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Pacifico Preservation Adventure: Los Angeles, CA

Posted on: September 11th, 2012 by National Trust for Historic Preservation 2 Comments

 

The National Trust is participating in the 2012 Pacifico Beer summer promotion, Make Adventure Happen, in which we are competing for a portion of $100,000 based on the number of votes we receive (voting instructions at the end of the post).

To raise awareness for the contest, we've partnered with five preservation fans to highlight "Preservation Adventures" in cities and states across America. This week's guest blogger is Lynn Garrett from Los Angeles, California. Lynn is the founder of Hidden Los Angeles, a group that uncovers and promotes the lesser-known history and culture of Los Angeles.

My great-great-grandfather came to Los Angeles in about 1905 or so. A lot of people don’t realize that not everyone in Los Angeles moved here to party like Lindsay Lohan or fulfill any of the other stereotypes. Sure, some of them did -- and you can spot them from a mile away -- but many average American Angelenos live here because it is their home, their heritage, and where their roots are.

There’s also a common misconception that Los Angeles has no important history other than the entertainment business, but the real truth is that Angelenos and tourists drive past incredible American history every day without realizing the treasures that surround them.

Part of the challenge is that our city covers a lot of ground. When something seems overwhelming, it’s just easier to discount it than try to really understand it. But L.A. is more than the entertainment business. It's where the French Dip sandwich and the laser were invented. It's where Julia Child and James Ellroy were born. It's where people still spend their lives trying to figure out how to land on Mars.

There's a lot to love about this city, and always something new to discover. That’s why Hidden Los Angeles caught on so fast with viewers on Facebook. While some large cities are like boutique stores where everything it offers is sitting in the window, Los Angeles is more like a big hot mess of a TJ Maxx.

To the unsuspecting eye, it’s a big place with a lot of cars and people and stuff strewn around -- but if you stop and walk down an aisle and really look, you might find the most amazing thing you never expected to exist, and your life is instantly richer for knowing about it.

The Villages of Los Angeles

It always makes me cringe when I hear of tourists jumping to book a hotel by the airport, driving to the Hollywood and Highland mall, taking a bus tour of the stars’ homes, and then leaving town telling everyone who will listen, “I’ve been to Los Angeles. It was everything I expected. I hate it.”

That's the same thing as booking a hotel room by JFK Airport, taking a cab to Times Square, and going home with the belief that you understand what New York is all about. Los Angeles is a big place (LA County is over 4,000 square miles!), and to understand it you have to look at it a little differently.

L.A. haters will often complain that it makes no sense, that there’s no center, that it’s impossible to walk here, that it’s too spread out and doesn’t have a heart or history. What they don’t realize is that L.A. is actually not a “city” the way other cities are; it’s more like a country with many many different very walkable villages, and each enclave has its own appeal, its own personality, its own history (that you might just not know about), and attracts a certain type of person.

They key to living (or visiting) here happily is figuring out which village to call home or visit, because you’ll likely never be able to see all of them. I'll say it again: Los Angeles County is over 4,000 square miles (with the city itself clocking in at around 468 square miles).

If you want sea air, you can hang out in Santa Monica or one of the other beach cities. If you want to experience more edgy and eclectic versions of local culture that typical tourists don’t, you can empower your inner hipster and wander the villages of Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, or Highland Park. There are also some amazing cultural experiences and food to be found in our international neighborhoods: Little Tokyo, Koreatown, Little Ethiopia, Little India, Chinatown, Little Brazil, Thai Town, Little Armenia, and more.

And if you want to see a side of Los Angeles that feels more like Mayberry, you can travel to villages like Sierra Madre in the San Gabriel Foothills or Downtown El Segundo where the Richmond Grill still makes fresh potato chips at their lunch counter and the Old Town Music Hall still plays silent films on the weekends.

And by the way, don’t worry about Los Angeles’ villages being unsafe to explore: Los Angeles’ crime rate is the lowest it's been since Eisenhower was President.

