the largest AAPI communities outside of their native lands. (For example, did you know that Little India in the South Bay is home to the largest Indian community in Southern California?)
Celebrating our shared cultural heritages extends beyond a month on a calendar, so below is a selection of institutions here in L.A. where kids can connect with AAPI stories and learn about the community’s histories year-round:
The Chinese American Museum
425 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles
(213) 485-8567
In addition to exhibits and events, the museum also has a kids storytime that features AAPI authors.
The Japanese American National Museum (JANM)
100 North Central Avenue Los Angeles
(213) 625-0414
JANM offers a wonderfully diverse array of programming and events, including education resources and activities.
Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM)
695 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach
(562) 216-4170
PIEAM is dedicated to the arts and cultures of Oceania through educational programs, rotating exhibits, and living arts.
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino
(626) 405-2100
The Huntington’s Chinese Garden recently re-opened, and the library has partnered with the LAPL for a new online and outdoor exhibit, “Stories and Voices from L.A.’s Chinatown.”
Additional Resources: For more on AAPI heritage and history, we suggest checking out the L.A. Public Library’s collection of videos, crafts, and book lists as well as the L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs’ guide to AAPI Heritage month events and activities.
(“Hollywood Jazz — 1945-1972" by Richard Wyatt Jr.)
By Carley Michelle Hildebrand
Charles Mingus, Nat “King” Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Ornette Coleman lived here. Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dave Brubeck recorded here. Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker jammed here. But most importantly, a crucial chapter in jazz history played out here.
While cities like New Orleans and New York City are where jazz music was born and bred, Los Angeles was the beating heart of the West Coast Jazz scene. From the late 1920s to the 1950s not only was L.A.’s jazz scene influential to the art of jazz itself, it brought pride and power to L.A.’s Black community.
The epicenter of it all was the historic Central Avenue corridor, from Little Tokyo to Watts, with some jazz joints springing up as far away as Hollywood. Central Avenue was the economic and social center of a segregated Black community. A cultural mecca, the scene was constant and electric. As the only integrated section of L.A., people of all races and classes—from blue-collar workers to Hollywood stars—mingled together to watch, to dance, to drink, and...to listen.
For #InternationalJazzDay, get ready to cut a rug while we take you on a tour of some key killer diller locations that played an important role in jazz history, from swinging Central Avenue to swanky Old Hollywood. You dig?
The Dunbar Hotel
4225 S Central Avenue Los Angeles
Any trip through L.A.’s jazz history must start at the Dunbar Hotel. Originally built as the Hotel Somerville, the Dunbar played a key role in L.A.’s Black community for decades. Doctor John Somerville built the hotel for the first West Coast convention of the NAACP in 1928 and it provided first-class accommodations for African Americans in a segregated Los Angeles. At the heart of the Central Avenue jazz scene, many prominent jazz musicians stayed or performed there, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Bessie Smith. Other notable guests included Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Hern Jefferies, Langston Hughes, Joe Louis, Arthur B. Spingarn, and W. E. B. Du Bois. As the epicenter of Black L.A.’s social and cultural life, a number of jazz clubs and theaters sprang up along Central Avenue and the district began to flourish as a popular nightlife destination.
After a herculean restoration, today the Dunbar Hotel provides affordable housing for seniors and offers a beautiful gathering space for the community. (More recently, the Dunbar also made a cameo appearance in 2019’s My Name is Dolemite.)
Club Alabam
4215 Central Avenue
Perhaps the most famous club along Central Avenue was Club Alabam, known as the “Finest Harlem Cafe in America.” Hints of the Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove (which was segregated at the time) could be seen with its rich furnishings and interior palm trees. Saxophonist Art Pepper recalled that “the bandstand was plush and gorgeous with curtains that glistened.” Club Alabam, which had an integrated audience like all of the clubs along the corridor, became the center of L.A.’s jazz scene boasting some of the finest jazz artists in the country. At its most glorious, wrote jazz historian Steven Isoardi, it was kind of a shining star, the premier spot on the Avenue.
Club Alabam may have been the star, but its neighbors were also just as popular: the Downbeat at 4201 S Central Avenue was a major hot spot and, at one point, was home to an all-star jazz band that included L.A. native, the legendary Charles Mingus. Further along, the Elks Hall at 4016 S Central Avenue was said to have been the biggest Black-owned building in Los Angeles. Able to fit from five to six hundred people, it had three floors, which offered flexibility for a wide variety of acts and events.
