APPENDIX B:

HISTORIC RESOURCES REPORT

Historic Resources Group, Historic Resources Technical Report, Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles, October 31, 2018. [This Page Intentionally Left Blank]

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles October 31, 2018 HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

5 1.0 Executive Summary

6 2.0 Introduction 6 2.1 Purpose 7 2.2 Project Team 8 Figure 1: Project Location

9 3.0 Project Description 9 3.1 Project Summary 9 3.2 Use Permitted 9 3.3 Concurrent Application for Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) Status 9 3.4 Parking Provided 10 3.5 Height and Floor Area Ratio (FAR)

11 4.0 Current Setting

12 5.0 Methodology

13 6.0 Regulatory Framework 13 6.1 Historic Designation Programs 16 6.2 Historic Resources Under CEQA 18 6.3 SurveyLA 20 6.4 Hollywood Community Plan 20 6.5 Hollywood Redevelopment Plan 21 6.6 Historic Significance and Integrity

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

2 25 7.0 Previous Evaluations

26 8.0 History and Description of the Surrounding Area 26 8.1 Description of the Surrounding Area 26 8.2 History of the Surrounding Area

29 9.0 Description of Evaluated Resource

31 10.0 Property History 33 10.1 Alterations

35 11.0 Historic Context 35 11.1 Identification of Historic Contexts 36 11.2 Development of the Early Newspaper Industry in Los Angeles and Hollywood 46 11.3 Development of the Hollywood Citizen-News 51 11.4 Architect Francis D. Rutherford 52 11.5 Art Deco Architecture

53 12.0 Evaluation of Eligibility 53 12.1 Evaluation of Historic Contexts 55 12.2 Evaluation of Integrity 56 12.3 Evaluation of Eligibility 59 12.4 Summary of Evaluations

60 13.0 Discussion of Potential Impacts 60 13.1 Significance Thresholds 61 13.2 Discussion of Potential Impacts 66 13.3 Impacts Analysis Using Los Angeles CEQA Thresholds

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

3 66 13.4 Summary of Potential Impacts

68 14.0 Mitigation Measures and Recommendations 68 14.1 Mitigation Measures 68 14.2 Recommendations for Future Maintenance

70 Sources

72 Appendix A – Building Permit Chronology

77 Appendix B – Character-Defining Features Inventory

84 Appendix C – State of California DPR Forms

87 Appendix D – Photographs of Evaluated Resource

94 Appendix E – Resumes of Authors/Contributors

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

PREPARED FOR 4 Sheppard Mullin 333 South Hope Street 43rd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 Attention: Alfred Fraijo, Jr.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 This report identifies historic resources and analyzes potential impacts in conjunction with the Proposed Project located on the site of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood. The Project will reuse the existing two-story office building for restaurant uses and an event space/banquet facility.

The purpose of this report is to determine if historic resources as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)1 are present at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, and, if so, to identify potential impacts to historic resources caused by the proposed Project. This report is intended to inform environmental review of the proposed Project.

This study included a review of primary and secondary sources related to the development of the Hollywood Citizen-News as well as the newspaper publishing industry in Hollywood and Los Angeles, a field investigation of the Project Site, and analysis and evaluation of the Project Site in consideration of National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR), and City of Los Angeles designation criteria.

Based on visual observation of the property, research of primary and secondary sources, and an analysis of the eligibility criteria for listing at the federal, state, and local levels, HRG has determined that the Hollywood Citizen-News Building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources, and for local designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

Analysis of potential impacts to historical resources reveals that the Project will rehabilitate a building that is eligible for listing in the National Register, the California Register, and for local listing as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. With mitigation to ensure that the Project rehabilitation is conducted in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, the Project will avoid significant impacts to historic resources.

1 California PRC, Section 21084.1.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

2.0 INTRODUCTION 6

2.1 Purpose The purpose of this technical report is to determine if historic resources as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)2 are present at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, and, if so, to identify potential impacts to historic resources caused by the proposed Project. This report is intended to inform environmental review of the proposed Project.

Under CEQA the potential impacts of a project on historic resources must be considered. The purpose of CEQA is to evaluate whether a proposed project may have a significant adverse effect on the environment and, if so, if that effect can be reduced or eliminated by pursuing an alternative course of action or through mitigation measures.

The impacts of a project on a historic resource may be considered an environmental impact. CEQA states that:

A project that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an historical resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment.3

Thus, an evaluation of project impacts under CEQA requires a two-part inquiry: (1) a determination of whether the project site contains or is adjacent to a historical resource or resources, and if so, (2) a determination of whether the proposed project will result in a “substantial adverse change” in the significance of the resource or resources. This report investigates the proposed Project Site to determine if historic resources exist either within or adjacent to its boundaries and analyzes project impacts for any adverse change in the significance of such resources.

This report contains:

• A review of the existing property situated on the Project Site

• A review of any previous historic evaluations through historic survey, environmental review, or other official action

2 California PRC, Section 21084.1. 3 Ibid.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

• Analysis and evaluation of any potential historic resources 7

• Review of the required consideration of historic resources under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

2.2 Project Team Research, evaluation, field inspection, and analysis were performed by Paul Travis, AICP, Principal and Senior Preservation Planner; John LoCascio, AIA, Principal and Senior Preservation Architect; and Heather Goers, Architectural Historian. All are qualified professionals who meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

Figure 1: Project Location 8

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

3.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION4 9

3.1 Project Summary The Project consists of the change of use from an existing two-story office building to a 7,108-square-foot ground-floor restaurant, a 6,667-square-foot ground-floor restaurant, and a 15,788-square-foot flexible event space/banquet facility on the second floor. An existing basement is to remain and serve as back-of-house/storage for the ground floor restaurants. The Applicant will be requesting a Site Plan Review for the change of use which results in a net increase of 1,000 or more average daily vehicle trips.

The Project also includes the sale and dispensing of full-line alcoholic beverages for on- site consumption with the operation of the two ground floor restaurants and second floor event space/banquet facility, operated independent of one another. The Applicant requests an MCUB for the three tenant spaces, with operation seven days per week, from 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM daily.

The Applicant is concurrently pursuing a nomination of the building as a historic cultural monument (HCM) with the City’s Historic Preservation Commission and the Office of Historic Resources. See Cultural Heritage Commission Case No. CHC-2018-3629- HCM.

3.2 Use Permitted Pursuant to LAMC § 12.16, restaurants and event spaces/banquet facilities are a permitted use as-of-right in the C4 commercial zone.