On a side note to the people who say Downtown L.A. is too remote and has no reason to be where it is, actually there’s an incredibly valid historical reason: The original 1871 pueblo of Los Angeles had to abide by the 1573 Law of the Indies, which stated that all New World construction had to be at least 20 miles from the sea (to avoid pirates), next to a source of fresh water (the flowing 51-mile Los Angeles River), and near a native encampment (so they could put them to work). Believe it or not, if you look at Los Angeles closer and with an open mind, it actually does make sense!

Franklin Canyon

Few people (even native Angelenos) realize that there’s an idyllic hidden lake situated in the canyon just three miles North of Beverly Hills. Not only is this lake the geographic center of Los Angeles, it may also seem incredibly familiar to anyone who sees it.

That’s right. Not only was it the fishing hole for Andy and Opie, Franklin Canyon also doubled as Lake Tahoe in Bonanza and was “The Lagoon” in Creature of the Black Lagoon. Finding the lake is a little tricky, but once you’re there you would never realize you were in Los Angeles. There are hiking trails along the hillsides, pathways to walk, the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, and even a duck pond built by local Boy Scouts.

Note: Be sure to stop at all stop signs in the park, they have been known to give camera tickets!

Pierce Bros Westwood Village Memorial Park

Everyone comes to Los Angeles expecting to hang out with celebrities, but truth be told there is no place in Los Angeles where you can stand feet away from more world-famous iconic superstars than by exploring the local cemeteries.

Morbid? Nahhhh. In the turn of the 20th century, eternal optimist Dr. Hubert Eaton revolutionized the funeral industry by deeming that cemeteries should be joyous places for the living to visit and recreate. So, he took over Tropico Cemetery in Glendale (where my previously mentioned great-great-grandfather is buried), rechristened it as Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and deemed it to be as unlike other cemeteries “as sunlight is unlike darkness, as eternal life is unlike death.”

Similarly, Pierce Bros Westwood Cemetery is also called a "Memorial Park," albeit a far smaller park and mausoleum than Forest Lawn that is unexpectedly hidden at the end of a driveway behind towering Westwood highrises. While indisputably petite in comparison, Pierce Bros is the final resting place for a laundry list of America’s most beloved heartbeat-challenged celebrities… from Marilyn Monroe to Don Knotts to Truman Capote to Frank Zappa (Zappa’s grave is unmarked). Check out the full list of residents here.

If you’d like to be ahead of the game just print out or copy this map link to your phone. Although that map hasn’t been updated to include some of its newer residents, it will give you a head start to finding many of your favorite stars' eternal resting spots.

Farmers Market

I live in Carthay Square, which is an amazing central walking area near Miracle Mile and the Fairfax District (I spent so much time booking visitors into hotels in this area I realized I wanted to live here myself!). Within blocks there’s an incredible amount of culture: LA County Museum of Art, La Brea Tar Pits, Petersen Automotive Museum, Craft and Folk Art Museum, and more.

For a rooftop cocktail overlooking the city, I like to go to The Roof on Wilshire. And if I feel like hanging out in a pub I have my choice between the old Hollywood of Tom Bergin’s House of Irish Coffee (once a favorite of Bing Crosby), Molly Malone’s (a favorite place for local bands to play), or Sheddy’s (a cozy little bar).

All of the delicious cuisine choices my heart could possibly desire can be found by walking up and down 3rd street between La Cienega and Fairfax or up Fairfax towards Canters (one of the most beloved old Jewish delis in town).

But when I can’t decide what to eat and don’t want to wander the street … all the choices I could imagine are in one place at the historic Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax. My grandmother used to take me here when I was little, and it will always be a sentimental favorite of mine. It's home to me.

In the late 19th century, the corner of 3rd and Fairfax was a dairy farm owned by A.F. Gilmore and partners, up until 1905 when they struck oil there while drilling for water and Gillmore Oil Company was born. In 1934, farmers began to rent space to park their trucks on the dirt lot to sell their produce, and Farmers Market grew into a community center over the decades from there, at one point including a ball field, racetrack, antique mall, an orchard, and nursery.