The Lincoln Theatre
2300 Central Avenue
Opened in 1927, the Lincoln Theater was the largest of five theaters along the Central Avenue corridor that provided entertainment to the Black community. While the 1920s boasted the era of the grand movie palaces on Broadway, African Americans were segregated if allowed at all. The Lincoln, built between 1926 and 1927, was the first theatre built by African Americans for African Americans and was easily the most important. A beautiful example of Moorish Revival Architecture, the California Eagle called it, “the finest and most beautiful theater in the country built exclusively for race patronage.”
The Lincoln was a key venue in jazz history, and its stage welcomed icons like Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington, Sammy Davis Jr. and so many more. It’s listed in the National and California Registers.
Ivie Anderson Residence
724 E. 52nd Place, South Los Angeles
“It Don’t Mean a Thing (if it ain’t got that swing)” was the battle cry of the swing era, and Ivie Anderson’s vocals on the 1932 Duke Ellington recording is nothing less than iconic. Anderson hailed from Gilroy, but called Los Angeles home for much of her life and lived at 724 E. 52nd Place from 1930 to 1945. During this time Anderson toured heavily with Ellington’s band, whom she sang with for a decade.
(You can even watch her with Duke’s band in the classic Marx Brothers film A Day at the Races, where she performs “All God's Chillun Got Rhythm.”) Anderson’s former home is listed in both the national and state historic registers as a contributor to the 52nd Place Historic District, which is also an HPOZ.
The Tiffany Club
3260 West 8th Street, Los Angeles
You’d never guess as you speed past the low-rise market at West 8th Street and Normandie Avenue that a litany of jazz greats once played there in the 1950s. Dave Brubeck, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Helen Forrest, Nat King Cole—the list goes on and on. (Chet Baker and Stan Getz’s set was recorded and definitely worth a listen.)
In 1952, the great Louis Armstrong headlined the club with an all-star band that included Earl “Fatha” Hines and Jack Teagarden. It was an integrated audience, as you can see in this famous photo taken in 1954 of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe at the Tiffany. Monroe was a huge fan of Fitzgerald and the two women became friends. Monroe actively promoted Ella by attending her performances, which guaranteed press coverage.
Thomas Jefferson High School
1319 E 41st Street, Los Angeles
Not all jazz greats hailed from the East Coast. Many were born right here in Los Angeles. Most notable, Charles Mingus and Buddy Collette, who both attended Jordan High School in Watts. (Mingus, in fact, grew up steps from the Watts Towers and often saw Simon Rodia as he worked on building his menagerie of glass and scraps.) But it is Thomas Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles that nurtured the talent for the largest number of future jazz artists.
Dexter Gordon and Don Cherry are perhaps its most famous graduates, but for many the real star was teacher Samuel R. Browne: the first Black music teacher in the Los Angeles public school system. After receiving advanced degrees from USC in music and education, he eventually took a job at Jefferson High School where, in 1936, he became the first Black teacher to integrate the school. He often accompanied his students to Central Avenue jazz clubs and, as part of their music education, took them to rehearsals where at any given time they’d see Lionel Hampton, Stan Kenton, or Duke Ellington at work. He’d also bring talent to the classroom—stars like Nat “King” Cole and Jimmie Lunceford—for recitals and master class seminars.
The Hollywood Bowl
2301 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles
The enduring, much beloved L.A. icon has long been a friend to jazz musicians...even when the critics weren’t. (When Frank Sinatra made his Bowl debut in 1943 to sellout crowd of Bobby Soxers, the Times sneered about swing: “is it possible that there is no alternative in this country?”) In 1954, Louis Armstrong performed "The Whippenproof Song" on The Colgate Comedy Hour which became the first ever live telecast from the Bowl. Two years later, the Bowl hosted the jazz event of the decade: an all-star concert Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl. With Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald headlining, the concert was an extraordinary who’s-who of jazz greats, among them Oscar Peterson, Roy Eldridge, Buddy Rich, and Art Tatum.
It’s hardly surprising that the Playboy Jazz Festival has called the Bowl home since 1979, making it one of the longest-running jazz festivals around.