3.3 Concurrent Application for Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) Status Concurrently with this MCUP application, the Applicant has submitted and is pursuing an application with the Department of Historic Resources to designate the Citizen News Building as a HCM, subject to approval of the City’s Cultural Heritage Commission. This request for a SPR and MCUP is made in reliance upon approval of the request for HCM status.

3.4 Parking Provided No on-site parking is currently provided or required as part of the change of use of a historic structure pursuant to LAMC § 12.21.A.4.x. As a practical matter, the Applicant recognizes the need to accommodate patrons who travel to the Site by automobile and

4 Project description as provided by the Applicant.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

intends to make arrangements with adjacent properties to lease parking spaces for use 10 by Citizen News.

3.5 Height and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) The property is located within Height District 2, with a D Limitation that restricts FAR to 2.0:1 per Ordinance 165,660. Due to the age of the building, it is difficult to determine the zoning defined floor area that would have existed. Using the gross floor are identified in as-built drawings, the property has a current FAR of approximately 2.46:1. While this exceeds the permitted FAR on the Site, the property would be grandfathered as it existed prior to the effective date of this Ordinance, pursuant to LAMC § 12.23.A.

The Project consists of the change of use of the office space into approximately 36,656 square feet of floor area for the two ground-floor restaurants and second-floor event space/banquet facility. The proposed layout would reduce the overall floor area to approximately 1.8:1, which is below the D limitation of an FAR of 2.0:1. The Project would be developed within the existing 50,720 square foot building and no substantial remodel of the height or massing of the existing Citizen News Building is anticipated or proposed.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

4.0 CURRENT SETTING5 11 The Site is located along a densely populated commercial corridor in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, along Wilcox Avenue. Specifically, the Site is located southwest of the intersection of Selma Avenue and Wilcox Avenue. The Site is zoned C4-2D, or Regional Center Commercial in Height District 2 with Development Limitations, and is currently developed with a two-story, approximately 50,720 square feet building with a lot size of approximately 20,592 square feet.

The building is formerly home to Citizen News, a media company. Constructed in 1932, the Art Deco-style structure was the production headquarters for the Hollywood Citizen News. The newspaper operated under various owners from the 1930’s to the early 1970’s. The building underwent a significant renovation and remodel in 2006 to attract media and entertainment-related office and production tenants and has operated as an office building since that time.

As the Site is strategically situated along an active commercial corridor with the backdrop of a highly developed urban neighborhood in the heart of Hollywood, the placement of restaurants and event space/banquet facility on what is currently a vacant building will bring services to meet an increasing demand in the area. The Project allows the activation of a vacant space to restaurants and event space/banquet facility contributing to the vitality of the region and the growth in the surrounding area.

5 Description of current setting as provided by the Applicant.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

5.0 METHODOLOGY 12 Sources consulted as part of this investigation included primary and secondary literature regarding the history of the newspaper publishing industry in Los Angeles and Hollywood and the associated development of the Hollywood Citizen-News, as well as similar literature regarding publishers Harlan G. Palmer and Ira Copley and earlier titles including the Hollywood Citizen and the Hollywood News. Archival sources consulted included but were not limited to historical Los Angeles Times articles, historical aerial photographs, and historical maps including tract, assessor, topographical, and Sanborn Insurance Co. fire insurance maps.

Contemporary planning documents were also consulted, which included but were not limited to previous environmental evaluations conducted within the Project site, the California State Historic Resources Inventory for Los Angeles County, California Department of Parks and Recreation Historic Resources Inventory Forms, and the 2010 Community Redevelopment Agency Historic Survey of the Hollywood Redevelopment Area conducted by Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Inc.

Topographical maps available at HistoricAerials.com were reviewed for the Project Site from the following years: 1894, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1913, 1915, 1921, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1955, 1963, 1968, 1975, 1982, 1995, 2012, and 2015.

Tract maps associated with the Project Site, available online through the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, were reviewed and included the following: Map of Hollywood (MR028-59, 1888); Map of Blocks 1, 2, 15 and 16 of Hollywood (MR043- 68, 1892); and Map of H. J. Whitley Tract No. 2 (TR0002-031b, 1902).

Digital Sanborn Insurance Company fire insurance maps, available through the Los Angeles Public Library, were also reviewed for the Project Site from the following years: 1907, 1913, 1919, and 1950.

Historical aerial photographs available at HistoricAerials.com were reviewed for the Project Site from the following years: 1948, 1952, 1954, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1989, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

6.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 13

6.1 Historic Designation Programs A property may be designated as historic by National, State, and local authorities. In order for a building to qualify for listing in the National Register or the California Register, it must meet one or more identified criteria of significance. The property must also retain sufficient architectural integrity to continue to evoke the sense of place and time with which it is historically associated.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places is an authoritative guide to be used by Federal, State, and local governments, private groups and citizens to identify the Nation's cultural resources and to indicate what properties should be considered for protection from destruction or impairment.6 The National Park Service administers the National Register program. Listing in the National Register assists in preservation of historic properties in several ways including: recognition that a property is of significance to the nation, the state, or the community; consideration in the planning for federal or federally assisted projects; eligibility for federal tax benefits; and qualification for Federal assistance for historic preservation, when funds are available.

To be eligible for listing and/or listed in the National Register, a resource must possess significance in American history and culture, architecture, or archaeology. Listing in the National Register is primarily honorary and does not in and of itself provide protection of a historic resource. The primary effect of listing in the National Register on private owners of historic buildings is the availability of financial and tax incentives. In addition, for projects that receive Federal funding, a clearance process must be completed in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Furthermore, state and local regulations may apply to properties listed in the National Register.

The criteria for listing in the National Register follow established guidelines for determining the significance of properties. The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects:

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or

6 36CFR60, Section 60.2.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or 14

C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or

D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. 7

In addition to meeting any or all of the criteria listed above, properties nominated must also possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

California Register of Historical Resources The California Register is an authoritative guide in California used by State and local agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify the State's historic resources and to indicate what properties are to be protected, to the extent prudent and feasible, from substantial adverse change.8

The criteria for eligibility for listing in the California Register are based upon National Register criteria. These criteria are:

1. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States.

2. Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national history.

3. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region or method of construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values.

