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Announcing: My 2020 Preservation Efforts! by Damian Gatto Having spent many years restoring historic homes, many more immersed in the details of eclectic Southern California architecture, as well as a summer volunteering in the Office of Historic Resources, I eventually realized my calling when I was an undergraduate to research and preserve historic properties in a city that is known for reinventing itself. In this article, I am pleased to announce my historic preservation endeavors for the year 2020. I have listed the entries in the order by which I plan to submit them to the Office of Historic Resources. I will upload the case files of each monument as I submit them to the Historic Resources Commission. UPDATE April 2021: With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, its effects upon (among many other things) the pace of government business, my culmination of graduate school, and my work schedule, my 2020 preservation efforts have been greatly slowed to where I have only been able to submit the nomination for the property on Boylston Street. On top of this, the Office of Historic Resources has changed their rules for nomination submittal to where it must be done in-person and through appointment. I suspect this is their way of pacing down the sheer number of nominations that they receive in a given period of time. I will keep you all updated with new developments as they occur. CLICK "READ MORE" BELOW I. My Current Highest Preservation Priority... The Residence behind 1466-1468 Temple Street (Unofficial address: 372 Laveta Terrace) II. Residence at 427 North Boylston Street The residence at 327 North Laveta Terrace is a rare surviving example of a Vernacular Victorian Cottage and was built in 1890. Aside from its hipped roof and tounge-and-groove channel siding, it is characterized by its decorative wood scrollwork, starlet sunburst panels, decorative wooden scrollwork, turned spindles, and Eastlake bay windows. A true architectural gem dating from the development of one of Los Angeles' first residential neighborhoods outside of Downtown Los Angeles, I am nominating this under two criteria: the first, for exemplification of a style or method of construction; and second, as an example of early residential development. Above left and right: The residence at 427 North Boylston street, highlighting the channel siding, dentils, and eave brackets. (Source: The author.) This humble, single-story, Italianate cottage from 1880 is located on Boylston Street, south of Temple Street, in what was historically the Temple-Beaudry district. For its age, the cottage retains a high level of integrity, still bearing its original shiplap (or channel) siding, Italianate brackets, and fine dentils. The most major alterations are the rear annex addition (probably a bathroom) and the bay window at the front of the residence which has been adapted as an entryway into the second unit. 427 North Boylston was selected not only due to its architectural import, but also due to its being one of the few surviving homes from the early days of development in Temple-Beaudry, and certainly among the oldest, with the year of construction listed as 1880. The decaying condition of the residence was a major contributing factor in nominating it for preservation. This residence, as such, is being nominated under Historic-Cultural Monument Criterion #3 due to its exemplification of a style or method of construction. It is also being nominated as an example of early residential development. III. The Odetta Residence Above: The Odetta Residence. (Source: Google Street View.) I discovered the historical significance of this otherwise ordinary Craftsman Bungalow in East Hollywood completely on accident. Originally, I was doing research on the tract upon which it is located, the City Boundary Tract; as a Los Angeles cartographer, I was enticed by the name of this tract. As I scrolled through census records, I found a distinct and unmistakable name: Odetta Felious. I had known about the singer Odetta since I was very young; my grandfather was an avid listener of folk and blues 78s, and my friend’s father hired her to perform at my friend’s 7th birthday party. I remember going downstairs, where she was performing, to get some more food or something. As I prepared to go back upstairs to play with my friends, my mother stopped me and said, “You should watch this. You will never see this again.” I’ll be darned if she wasn’t right, as Odetta passed away in 2008. However, I knew Odetta by her birth last name—Holmes—not “Felious.” With a minor feeling of disappointment looming, I began to do some more research on this beautiful blues and folk singer. Turns out, she moved to Los Angeles in the late 30s with her mother and stepfather, thereafter adopting his last name, Felious. It was in Los Angeles that Odetta was able to pursue her vocal training, attend integrated schools, and realize her dream of someday performing for audiences around the world. This residence, as such, is being nominated under Historic-Cultural Monument Criterion #2 due to its association with famous personages. IV. Residence at 323 North Union Avenue Above: The residence at 323 North Union Avenue, highlighting the Octagon-style frontage. (Source: The author.) Built in 1885, this electic Victorian in the Westlake area is defined by an Octagon-style front façade—a style and engineering feat that became a rarity after the demise of Bunker Hill. Paired square columns flank each side of the front entry and extend to the second story, topped off by a jerkinhead and shed-style dormer. The northwest and southeast-facing elevations are marked by two centered gables, and the cladding alternates between fishscale and wide clapboards. The immense detail of this residence extends even to the vasiform openings on the crawlspace vents. This residence, as such, is being nominated under Historic-Cultural Monument Criterion #3 due to its exemplification of a style or method of construction. V. Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and School Cities and towns across the Christian world all have their cherished Cathedrals and other halls of worship. In Europe and Mexico, particularly, locals will tell you about how their local cathedral took [ X ] number of years or decades (in a few cases, centuries) to build and how, no matter how religious or irreligious they may be, the Cathedral is still a defining part of their community. Los Angeles has its own grand Cathedrals, and many of them have some kind of preservation protection. Take, for example, the Cathedral of St. Vibiana on Second and Main Streets. The 1876 Italianate Cathedral is one of LA’s most spectacular, and one of the City’s oldest surviving buildings. Despite being preserved as a monument, it was gravely damaged in the Northridge Earthquake and narrowly escaped an illegal demolition shortly thereafter. Although now preserved for generations to come, its current use as an event space is somewhat of a fall from grace. Other protected churches across the City include the Gothic Revival church at Figueroa and Avenue 54 in Highland Park (1923), St. Vincent de Paul Church in West Adams (1925), Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Koreatown (1929), and the Plaza Church across from Olvera Street (1820), another of the City’s oldest surviving structures. However, so too are some of the City's grandest cathedrals vulnerable to development. Enter Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. This Italian Renaissance Revival-style church is not exactly one of Los Angeles’ oldest— ground was broken in 1928—but it is certainly one of the most breathtaking. Architect Thomas Franklin Power designed the focal elements of the church—its arches and bell tower— to be reminiscent of the San Paolo and St. Clement Basilicas in Rome. Italian artist Carlo Wostry painted the Stations of the Cross over a period of a few years. What makes the church’s design so humbling, though, is the interior design by J. Earl Trudeau, which took and additional two decades to complete. Some of this had to do with the economic setbacks of the Great Depression, but just as much had to do with the devotion afforded by those involved to create the most glorious church possible. And they did just that. Granted, this house of worship didn’t take AS MANY decades to complete as some examples around the world (e.g. The Cologne Cathedral or St. Peter’s Basilica), but it still holds the record over any other church in Los Angeles—31 years, from the issuance of the permit on January 30th, 1923, to its [total] completion in March of 1954. The school is an equally beautiful architectural gem, with detailed Classical Revival features. UPDATE May 2021: The Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced the closure of the school after 103 years. Generations of our family friends attended that school, and I had just been a substitute at there during the 2018-2019 school year. Who knows what will happen to the building now. The Blessed Sacrament nomination has been pushed to the bottom of my list of preservation priorities, but if I see any sign that it will be sold off to a developer, I will nominate it for preservation right away. VI. Residence at 5031-5033 Franklin Avenue The Countryside Tudor Revival home at the northwest corner of Franklin and Mariposa Avenues is built with extraordinary detail, more so than most of the neighboring homes on the same stretch of Franklin Avenue. Principally, the residence is marked by its rustic burgundy brick cladding, multi-plane roofing, pedimented window surrounds, and generous fenestration. The residence is certainly noteworthy for its exquisite detail—something you might find in rural Oxfordshire. However, the residence’s distinction as an early work of architect-builder William Douglas Lee is where its principal significance lies. W. Douglas Lee, as he was known (and credited on the permit as such) built some pretty famous works around Los Angeles such as..... oh, you know, the CHATEAU MARMONT…... as well the Textiles Building, the El Royale Hotel, among others. The residence at 5031-33 Franklin Avenue was built in 1928, one year before the Chateau Marmont and several years after Lee’s first major works, representing an example of a residence commissioned to a famed architect by a well-to-do family in early 20th century Los Angeles. This residence, as such, is being nominated under Historic-Cultural Monument Criterion #3 due to its association with famous architects and builders. VII. Residence behind 3052 East 4th Street This well-preserved 1885 Queen Anne Victorian is located at the rear of Ray’s Barber Shop in Boyle Heights, about half a mile west of the City-County line at Indiana Street. It showcases many delicate and ornamental features common of Queen Anne architecture, namely: the multi-plane gabled and mansard roof, sunburst panels, decorative friezes, wraparound porch, and thick clapboards. This residence represents one of the few remaining Victorian Mansions within what used to be Brooklyn Heights, and certainly one of the oldest and most well-preserved. This residence, as such, is being nominated under Historic-Cultural Monument Criterion #3 due to its exemplification of a style or method of construction. (Whoever owned this property in 1949 plopped a boxy commercial space right in front. )
1 Comment
Lupe Breard
1/13/2022 12:32:40 pm
Just curious but what do you think of 1553 Ewing St. LA 90026? Meaning for renovation and historical status?
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