The It Club
4731 W. Washington Boulevard
The It Club (which was across the street from today’s Nate Holden Performing Arts Center) was owned by John T. McClain, a man who would go on to become an executive and huge force in the L.A. as one of the most powerful figures in the world of Black music. McClain’s father rubbed shoulders with ganger “Bugsy” Siegel and his mother, an accomplished pianist, appeared with Lena Horne in Hollywood during the ‘40s.
During the 1950s and ‘60s, it was common to see huge jazz stars play the It Club. Miles Davis and John Coltrane were returning guests, and jazz legend Thelonious Monk recorded here in 1964, resulting in the album “Live at the It Club.”
The Parker Room and Billy Berg’s
1358 Vine Street, Hollywood
The Parker Room, which recently closed, opened in 2017 to pay homage to its famous history. During its heyday in the 1940s, Billy Berg’s was one of the hottest jazz joints in L.A. and the country. Its claim to fame was being the site of Charlie Parker’s first West Coast engagement. (Hence the name “The Parker Room.”) In 1949, Billie Holiday threw an extravagant New Year's Party in the club.
But Billy Berg’s is also emblematic of a change in the L.A. jazz scene. In postwar L.A., Black musicians were making inroads at previously all-white clubs and theaters in places like Hollywood and downtown L.A. Jewish impresario Billy Berg became a prominent player in running integrated jazz joints. As KCET reports, in “less than twenty-five years, Berg came to own at least six different clubs in the Los Angeles area: Trouville, The Swing Club, Waldorf's Cellar, Club Capri, The 5-4 Ballroom and the most famous, Billy Berg's.”
Integrated Hollywood clubs also signaled a change in the tide. The scene on Central Avenue began to fade as white audiences no longer needed to head south to Central Avenue. Likewise, the desegregation of some jazz clubs in L.A. opened up more opportunities for Black musicians outside of Central Avenue.
Nat “King” Cole Residence
423 S. Muirfield Road, Hancock Park
Nat “King” Cole was among the many jazz musicians who “jumped ship” in L.A. while on tour, choosing the city as home. Despite being one of the most successful and popular entertainers of the 20th century, Cole and his family still faced racism. Discriminatory housing covenants enforced by homeowners’ associations across L.A. made his celebrity status irrelevant. In 1948, when Cole and his family purchased this $85,000 property, they were the first Black family to move into exclusively white Hancock Park.
The Cole’s were met with an affidavit by an angry group of white homeowners claiming that 50-year-old covenants restricted homeownership to non-Caucasians. After they refused to move, an ambitious plan to oust them was launched, including threats to his family and their real estate agent. But the law was against the homeowners’ association: that very year, the Supreme Court Decision of Shelley v. Kraemer had deemed restrictive covenants unconstitutional.
The Cole family would continue to endure intimidating acts of overt racism from the neighborhood over the years, but they loved their home and weathered the storms. Cole would live here until his untimely passing in 1965 and in 2003, Hancock Park —an HPOZ—dedicated the post office at 265 South Western Avenue in his honor.
Capitol Records
1750 Vine Street, Hollywood
And any tour of L.A. jazz history wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood. The Capitol Records label was home to such legends like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, which is why the label's headquarters in Hollywood—a cherished Historic-Cultural Monument—proudly celebrates its connections to jazz history with its gorgeous mural “Hollywood Jazz — 1945-1972" on the south wall of the tower.
Created by legendary L.A.-based muralist Richard Wyatt, Jr. in 1990, the mural was commissioned at the request of the Los Angeles Jazz Society, and in 2013, it received a loving restoration from Capitol Records. An ode to titans of jazz music, the mural is also as beautiful as it is personal. “Nat King Cole’s widow [Maria] asked me if I would show him wearing his favorite tie,” Wyatt recalled in 2013.
** BONUS **
The Lighthouse Café
30 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach
Because we probably wouldn’t hear the end of it otherwise ...
The last stop on our trek through Jazz Land is Hermosa Beach’s Lighthouse Cafe which figures prominently in Damien Chazelle’s La La Land (2016). Like it or loathe it, the film La La Land certainly did much to trigger interest not simply in L.A. locations, but the L.A. jazz scene. To its credit, the jazz club at the center of the film is an actual historic jazz club. The Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach has been in business since 1949, when an experimental Sunday jam session turned into a success. Over the decades, it welcomed greats like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, but dozens of West Coast jazz artists from Art Pepper to the Jazz Crusaders recorded here.