4. Has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, California or the nation.

7 36CFR60, Section 60.3. 8 California PRC, Section 5023.1(a).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

The California Register consists of resources that are listed automatically and those that 15 must be nominated through an application and public hearing process. The California Register includes the following:

• California properties formally determined eligible for (Category 2 in the State Inventory of Historical Resources), or listed in (Category 1 in the State Inventory), the National Register of Historic Places.

• State Historical Landmark No. 770 and all consecutively numbered state historical landmarks following No. 770. For state historical landmarks preceding No. 770, the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) shall review their eligibility for the California Register in accordance with procedures to be adopted by the State Historical Resources Commission (commission).

• Points of historical interest which have been reviewed by the OHP and recommended for listing by the commission for inclusion in the California Register in accordance with criteria adopted by the commission. 9

Other resources which may be nominated for listing in the California Register include:

• Individual historic resources.

• Historic resources contributing to the significance of a historic district.

• Historic resources identified as significant in historic resources surveys, if the survey meets the criteria listed in subdivision (g).

• Historic resources and historic districts designated or listed as city or county landmarks or historic properties or districts pursuant to any city or county ordinance, if the criteria for designation or listing under the ordinance have been determined by the office to be consistent with California Register criteria.

Local landmarks or historic properties designated under any municipal or county ordinance. 10

9 California PRC, Section 5023.1(d). 10 California PRC, Section 5023.1(e).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments 16 The City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Ordinance, enacted in 1962, allows for the designation of buildings and sites as individual local landmarks in the City of Los Angeles. These landmarks are known as “Historic-Cultural Monuments.”

Section 22.171.7 of Article 1, Chapter 9, Division 22 of the City of Los Angeles Administrative Code defines a Historic-Cultural Monument as “any site (including significant trees or other plant life located on the site), building or structure of particular historic or cultural significance to the City of Los Angeles.” A proposed Monument may be designated by the City Council upon the recommendation of the Cultural Heritage Commission if it meets at least one of the following criteria:

1. Is identified with important events of national, state, or local history, or exemplifies significant contributions to the broad cultural, economic or social history of the nation, state, city or community;

2. Is associated with the lives of historic personages important to national, state, city, or local history; or

3. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction; or represents a notable work of a master designer, builder, or architect whose individual genius influenced his or her age.

Designation recognizes the unique architectural value of certain structures and helps to protect their distinctive qualities. Any interested individual or group may submit nominations for Historic-Cultural Monument status. Buildings may be eligible for Historic-Cultural Monument status if they retain their historic design and materials. Those that are intact examples of past architectural styles or that have historical associations may meet the criteria listed in the Cultural Heritage Ordinance.

6.2 Historic Resources Under CEQA CEQA requires that environmental protection be given significant consideration in the decision-making process. Historic resources are included under environmental protection. Thus, any project or action which constitutes a substantial adverse change on a historic resource also has a significant effect on the environment and shall comply with the State CEQA Guidelines.

When the California Register of Historical Resources was established in 1992, the Legislature amended CEQA to clarify which cultural resources are significant, as well as which project impacts are considered to be significantly adverse. A “substantial adverse

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

change” means “demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration such that the 17 significance of a historical resource would be impaired.”

CEQA defines a historic resource as a resource listed in, or determined eligible for listing, in the California Register of Historical Resources. All properties on the California Register are to be considered under CEQA. However, because a property does not appear on the California Register does not mean it is not significant and therefore exempt from CEQA consideration. All resources determined eligible for the California Register are also to be considered under CEQA.

The CEQA statute provides that a historic resource is a resource that is:

• Listed in the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register);

• Determined eligible for the California Register by the State Historical Resources Commission; or

• Included in a local register of historic resources.

The courts have interpreted CEQA to create three categories of historic resources:

• Mandatory historical resources are resources “listed in, or determined to be eligible for listing in, the California Register of Historical Resources.”

• Presumptive historical resources are resources “included in a local register of historical resources, as defined in subdivision (k) of Section 5020.1, or deemed significant pursuant to criteria set forth in subdivision (g) of Section 5024.1” of the Public Resources Code, unless the preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that the resource is not historically or culturally significant.

• Discretionary historical resources are those resources that are not listed but determined to be eligible under the criteria for the California Register of Historical Resources.11

To simplify the first three definitions provided in the CEQA statute, a historic resource is a resource that is:

• Listed in the California Register of Historical Resources (California Register);

11 League for the Protection of Oakland’s Architectural and Historic Resources vs. City of Oakland, 52 Cal. App. 4th 896, 906-7 (1997).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

• Determined eligible for the California Register by the State Historical Resources 18 Commission; or

• Included in a local register of historic resources.

Section 15064.5 of the CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3) supplements the statute by providing two additional definitions of historical resources, which may be simplified in the following manner. A historic resource is a resource that is:

• Identified as significant in a historical resource survey meeting the requirements of Public Resources Code 5024.1 (g);

• Determined by a Lead Agency to be historically significant or significant in the architectural, engineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military, or cultural annals of California. Generally, this category includes resources that meet the criteria for listing on the California Register (Pub. Res. Code SS5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4852).

The fact that a resource is not listed in, or determined eligible for listing in, the California Register, not included in a local register of historic resources, or not deemed significant pursuant to criteria set forth in subdivision (g) of Section 5024.1, does not preclude a lead agency from determining that the resource may be a “historic resource” for purposes of CEQA.

Properties formally determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places are automatically listed in the California Register. Properties designated by local municipalities can also be considered historic resources. A review of properties that are potentially affected by a project for historic eligibility is also required under CEQA.

6.3 SurveyLA The Project Site is located within the City of Los Angeles, which has been subject to a citywide historic resources survey known as SurveyLA. SurveyLA, the Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, is the City’s comprehensive program to identify and document potential historic resources throughout the City of Los Angeles. SurveyLA is

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

intended to provide baseline information on historic resources to inform planning 19 decisions and support City policy goals and processes.12

As part of SurveyLA, the Office of Historic Resources has developed a Historic Context Statement (HCS) to provide a framework for identifying and evaluating potential historic resources within the City of Los Angeles. The HCS utilizes the Multiple Property Documentation (MPD) format developed by the National Park Service for the National Register of Historic Places and complies with the standards and guidelines set forth by the National Park Service and the California Office of Historic Resources.13 This approach organizes the themes, trends, and patterns of history shared by properties into historic contexts; identifies and describes historic resources or property types that represent the contexts; and provides specific standards to guide the evaluation of significance. The SurveyLA HCS is organized into nine broad historical contexts, which are specific to Los Angeles and focus on the development of the City during the period dating from 1780 to 1980, and further subdivided into themes and sub-themes that reflect the various historical trends and patterns of events associated with each context.14

Some parts of Los Angeles were surveyed concurrent with SurveyLA under the direction of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and were not reevaluated by SurveyLA.15 The subject property at falls within the boundaries of the Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area (as described below) and therefore is located outside the area examined by SurveyLA during the field survey process.