Nowadays the inside of Farmers Market continues to look much the same as it did when I was a kid (with some new restaurant additions amidst the old standbys). And while many of the old surrounding buildings no longer exist, after you’re done exploring Farmers Market you can stop by The Grove (a modern shopping center built next door in 2002) to see a movie or pick up a new outfit at Banana Republic. (By the way, The Grove and Farmers Market can sometimes be a good place to see celebrities … I saw Gordon Ramsey there just a few weeks ago and feel like every time I go in the Apple Store I see someone famous shopping for a new iPhone.)

American Cinematheque

After successfully opening the grand Million Dollar Theater in 1918 (still located on Broadway, Downtown, along with other surviving movie palaces), eccentric showman Sid Grauman spearheaded the building of The Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard to capitalize on the world’s raging obsession with "all things Egypt," thanks to Howard Carter's discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

Even though it was 1922, the theater cost $800,000 to build and took eighteen months to construct, and it’s said that for extra dramatic effect he even hired men in Egyptian guard outfits to patrol the perimeter of the roof during special events as flames rose from torches around them.

The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere, and a few years later Grauman followed its success by building the neighboring (and equally ornately themed) Chinese and El Capitan Theaters. (The Chinese became more famous in later years than any of the others due to the addition of celebrity footprints in its forecourt cement.)

Nowadays the Egyptian Theater is the home of American Cinematheque, an independent nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and public presentation of the moving image and its history. In other words, instead of seeing yet another Seth Rogen buddy film in a multiplex, American Cinematheque constantly offers chances to see incredibly cool and historic films on the big screen in an old-school Hollywood movie palace, and often presents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the cast on stage as they talk about the production.

Many of the theater's offerings are indisputably some of the best films ever made. Case in point: As I write this I’m realizing that they’re showing North By Northwest tonight and I really should go. Cary Grant? Yes please!

You can support our preservation work by voting daily at www.PacificoAdventure.com. A contest code is required to vote -- codes are available on specially marked packages of Pacifico beer, in bars and restaurants, by texting 23000, or by clicking “GET CODE" online.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

Things Are Looking Up for Chicago’s Palmer House Ceilings

Posted on: September 10th, 2012 by National Trust for Historic Preservation 1 Comment

 

Written by Laura Wainman, Editorial Intern

When it comes to maintenance work on historic properties, the word “change” can stir up quite a controversy. Many worry that the integrity of the site will be lost if alterations are not made properly. Lucky for us, the team repairing the iconic ceilings of the Palmer House hotel in Chicago made preservation a priority.


The restored ceiling in the Palmer House grand lobby.

“When you have ceilings that are 86 years old, work is going to need to be done, but we wanted to use the opportunity to analyze [the ceiling] condition and plan for the future,” says Justin Jameson, assistant director of property operations. “We made our ongoing maintenance a preservation tool.”

The Beaux Arts style ceiling is in great condition for its age, says Jameson, and only minor repairs were needed. Beva Gel clear adhesive was used to patch up small flakes, the canvas and plaster were meticulously cleaned, and a color analysis was done in order to bring back to life the vibrant colors of the romantic images.

The work took nearly three months and was organized by Jameson, supervised by Evergreen Architectural Group, and performed by Anthony and Mata Kartsonas, who are well-known art preservationists.


Mata and Anthony Kartsonas work on the ceilings.

“This preservation initiative was more than just a work task for me; it was personal. The ceilings are the signature of the hotel, and known world-wide. It was important to me that we get the job done, but also maintain the integrity of the art,” says Jameson, who was given the ceiling preservation project when he first started at the Palmer House in 2010.

The jaw-dropping murals span the 50-foot length of the lobby, and are composed of 21 individual pieces painted in 1926 in Paris by French artist Louis Pierre Rigal. The images are mostly of love and romanticism from Greek mythology, and, according to Jameson, they transport visitors to a time when people meditated on and appreciated beauty. They have been restored before in 1982 and 1995 by Lido Lippi, who also worked on the Sistine Chapel in the 1950s.