Thanks to the popularity of the film La La Land, The Light House Café remains a popular destination and is one of a handful of historic, legacy businesses still operating in L.A. that serve up jazz. Others include the Catalina Club, the Baked Potato, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato, and LACMA’s popular Friday night jazz series.
March is #WomensHistoryMonth! In honor of the occasion, we’ve collected some of L.A.’s most influential--if unsung--pioneering women architects, designers, and entrepreneurs, whose contributions to our built environment can still be seen and felt today.
***
Mary Colter (1869 - 1958): Architect and Designer
The former Harvey Company restaurant at Union Station (1939). 📸: Elizabeth Daniels
Fans of the classic Judy Garland musical The Harvey Girls need look no further than Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to walk in the shoes of the famed chain of railroad rest stop eateries: the Fred Harvey restaurants. The Harvey Company, along with the Santa Fe Railway, boosted the Southwest as tourist destination during the late 19th century, and the famous “Harvey Girls”—waitresses “of good character” and adventurous spirit—helped popularize Southwest travel.
The Union Station location was designed by the pioneering Mary Colter, who was an architect for the Harvey Company from 1904 to 1949. She was one of the earliest architects—male or female—to give American buildings a sense of place and one of a very few number of women architects working during the early 20th century.
Best known for her buildings at the Grand Canyon, she’s been called "the best-known unknown architect in the national parks." And her signature Southwest spirit is on full display at her Union Station location. Opened in 1939, the restaurant features both Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco designs— reflecting the spirit of Union Station itself—while still incorporating Southwestern elements, including the floor, which was designed to resemble a Navajo rug. Its distinct tiled walls display a parrot motif; Valencia Spanish Tile Company manufactured these tiles especially for this building.
The former Fred Harvey Restaurant space reopened on October 2018 as the Imperial Western Beer Company.
***
Helen Liu Fong (1927 - 2005) : Architect and Interior Designer
Pann’s Restaurant (1958). 📸: Stephen Schafer
Few women, let alone Chinese American women, were practicing architects in postwar America. But Helen Liu Fong not only excelled at her art--her works remain among some of the most loved among Angelenos even to this day. Fong was born in Los Angeles’ Old Chinatown in 1927. She received a degree in city planning from UC Berkeley in 1949.
Upon graduation, she moved back to Los Angeles and got her first job working as a secretary for architect Eugene Choy, where she learned the administrative side of architecture. Two years later, she began working for Armet and Davis, located in the same office building as Choy’s firm, where she remained until the late 1970s. Best known for her Googie-style design work, Fong seamlessly integrated interior and exterior elements. (The rich reds you'll find in many of Fong's designs, for example, were strategic: the color could register from the roadside.)
Fong also commissioned a variety of talented artists to custom create artwork, murals, and clocks, among other things. Perhaps her most popular work—and certainly the best preserved—is the iconic Pann’s Coffee Shop on La Tijera Boulevard in Westchester. (But you’re guaranteed to find some of her other designs, namely Norms on La Cienega Boulevard and Johnnie’s Coffee Shop, pop up regularly on your Instagram feed. ;)
***
Greta Magnusson-Grossman (1906 - 1999): Architect, Furniture Designer, Interior Designer
The Greta Magnusson-Grossman residence (1948). 📸: Hilton + Hyland
Greta Magnusson Grossman was one of the few female professionals to play an integral role in the Los Angeles Modern movement.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, she was the only female architect to own an independent practice in Los Angeles. Grossman had been an award-winning designer in her native Sweden, but fled to America to escape the Nazi regime. She and her husband settled in Los Angeles in the late ‘40s where she wasted no time in setting up her own studio, launching a cutting-edge brand of Swedish Modernism.
She was a hit among a progressive set of Angelenos, with clients including powerful women in the film industry like Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman—fellow Swedes, both—and was lauded by contemporaries and critics. She designed 14 residences in Los Angeles, all based on the Case Study House design principles, including the Nelson Houses in the Hollywood Hills. With their simple Mid-Century Modern lines and their breathtaking views, the Nelson Houses are an excellent example of Grossman's residential designs, and proof that she undoubtedly helped define California Modernism.