12 “SurveyLA Findings and Reports,” SurveyLA: Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, https://preservation.lacity.org/surveyla-findings-and-reports (accessed July 2018). Resources identified through SurveyLA are not designated resources; designation is a separate process that requires public hearings and property owner notification. 13 “Historic Context,” SurveyLA: Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, https://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/SurveyLA_HistoricContextStatementOutline_July2018.pdf (accessed July 2018). 14 “Los Angeles Historic Context Statement, Context Outline.” SurveyLA: Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. https://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/SurveyLA_HistoricContextStatementOutline_July2018.pdf (accessed July 2018). 15 “SurveyLA Findings and Reports,” SurveyLA: Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, https://preservation.lacity.org/surveyla-findings-and-reports (accessed July 2018).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

6.4 Hollywood Community Plan 20 The Project Site is located within the planning boundary of the Hollywood Community Plan, adopted in December 1988. The Hollywood Community Plan is one of thirty-five Community Plans that comprise the Land Use Element of the City of Los Angeles’ General Plan. The General Plan is the City’s fundamental policy document, directing the City’s future growth and development.

The 1988 Hollywood Community Plan does not specifically address historic resources; however, a stated objective of the 1988 Plan is to “encourage the protection and enhancement of the varied and distinctive residential character of the Community…” In addition, Housing Policy in the 1988 Plan version “encourages the protection and enhancement of well-defined residential neighborhoods in Hollywood through (1) application of Historic Preservation Overlay Zones where appropriate, and/or (2) preparation of neighborhood preservation plans which further refine and tailor development standards to neighborhood character.”16

The Plan also reiterates that it is “the City’s policy that the Hollywood Community Plan incorporate the sites designated on the Cultural and Historical Monuments Element of the General Plan.”17

6.5 Hollywood Redevelopment Plan The Project Site is contained within the Hollywood Redevelopment Project area generally bounded by Franklin Avenue on the north, Serrano Avenue on the east, Santa Monica Boulevard and Fountain Avenue on the south, and La Brea Avenue on the west. The Hollywood Project area was established in 1984 by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). The CRA was dissolved on February 6, 2012, and administration of the Hollywood Redevelopment Project area has been transferred to the CRA/LA, a Designated Local Authority (DLA) and successor to the CRA, and may transfer to the City Planning Department.

16 “New Community Plan Program: Hollywood Community Plan Update,” http://cityplanning.lacity.org/cpu/hollywood/HwdPlanUpdates.htm (accessed March 2017). 17 “New Community Plan Program: Hollywood Community Plan Update,” http://cityplanning.lacity.org/cpu/hollywood/HwdPlanUpdates.htm (accessed March 2017).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

The Hollywood Redevelopment Project’s goals include “the retention, restoration and 21 appropriate reuse of existing buildings, groupings of buildings, and other physical features especially those having significant historic and/or architectural value and ensure that new development is sensitive to these features through land use and development criteria.”18 Policies and guidelines for the preservation, rehabilitation, and retention of historic properties are discussed in Section 5.11 of the Redevelopment Plan.19

As part of its responsibilities in implementing the Hollywood Redevelopment Plan, the CRA compiled historic survey data on properties within the Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area. Property evaluations from historic surveys in 1986, 1997, and 2003 were compiled in a data table that was made available on the CRA website. A more recent intensive-level survey of the Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area was conducted in 2010.20 It provides relevant information regarding the status of properties within the redevelopment area and is used by agencies and the community to identify potential historic resources.21

6.6 Historic Significance and Integrity Historic Significance and Periods of Significance The definition of historic significance used by the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) in its administration of the California Register is based upon the following definition used by the National Park Service for the National Register.22

18 Section 3 [300.11], “New Community Plan Program: Hollywood Community Plan Update,” http://cityplanning.lacity.org/cpu/hollywood/HwdPlanUpdates.htm (accessed March 2017). 19 The CRA released draft Urban Design Guidelines for the Hollywood Boulevard District and Franklin Avenue Design District areas in the autumn of 2011 to guide development within the Hollywood Redevelopment Plan area. These guidelines “encourage preservation, restoration, and appropriate reuse of historically or architecturally significant structures.” 20 Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Inc., Historic Resources Survey: Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area, prepared for the Community Redevelopment Agency, February 2010. 21 The 2010 Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area Survey results can be viewed on the SurveyLA Findings and Reports website at http://preservation.lacity.org/surveyla-findings-and-reports#Hollywood (accessed March 2017). 22 U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Nomination Form (Washington, DC: 1997), https://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb16a/ (accessed April 2018.)

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

Historic significance is [defined as] the importance of a property to the 22 history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture of a community, State, or the nation. It is achieved in several ways:

• Association with important events, activities or patterns

• Association with important persons

• Distinctive physical characteristics of design, construction, or form

• Potential to yield important information

A property may be significant individually or as part of a grouping of properties.

In addition to the above criteria, significance is defined by the area of history in which the property made important contributions and by the period of time when these contributions were made.23 The National Park Service defines this period of time as the period of significance.

The period of significance is the length of time when a property was associated with important events, activities or persons, or attained the characteristics which qualify it for…listing. The period of significance usually begins with the date when significant activities or events began giving the property its historic significance; this is often a date of construction.24

The period of significance usually begins with the date when significant activities or events began giving the property its historic significance; this is often a date of construction.25 The period of significance can be as brief as a single year; many, however, span many years and consist of beginning and closing dates.”26 Identification and definition of the period is based on “specific events directly related to the

23 National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Nomination Form. 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

significance of the property,” for example, the date of construction, years of ownership, 23 or length of operation as a particular entity.27

Integrity Historic integrity is the ability of a property to convey its significance and is defined as the “authenticity of a property’s historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics that existed during the property’s historic period.”28 The National Park Service defines seven aspects of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. These qualities are defined as follows:

• Location is the place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event took place.

• Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property.

• Setting is the physical environment of a historic property.

• Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property.

• Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory.

• Feeling is a property's expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time.

• Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.29

27 National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Nomination Form. 28 Ibid. 29 U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, by the staff of the National Register of Historic Places, finalized by Patrick W. Andrus, edited by Rebecca H. Shrimpton (Washington, DC: 1990; revised for Internet, 2002), https://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb15/ (accessed April 2018).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

While it is not necessary for a property to retain all seven aspects of integrity, or indeed, 24 “all its historic physical features or characteristics,”30 the National Park Service notes that the property must retain “the essential physical features that enable it to convey its historic identity. The essential physical features are those features that define both why a property is significant and when it was significant.”31

Character-Defining Features Every historic building is unique, with its own identity and its own distinctive character. Character-defining features are those visual aspects and physical features or elements, constructed during the property’s period of significance, that give the building its historic character and contribute to the integrity of the property. Character-defining features should be considered in the planning and design of a project to preserve them to the maximum extent possible. Character-defining features can identify the building as an example of a specific building type, usually related to the building’s function; they can exemplify the use of specific materials or methods of construction, or embody a historical period or architectural style; and they can convey the sense of time and place in buildings associated with significant events or people.

30 National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. 31 Ibid.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

7.0 PREVIOUS EVALUATIONS 25 Since at least the 1990s, the subject property has been subject to previous evaluations, largely through historic resource survey. These previous investigations indicate a recognition of the historic significance of the site. Previous historic studies, surveys, and evaluations of the subject property are reviewed in this section.

In 2010, Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Inc. completed an intensive historic resources survey of the Hollywood Community Redevelopment Area.32 The 2010 survey report notes that three previous historic resource surveys had been conducted in the Hollywood area: one in 1986, one in 1997, and one in 2003.33 A property index prepared in conjunction with the survey report includes status codes assigned in those previous surveys, when available, as well as those assigned in 2008 through field survey undertaken by Chattel in preparation for the 2010 report. The survey findings for the subject property are listed in the Chattel report as follows:

• The subject property, noted as the “Hollywood Citizen News Building” at 1545 Wilcox Avenue was surveyed as an individual building in the 2010 survey and assigned a status code of 3S, or “Appears eligible for the National Register as an individual property through survey evaluation”.34

• Previous evaluations recorded by Chattel indicate that the property was also assigned a status code of 3S in 2003 and 1997; no evaluation was recorded by Chattel for the 1986 survey.

32 Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Inc., Historic Resources Survey: Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area, prepared for the Community Redevelopment Agency, February 2010. 33 Historic Resources Survey: Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area., 7. 34 For copies of the DPR forms completed in association with the 2010 survey, please see Appendix C.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

8.0 HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SURROUNDING AREA 26

8.1 Description of the Surrounding Area The subject property is located at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue in the central portion of Hollywood. The property is situated on the west side of Wilcox Avenue, between Selma Avenue to the north and Sunset Boulevard to the south. The property is flanked to the south by a vacant parcel currently under development; to the west by a surface parking lot currently being developed; to the north by a five-story hotel building; and to the east by Wilcox Avenue. Surrounding land uses consist primarily of low- to mid-rise commercial development.

The Project vicinity is highly urbanized and generally built out. The Project Site is located approximately one block south of Hollywood Boulevard and the commercial hub of Hollywood, which serves as an entertainment center of regional importance and is characterized by a high concentration of tourist-oriented and entertainment-related commercial uses. Central Hollywood, where the Project Site is located, is characterized by a mix of high-density commercial and multi-family residential development along major corridors such as Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard, and by primarily low- and mid-rise commercial buildings concentrated along secondary corridors. Lower-density residential development with duplexes, courtyard apartment buildings, and other multi- family residential buildings occurs north and south of Hollywood Boulevard, transitioning to predominantly single-family homes in the Hollywood Hills to the north.

8.2 History of the Surrounding Area The area that became Hollywood was originally part of two former Spanish land grants: Rancho La Brea and Rancho Los Feliz.35 These two ranchos were strategically oriented along the Cahuenga Pass, a major transportation corridor to the north, and the growing city of Los Angeles to the south. The Cahuenga Pass encompassed part of the Camino Real del Rey, which was the principal coastal passageway and used continuously as a trail facilitating commerce, livestock transport, and travel since the earliest Spanish exploration. Hollywood began as a small agricultural community in the nineteenth century. Farmers, many of whom were European immigrants, experimented in cultivating a wide variety of exotic fruits, vegetables, and flowers. A freight rail line was first constructed in 1887-1888, linking Hollywood and the neighboring community of

35 Portions of the historic context statement have been excerpted and adapted from the “SurveyLA Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey Report: Hollywood Community Plan Area,” August 2011, revised November 2015, prepared for the City of Los Angeles by Historic Resources Group, Pasadena, CA, http://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/HistoricResourcesSurveyReport_Hollywood.pdf (accessed June 2017).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

Colegrove to downtown Los Angeles. The fields and orchards of the nineteenth century 27 increasingly gave way to speculative real estate development by the turn of the twentieth century.

In 1900, the Cahuenga Valley Improvement Association was established to guide real estate development in the area, just as the first electric track down the length of Prospect Avenue (present day Hollywood Boulevard) was completed.36 Other streetcar lines soon followed, including along Melrose Avenue, La Brea Avenue, Santa Monica Boulevard, Highland Avenue, Vine Street, Western Avenue, Vermont Avenue, Virgil/Hillhurst Avenues, Kenmore Avenue, Fountain Avenue, Talmadge Street, Hyperion Avenue, Los Feliz Boulevard, and Beachwood Drive.

In 1903, the City of Hollywood officially incorporated with a population of 700. In 1904, gas lines were laid, the streets were numbered, and a single track of the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad was placed perpendicular to the electric track already on Prospect Avenue.37 As the area became increasingly developed, churches, clubs, and schools were built in proximity to the grand single-family residences that lined Hollywood Boulevard and other nearby streets. By 1909, like many of its neighboring communities, Hollywood had experienced immense growth. While its population in 1903 was a mere 700, by 1909 it had reached 4,000.38 Though dwarfed by the neighboring city of Los Angeles with 100,000 inhabitants, the small City of Hollywood quickly began to experience water shortages, drainage issues, and sewage problems, and less than ten years later Hollywood began to reconsider its status as an independent city.39 In February of 1910, Hollywood was consolidated to the City of Los Angeles to take advantage the City’s established sewer system and the anticipated new water supply created by the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which was then under construction. The pre-consolidation area boundary is generally defined by the southernmost portion of the Hollywood Hills to the north, Fountain Avenue to the south, Crescent Heights Boulevard to the west, and Mariposa Street to the east.