Business as usual in the hotel (despite the scaffolds).

“Our biggest burden was trying to do our work without interrupting the guest experience. We are a living business and our lobby is traversed by God knows how many people daily. To execute our work with scaffolding taking up half the lobby was a huge challenge,” says Jameson.

Thanks to this preservation-minded thinking, the Palmer House, which has played host to guests such as Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, and Prince Charles, will continue to leave a lasting impression on guests for years to come.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

Remembering Jack Boucher, Photographer and Preservationist

Posted on: September 10th, 2012 by Dennis Hockman 1 Comment

 

The National Park Service’s Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) is the nation's first federal preservation program, launched in 1933 as a way of documenting the nation’s architectural heritage. For half a century Jack Boucher traveled the United States for HABS photographing what NPS calls “a complete resume of the builder's art.”

He also photographed places for the Historic American Engineering Record and the Historic American Landscape Survey. But today, his images are appreciated as more than just documents of historic places; they are appreciated as art.

Lauded by preservationists and photographers alike, Boucher’s photographs of colonial-era mansions, civic monuments, structures designed by the greatest American architects, and vernacular buildings help define our evolution as a nation as well as the diverse regions we call home.

His career took him to 49 states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, and he produced thousands of images, all of which are public domain and available through the Library of Congress.

Union Station, Washington, DC — 1977

 
Jack Boucher died September 2, 2012, and was remembered by friends and family five days later at Old Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. Here’s what colleagues from the preservation community had to say about his legacy (emphasis added):

"Jack Boucher was an American master of large-format photography. He is certainly a legend, having lectured to thousands and producing tens of thousands of large-format photographs of historic architecture, landscape architecture, and engineering sites across the United States over the past 50 years." -- Paul D. Dolinsky, Chief of the Historic American Landscapes Survey

"Mr. Boucher leaves an incredible legacy for his work capturing iconic buildings and national parks, and his photography helped raise public awareness of architecture in general." -- Scott Frank, American Institute of Architects

"In the passing of Jack Boucher, the National Park Service has lost one of the true giants of historic preservation. His nearly five decades of photographing historic sites for the Historic American Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record, and Historic American Landscape Survey have provided incalculable contributions to the nation’s largest archive of historical architectural, engineering and landscape documentation that will be used by the preservation community for generations to come." –Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service

"The long career of Jack Boucher as photographer for the Historic American Buildings Survey leaves a legacy that will last much longer. He captured a remarkable range of the built environment that will continue to play a pivotal role in how we see our heritage for decades to come. The absence of a successor at HABS is a sad situation indeed." -- Richard Longstreth, Director of Historic Preservation and Professor of American Civilization, George Washington University

"Jack Boucher was a luminary in the field of preservation. As Chief Photographer for the Historic American Buildings Survey, he documented thousands of important historic places including National Trust Historic Sites such as Cliveden, Lyndhurst, and Belle Grove as well as National Treasures such as Union Station and Haas-Lilienthal. His contribution to the field is unmatched and he was key to taking the pulse of preservation over the past half century. As he documented American architecture he followed the prevailing interests of preservationists from Colonial to Victorian to industrial and beyond. His lens uniquely captured the many of the important styles of our time.” -- Stephanie Meeks, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Jack was one of our last links to the early days of the national historic preservation program in post-World War II America. His monumental body of photographs set the standard for his generation and for generations to follow. He was a craftsman of the highest order, an artist, and teacher. His life's work will far outlast all of us. His passions were his wife Peggy, photography, good food in great restaurants, and his beloved Catholic Church. We have lost a valued and irreplaceable member of the heritage preservation community. We will not see his like again." -- de Teel Patterson (Pat) Tiller, former Deputy Associate Director, Cultural Resources, National Park Service

Dennis Hockman

Dennis Hockman

Dennis Hockman is editor in chief of Preservation magazine. He’s lived all over the United States but currently resides in Baltimore where he is restoring a 1918 center hall colonial.