Although her work has gained the recognition it deserves over the years, her architectural legacy lies in jeopardy with only a scant handful of her work remaining.
***
Biddy Mason (1818-1891): Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
The Biddy Mason Memorial. 📸: L.A. Conservancy
Bridget "Biddy" Mason is an American hero. Born a slave, Mason endured decades of hardship before winning her freedom and becoming one of Los Angeles' wealthiest citizens, and most celebrated philanthropists. In 1847, at almost thirty years old, Mason walked more than 2,000 miles behind her owner's wagon, from Mississippi to Utah and then California … her small children at her side.
When she arrived here in 1851, California had been a state for less than a year. It had been admitted into the Union as a free state. Even so, many slaves, including Mason, were not free. Black settlers had a tight-knit community in Los Angeles, ensuring newcomers, like Mason, knew their rights under California law.
With their support, Mason sued for and won her freedom in a landmark court case in 1856. Mason became a midwife and parlayed her earnings into real estate, establishing a homestead on what is present-day Broadway and Spring Street in 1866. She continued to invest in land and accumulated a relatively large fortune, carving for herself a prominent place in the community. "Aunt Biddy," as she was lovingly known, founded the First AME Church in her home, opened schools, and was a constant source of support to the growing settlement of Black Angelenos.
The Los Angeles of Mason’s day is all but gone, but you can follow her legacy and remarkable achievements at Biddy Mason Memorial Park. Behind the Bradbury Building, where her original homestead was built, the artwork "Biddy Mason's Place: A Passage of Time" commemorates her incredible journey.
***
Julia Morgan (1872 - 1957): Architect and Engineer
The Marion Davies Guest House (1929). 📸: The Annenberg Community Beach House
Julia Morgan was one of California’s most influential architects. Truly ahead of her time, she was California’s first licensed woman architect and one of the most influential--and prolific-- architects in the state: By the time of her death in 1957, she had designed an estimated 700 buildings, mostly in California.
Perhaps most famous for her work for magnate William Randolph Hearst--namely, Hearts’s Castle in San Simeon--Los Angeles is home to some of her most significant structures: The Herald Examiner Building (1914) and the Marion Davies Estate in Santa Monica (1929), both for W.R. Hearst. The Examiner building was the first large-scale project she would design for Hearst, designed in the Mission Revival style of architecture popular throughout Southern California in the early twentieth century. The red tile roof and blue and yellow tiled domes make the building a visible landmark on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.
Out in Santa Monica, the Annenberg Community Beach House occupies part of what was Morgan’s spectacular estate for actress Marion Davies. Commissioned by Davies’ life partner W.R. Hearst, Morgan designed an estate befitting the major movie star: it was a mansion of 100- plus rooms, featuring an ornate marble swimming pool. As was the case with Hearst Castle to the north, the Marion Davies Beach was a popular and exclusive destination for Old Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The main mansion was demolished in 1956, but the Beach House thrives today as a year-round public beach facility.
***
Norma Merrik Sklarek (1926 - 2012): Architect
The Pacific Design Center (1975). 📸: WikiCommons
Dubbed "the Rosa Parks of architecture," Sklarek's courage, talent, and ambition led to a trailblazing career that forged a place for herself in an industry dominated by men. When she received her B.Arch from Columbia in 1950, Sklarek was just one of two women and the only Black person in the graduating class.
With both her gender and race against her, Sklarek's self-described "stick-to-it" attitude resulted in her becoming the first Black woman to join the American Institute of Architects, in 1959. In 1960, Sklarek moved to Los Angeles and joined the firm Gruen and Associates.
Later, after becoming California's first Black woman to be a licensed architect in 1962, she became the firm's director of architecture—the first woman in the company to hold that position. The California Mart (1963) was one of her earliest projects and she also worked on such iconic projects as the Pacific Design Center's "blue whale" (1975).
In 1985, Sklarek scored another "first" as co-founder of what was then one of the largest woman-owned firms in the country: Siegel, Sklarek and Diamond. She became a mentor to many aspiring young women architects and architects of color:
“In architecture," said Sklarek, "I had absolutely no role model. I’m happy today to be a role model for others that follow.”