Although now formally part of the City of Los Angeles, Hollywood continued to maintain its own identity, which was tied directly to the growth of the motion picture industry. By this time Hollywood was no longer a small independent city struggling to

36 Gregory Paul Williams, The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History (BL Press LLC, 2011), 29. 37 Williams, 43. 38 Bruce T. Torrence, Hollywood: The First 100 Years (Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Chamber of Commerce & Fiske Enterprises, 1979), 9. 39 Williams, 52-53.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

deal with infrastructural problems, but a thriving suburb with a rapidly growing 28 population and the home of a significant national industry. As the popularity of motion pictures grew, more physical facilities related to film production were constructed in Hollywood, and the industry contributed significantly to the area’s overall industrial growth. From the 1910s through the boom of the 1920s and into the 1930s, Hollywood experienced tremendous population growth. Hollywood reached its heyday in the 1920s, when a large number of movie studios, theaters, and shopping centers filled Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards between Vine Street and Highland Avenue. To accommodate the increased demand for housing as well as services and amenities, residential and commercial development in Hollywood increased dramatically. The large parcels of land which were once occupied by a bucolic landscape of citrus groves and single-family residences were disappearing, replaced more and more frequently by dense urban development.

As the Hollywood district began to grow more commercial in nature beginning in the late teens, it also began to lose its status as a prestigious address. Many of the mansions that lined Hollywood Boulevard were abandoned by 1925, as developments such as Hancock Park and Beverly Hills drew elite residents away from the district.40 In the mid- to-late 1930s, the glamorous image of Hollywood as a national fashion and entertainment destination began to fade. This was due in part to the effects of the Great Depression. During this era, the district experienced little in the way of growth but much in the way of increased activity in a manner that reinforced Hollywood’s role as a hub between Los Angeles and adjacent communities.

40 Williams, 132.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

9.0 DESCRIPTION OF EVALUATED RESOURCE 29 The property at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue is located on the west side of Wilcox Avenue between Selma Street and Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.41 The property is flanked to the south by a vacant parcel currently under development; to the west by a surface parking lot currently being developed; to the north by a five-story hotel building; and to the east by Wilcox Avenue. The Citizen- News Building occupies most of the property; the building is built to the property lines on the north, east, and south, with covered driveways along the north and south, and has a narrow paved yard on the west.

The Citizen-News Building was constructed in 1930 in the Art Deco style. The building is two stories in height and is of steel frame and board-formed, cast-in-place concrete construction. It has a rectangular plan and a flat roof with saw tooth skylights and a parapet. The primary (east) façade is finished in cement plaster render with a continuous base of granite veneer. It is symmetrically composed of thirteen bays framed by fluted piers, each topped with a glazed architectural terra cotta panel. The piers support a flat frieze with geometric fretwork terra cotta panels, topped by a continuous decorative cornice. The north and south end bays at the first story are open vehicle portals to the covered driveways that flank the building. Fenestration consists primarily of recessed, fixed, metal-framed picture windows with divided-light transom lights and geometrically patterned transom bars at the first story; and recessed, divided-light, metal-sash awning and fixed windows with projecting plaster sills at the second story. Each window bay has a surround of glazed architectural terra cotta tile. Two bays have first-story bay windows with metal frames and decorative metal transom panels and cresting. The primary entrance is symmetrically located in the central bay and consists of two glazed, metal doors flanking a center light, with divided-light transom lights, decorative cast metal transom panels, and geometrically patterned metal transom bars. The entrance is framed with a projecting surround clad in glazed architectural terra cotta tile. A terra cotta panel in the frieze above the primary entrance has metal letters that spell out “Hollywood News Bldg.” and a metal flagpole. A neon blade sign spelling out “Citizen News” is mounted on the wall immediately north of the primary entrance bay. A secondary entrance, consisting of a pair of glazed wood doors, is asymmetrically located in a projecting metal-framed bay.

The south, west, and north façades are utilitarian in nature and are asymmetrically composed. The walls are of expressed board-formed concrete construction. Projecting

41 For photographs of the evaluated resource and its existing conditions, please see Appendix D.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

second-story bays over the driveways on the north and south façades are supported on 30 square concrete columns. Fenestration consists primarily of divided light, metal sash awning and fixed windows in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some windows have been added or replaced with contemporary glazed metal storefront systems. It appears that several bays on the west façade have been infilled and finished with cement plaster, scored to resemble adjacent board-formed concrete. There are areas of concrete block infill on the north façade. A secondary entrance at the rear (west) portion of the north façade consists of a pair of glazed metal doors in a metal-framed glass wall.

The secondary entrance on Wilcox Avenue opens to a lobby with glazed tile flooring, granite base, combed plaster walls and piers, paneled wood wainscot, coffered wood and plaster ceiling, and a tiled stair with metal balustrade and wood handrails. Except for the editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby), the interior of the Citizen-News Building has been completely altered and consists of exposed concrete structure and inserted drywall partitions.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

10.0 PROPERTY HISTORY 31 The property at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, which is currently occupied by the Hollywood Citizen-News Building, was first subdivided in 1892 as part of Hollywood. A subsequent subdivision in 1902 as part of the H. J. Whitley Tract No. 2 gave the area its current arrangement. This tract divided the land at the southwest corner of Selma Avenue and Wilcox Avenue into seven lots: six lots of relatively standard size with street frontage facing Wilcox Avenue, and a seventh larger parcel to the west which fronted Selma Avenue. The subject property occupies lots 2, 3, and 4 of this tract.

By 1907, when the Sanborn Map Company first published fire insurance maps for the area, the lots which currently compose the subject property were already developed with modest single-family dwellings. Subsequent updated maps published in 1913 and 1919 confirm that these residences remained extant, with minor additions made to individual properties. In October 1929, building permits were filed for the relocation of residences on Lots #2 and #4; although no permit record exists for the residence on Lot #3, it is likely that this home was also relocated or demolished around this same time.