“Tellin We Story”: Preserving the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor

Posted on: September 5th, 2012 by National Trust for Historic Preservation 1 Comment

 

Written by Laura Wainman, Editorial Intern

My first foray into historic preservation came, albeit begrudgingly, at the age of 10. We were on a family vacation out West, mainly visiting the Grand Canyon, but stopping at what felt like every historic landmark known to man along the way. My dad was a huge fan of any site that boasted the words “oldest”, “largest”, or “historic” on its highway signs, and we inevitably made detours anytime one popped up.

What I couldn’t see at the time was that my dad was instilling in me an appreciation for the historic sites that weave together to form the tapestry of our nation. Flash forward fourteen years, and I have been reading about preservation project undertaken by the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission involving highway signs and heritage centers; I was reminded of my dad’s love of historic sites, and was hooked to learn more.


Historian James Bullock (in period clothing) presents oral history at Fort Mose about the Gullah/Geechee people (2010).

Earlier this summer, the commission released a 294-page preservation plan aimed at increasing public recognition of the culture and history of the Gullah/Geechee people. According to the NPS Special Resource Study, today’s Gullah/Geechee people are “descendants of enslaved Africans … [who were] forced to work on the plantations of coastal South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.”

They are the ancestors of those who helped make the Southern colonies one of the wealthier regions. The geographical isolation of this coastal community actually aided in preserving Gullah/Geechee heritage, such as the people’s own language and traditions like basket-weaving and storytelling.

The Gullah/Geechee plan highlights three pillars that form the basis for the commission’s 10-year management proposal, including education, economic development, and documentation/preservation. Efforts would include implementing a signage system to brand the corridor and point out major historic sites, and developing at least one heritage center in each of the four states.

The management plan would mainly act as a preservation tool to ensure that future generations are aware of the contributions made to the country by the Gullah/Geechee people and to protect the corridor against coastal development that could wipe out the heritage of these people.

The plan has been a long time in the making, starting in 2000 with Congressman Jim Clyburn calling for a study of Gullah resources after fearing the possibility of modernization of historical sites. The National Trust got involved in 2004 when it placed the Gullah/Geechee coast on its 11 Most Endangered list. These efforts led to Congress approving the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor in 2006, and the creation of the only National Heritage Area dedicated to preserving African-American culture.

Perhaps, thanks to today’s preservation efforts of a little-known society, one day I will be able to share the Gullah/Geechee culture with my future children. I’m sure my dad would be more than happy to visit right alongside us.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

Historic Real Estate: Income Properties Edition

Posted on: September 4th, 2012 by National Trust for Historic Preservation 3 Comments

 

Main Street Storefront and Loft -- Council Grove, Kansas

This two-story mixed-use brick Italianate is situated in the heart of the Flint Hills region of Kansas. Certified in 2010 as part of a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, this commercial building boasts original pressed tin ceilings both upstairs and downstairs.

The first floor offers a large gallery main room, office, catering kitchen, and garage. The loft apartment on the second floor has maple floors and a street-level entrance. Early in its history, this 1887 building was a harness shop. In recent decades it has served as an office complex, seminar center, cafe, gift and antique shop. Price tag: $204,000

Bungalows 313 -- Sonoma, California

Originally known as the Lombardo Hotel Annex in the early 20th century, Bungalows 313 is a living piece of Sonoma history. This secluded compound includes the original 1906 stone residence and additional duplex and cottage structures set on over a third of an acre of beautiful mature gardens. The compound is composed of six distinctive bungalows centered around an inviting, lush courtyard, each with a private patio or garden, and all within steps of the historic Sonoma Plaza. Price tag: $2,950,000

307 James Brown Boulevard -- Augusta, Georgia

307 James Brown Boulevard is a Second Empire-style commercial townhouse built c. 1884. The interior is suited for commercial use and/or single or multiple residential units. The building features three and a half stories with approximately 5,000 square feet. The property is just a block away from Augusta's main street in the heart of the central business district. Price tag: $59,900

To see more historic listings across the country, visit Historic Properties for Sale.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.