Pickle Works and the Changing Arts District
Preservation and development seem like contradictory ideas, especially for those who see the two in only black and white terms. Some see old buildings and entire neighborhoods as standing in the way of change. In reality, the idea of reusing old buildings and maintaining neighborhood character is about managing, not stopping, change.
How, then, do we plan for change while still allowing for increased density, affordable housing production, and high-rise development? Rather than either/or, what if it was both? When done thoughtfully and with heritage in mind, growth of this kind can complement and reinforce older neighborhoods.
Intersection of Rose Street and Traction Avenue in the Arts District. Photo by Larry Underhill.
Arts District: Then and Now
Denver has LoDo, or Lower Downtown. San Francisco has SoMa, or South of Market. In Los Angeles, we are fortunate to have the Arts District; no acronym just yet.
Each city has similar warehouse-filled districts that have found new life as studios for artists, housing, and hip restaurants. These attractive places have become destination neighborhoods with several things in common: heritage, old buildings, and irreplaceable authentic community character. It takes time and layers of history for these types of neighborhoods to be formed, and likewise rediscovered and appreciated.
The origins of the Arts District are far removed from its present-day haven where artists and hipsters commingle. It was not until the mid-1990s that it officially became known as the Arts District.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Arts District was but acres of vineyards. Railroads and the citrus industry arrived in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, transforming the area into an industrial warehouse and rail yard district. By the end of World War II, this neighborhood was thoroughly industrialized.
From the 1960s through the early 1980s, the area was well-known for its abandoned warehouses. Beginning in the ‘70s, artists priced out of the burgeoning Venice and Hollywood art scenes made the Arts District their home.
Vacant industrial warehouses made for massive studios at bargain prices. Yet it was not so easy in the beginning, with artists living in unsafe conditions and hiding during building inspections by the fire department. The live/work concept was not legalized until 1981 when the City finally acknowledged the problem and implemented the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program. By rehabilitating vacant warehouses, these artists saved an important part of L.A.’s industrial and transportation past.
James K. Hill and Sons Company Pickle Works/Citizens Warehouse
The first artists opened a number of avant-garde art galleries at the time, including The Art Dock, a drive-by street gallery in an eight-foot loading dock located in the Citizens Warehouse at 1001 East First Street.
Carlton Davis, an artist living in the building from 1981-85, created the innovative approach and invited different artists to display their work. As long as the metal roll-down door was open, The Art Dock was open for viewing.
The Pickle Works building in 2013. Photo by Annie Laskey/L.A. Conservancy.
Before its reuse as an auto-oriented art gallery and residences, the building originally housed the California Vinegar and Pickle Company, and later the James K. Hill and Sons Company Pickle Works (Pickle Works). The 1888 pickle business and building expanded over time, in several phases, until around 1909. The building’s additions used the same structural wood frame system with brick masonry walls and matching design details.
A once popular form of architecture in Los Angeles, the building was a rare surviving example of a Victorian-era brick industrial building.
In the mid-1980s, the Pickle Works building was converted to legal live/work space and housed artist lofts until 2007.
In 2005, an agreement between the owner and the City allowed the City to purchase the building and remove up to fifty feet from it to facilitate the widening of the adjacent First Street Bridge project. Ultimately, the City removed seventy-five feet, including the oldest portion of the building.
By 2013, empty and missing an end wall, the City’s Bureau of Engineering announced plans to demolish the building. While the Conservancy’s action averted that crisis, a new plan emerged last year with Metro’s Division 20 project. The project calls for an expansion of the existing rail yard along the river and immediately north of the Pickle Works building.
The Conservancy and Metro were in the midst of negotiating a possible win-win solution when, on November 9, 2018, the historic Pickle Works building caught fire. The damage was extensive, resulting in a total loss.
The Pickle Works building was declared a total loss after a fire broke out in 2018. Photo by Jessica Hodgdon/L.A. Conservancy.
Heritage Is a Fragile, Limited Commodity
When we lose a building like Pickle Works we lose a touchstone to L.A.’s past, from our industrial roots to our modern day arts scene. It is an issue of scarcity, as historic buildings and the entire Arts District are a scarce resource. Historic buildings are the underpinning of why the Arts District is so successful. People crave authenticity and creative environments with stories to tell.
You can’t instantly build heritage. The Arts District is fragile, with a limited number of historic resources—now one less without Pickle Works. We can successfully blend old and new and guide this neighborhood throughout the coming years. The devil is in the details.
The Conservancy will continue to advocate, take a stand for the Arts District and other fragile neighborhoods, and press for planning that allows for change without losing neighborhood character.