In October 1930, building permits were filed by Ira C. Copley, publisher of the Hollywood News, for the construction of a new two-story publishing plant designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford, to occupy Lots 2, 3, and 4 of the H. J. Whitley Tract No. 2 with the address 1545 North Wilcox Avenue.42 The project was noted by the Los Angeles Times as “among the larger permits granted during the month,” and represented a portion of the increase in building activity compared to October 1929.43

When the building was completed in 1931, its official opening warranted a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The new building is a two-story structure of steel and concrete with a frontage of 145 feet. Designed by Francis D. Rutherford, architect, it is equipped with automatic Associated Press electric typewriters, financial tape machines, teletypes for the city news service, Goss multiple unit press with a capacity of 72,000 sixteen-page pagers an hour, the latest in

42 For a detailed chronology of construction and alterations recorded in building permit records available through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, please see Appendix A. 43 “Permits in Hollywood Show Gains,” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1930.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

stereotyping, composing, engraving and photographic appurtenances, 32 north-facing skylights, shower baths, lounges and sound-absorbing desks. Walls and ceilings have been made soundproof and floors insulated with a rubber-and-cork composition.44

Archival photographs and other media indicate the building also featured two entrances: a central public entrance, where the advertising desk and other public resources were located; and a second editorial entrance, a smaller lobby (now referred to as the Wilcox Lobby) which was located to the south of the central entrance and led to the editorial rooms.

Following the initial construction of the building, subsequent building permit records obtained through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety indicate that alterations and additional construction work which were undertaken in subsequent decades were largely limited to minor interior and exterior alterations, with an emphasis on interior tenant improvements in more recent decades. The building’s original footprint appears to remain intact and no permits for substantial additions have been recorded.

Building permit records dating from the 1930s indicate that only minor alterations were made to the building in the early years following its construction, and work was limited to the replacement and strengthening of existing floors on the first floor of the building. The most significant building activity was undertaken in the late 1940s, when a new printing plant for the paper was constructed at 1531 North Wilcox Avenue (now demolished), immediately to the south of the existing newspaper building.

Construction work which took place during the 1950s involved minor interior and exterior alterations to accommodate the changing functions and use of the building as the newspaper industry and its accompanying technology evolved. Most of the work concerned interior alterations in order to allow for the installation of new printing presses and included the construction of reinforced bases and new foundations. A metal canopy was also installed over an existing loading dock at the rear of the building in

44 “New Paper Plant Will Be Opened,” Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1931.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

1951, and the front parapet wall was corrected and reinforced in 1957. An additional 33 cover was constructed over an existing driveway in 1961.

In 1961, the Hollywood Citizen-News changed hands for the first time in its history, when the Palmer family opted to sell the paper to publisher David Heyler, Sr. The Citizen-News was then sold to Lammot du Pont Copeland, Jr. in 1964; Copeland subsequently filed for bankruptcy and the paper was shuttered in 1970. The building was 1545 North Wilcox was offered at auction the following year, but failed to attract a successful bidder.45 A 1981 Los Angeles Times article indicates that the building may have then remained vacant for nearly a decade, until it was purchased around 1980 by Newport Beach real estate developer Ernest George.46 George purchased the building with the intent of renovating the property for resale, and work undertaken during the early 1980s encompassed the addition of interior doors and partitions, as well as a new dark room and the construction of additional stairways in order to create new, more flexible office space.

The property changed hands several times following its renovation by Ernest George, and over time the building became popular with architecture and design professionals and “photo-related enterprises, such as camera stores and photo processing labs.”47 More recent alterations have involved interior tenant improvements and the conversion of some spaces to meet specific functional needs, including refrigerated wine storage and sound recording. In 2014, the building was sold by Brentwood Capital Partners to Los Angeles investor S. E. Edinger.48

10.1 Alterations The Citizen-News Building has undergone some alterations since its initial construction in 1931.49 Some openings on the north façade have been infilled with exposed concrete block, and some openings on the west façade have been infilled and finished with plaster, scored to resemble the adjacent board-formed concrete construction. Some windows on the north, east, and south façades have been replaced, or new windows added, utilizing metal storefront glazing systems. A new entrance was created on the north façade. The primary (east) façade on Wilcox Avenue remains completely intact.

45 “No Bids Made for Defunct Newspaper,” Los Angeles Times, January 30, 1971. 46 “Buildings of ‘20s Meet Needs of ‘80s: L.A. Recycles Structures,” Los Angeles Times, December 27, 1981. 47 “Buildings of ‘20s Meet Needs of ‘80s: L.A. Recycles Structures,” Los Angeles Times, December 27, 1981. 48 “Art deco Hollywood Citizen News building is sold,” Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2014. 49 For a detailed chronology of construction and alterations recorded in building permit records available through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, please see Appendix A.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

The editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby) and stair remain intact, but the remainder of the 34 building’s interior has been completely altered. Except for the editorial lobby, the original spatial configuration and interior finishes have been removed, and a new spatial configuration, drywall partitions, stairs and an elevator have been inserted. A new lobby was constructed in the northeast portion of the building.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

11.0 HISTORIC CONTEXT 35

11.1 Identification of Historic Contexts SurveyLA, the Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey has developed a Historic Context Statement (HCS) that provides a framework for evaluating potential historic resources in the City of Los Angeles. The SurveyLA HCS is organized into nine broad historical contexts, which are specific to Los Angeles and focus on the development of the City during the period dating from 1780 to 1980, and further subdivided into themes and sub-themes that reflect the various historical trends and patterns of events associated with each context.50

The Hollywood Citizen-News, which evolved from a modest local Hollywood bulletin into an important newspaper for Los Angeles at large, operated out of the subject property from the paper’s establishment through merger in 1931 until the paper ceased publication in 1970. The building was initially designed in the Art Deco style, which was frequently applied to commercial buildings in the early 1930s and reflects the execution of this style at the peak of its popularity. Newspaper and publishing plants have been identified in the SurveyLA HCS as a significant property type for their association with public and private institutional development in Los Angeles. Additionally, examples of Art Deco-style architecture have been identified in the SurveyLA HCS as a significant property type for their association with the Modernist architecture movement in Los Angeles. As a result, the following SurveyLA contexts and themes have been identified for their association with the history and development of the subject property.

• Context: Public and Private Institutional Development, 1850-1980 o Sub-Context: Newspapers and Publishing, 1850-1980 • Context: Architecture and Engineering, 1850-1980 o Sub-Context: LA Modernism, 1919-1980 Theme: Related Responses to Modernism, 1926-1970 □ Sub-Theme: Art Deco, 1926-1939

50 “Los Angeles Historic Context Statement, Context Outline,” SurveyLA: Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey, https://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/SurveyLA_HistoricContextStatementOutline_July2018.pdf (accessed July 2018).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

11.2 Development of the Early Newspaper Industry in Los Angeles and Hollywood 36 By the early years of the 20th century, the development of the newspaper industry in Los Angeles already reflected the heady highs and lows of the creative endeavors with which the city would eventually become synonymous. “A history of Los Angeles publications is largely a graveyard record,” Julia Norton McCorkle observed in 1915. “Probably there is no profession which suffers so much as journalism from brilliant and promising beginnings, steady downhill career, and hurried and ignominious endings.”51

The progress of the newspaper industry in Southern California in general lagged behind that of its northern neighbors. The first newspaper in the state, The Californian, had been launched in Monterey in 1846. Southern California, however, “was largely a ranch and cattle country with little population outside of the native Spanish-speaking Californians.”52 The first newspaper in Los Angeles, La Estrella de Los Angeles, or the Los Angeles Star, was not published until 1851. The first issues were four pages: two written in English, and two written in Spanish. Even then, McCorkle recounts, “circulation did not exceed two hundred and fifty copies.”53

The Star was subject to several changes in ownership over the next few years, along with a brief suspension in publication. This was not an uncommon occurrence; Julia Norton McCorkle notes that in the earliest years of newspaper publication in Los Angeles, between 1850 and 1880, at least fourteen papers launched and folded, most within several years. The Los Angeles Express, launched in 1871, was the first daily newspaper to find traction in the field and was well-established by the early 1900s. By 1915, McCorkle counted 121 newspapers published on a regular basis in Los Angeles, including twelve daily newspapers and fifty weekly newspapers.54

At the same time, as the population of Southern California expanded and suburban communities began to develop their own identities, a demand arose for publications which covered relevant local news. Smaller municipalities like Hollywood, which operated independently from the city and were still relatively isolated from downtown Los Angeles, lacked their own papers of record. The Wilmington Journal, founded in 1864, is credited as the first newspaper published in Los Angeles County outside the City of Los Angeles. The first paper to appear in the Hollywood area, however, did not

51 Julia Norton McCorkle, “A History of Los Angeles Journalism,” Historical Society of Southern California 10, parts I and II (1915-1916): 24-43, 24. 52 McCorkle, 24. 53 McCorkle, 25. 54 McCorkle, 29-30.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

launch until 1895, when the Cahuenga Suburban, a monthly paper covering the 37 Cahuenga Valley, was first established. In 1899 the Suburban ceased publication and was replaced the following year by the weekly Cahuenga Valley Sentinel. The Sentinel, which was established by A. A. Bynon and his son, Fred, was published on Saturdays and reached an audience of only 500 residents. Nevertheless, the Sentinel served as Hollywood’s only paper of record for five years.

In 1905, however, Hollywood experienced its first taste of journalistic scandal. The Cahuenga Valley Sentinel adopted an editorial stance on what was arguably a self- interested offer made by Hollywood’s founding matron, Daeida Wilcox Beveridge, to entice the Hollywood Board of Trade to relocate to Cahuenga Boulevard, thereby reorienting the commercial center of the town away from Highland Avenue. Historian Gregory Paul Williams recounts what happened:

The Highland faction bristled. The only paper in town, the Cahuenga Valley Sentinel, attacked the Beveridges, Dr. [Edwin O.] Palmer, and the Board of Trade, calling them “the Beveridge discontents” and labeling Wilcox Avenue “the Beveridge dead line.” The accused charged the Sentinel of partisanship and the unfounded rumor that [H. J.] Whitley owned the paper. The injured Cahuengans collected money and made an offer on the paper. Instead, the editor transferred it to another party and left town.55

It was this incident which motivated Dr. Edwin O. Palmer, a pioneering Hollywood resident and physician – and one of the “injured” parties – to step forward in the wake of the scandal and establish an alternative Hollywood newspaper.

The Hollywood Citizen Following the “Beveridge discontents” incident, Dr. Edwin O. Palmer spearheaded the effort to publish another newspaper in Hollywood as an alternative to the Cahuenga Valley Sentinel. Palmer and his business associates assembled a group of almost fifty interested residents and took up a collection to establish the new paper, called the Hollywood Citizen. In what was perhaps a pointed jab at the partisan activities of the Cahuenga Valley Sentinel, the following item appeared in the Los Angeles Times announcing the establishment of the Hollywood Citizen in 1905.

55 Williams, 45.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

Fifty citizens of Hollywood have organized a stock company for the 38 purpose of establishing a weekly newspaper to be known as “The Hollywood Citizen.” They have purchased a plant and job office material…The editorial policy of the paper will be guided by a committee of three appointed by the Board of Trade. Members of this committee are to represent each section of the city. The paper is to be non-partisan. It will endeavor to represent all interests in the Cahuenga Valley.56

Tellingly, it was Palmer’s Board of Trade which would supervise publication of the new “non-partisan” newspaper. Gregory Paul Williams explains how the new paper was to operate in practice.

The editor received exact instructions never to mention the Cahuenga Valley Sentinel, to represent fully the city trustees and the board of trade meetings, to praise everyone who deserved it, and to submit all criticism to Dr. Palmer’s committee before publishing.57

The first issue of the Hollywood Citizen appeared on April 23, 1905, with four six- column pages.58 The paper proved to be an effective outlet for Palmer to publicize the local news – which, naturally, included his business and real estate development interests – but according to Gregory Paul Williams, by 1911, “with all the businesses [Palmer] had generated, plus his private medical practice, he felt overwhelmed. He consulted with his partner-neighbors in the Hollywood Citizen and decided to sell the newspaper.”59 Williams wryly notes that “the rival Cahuenga Valley Sentinel was [also] ready to fade out anyway,” with such frivolous advice as “’your cow will devour ill- formed melons.’”60 As a result, the Hollywood Citizen and the Cahuenga Valley Sentinel were purchased by E. E. Brown, a publisher from Michigan, who merged the two papers and retired the Cahuenga Valley Sentinel name.61

It wasn’t long, however, before Edwin Palmer began to regret his decision to sell the paper – which Gregory Paul Williams credits to Palmer’s unhappiness at “losing the power of his published opinion.”62 Fortunately for Edwin Palmer, a family relation had

56 “Hollywood: New Weekly Paper,” Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1905. 57 Williams, 45. 58 “Hollywood ‘Citizen,’” Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1905. 59 Williams, 60. 60 Williams, 60. 61 “Hollywood,” Los Angeles Times, February 7, 1911. See also Williams, 60. 62 Williams, 60.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

recently relocated to Pasadena – and he happened to have experience running a 39 newspaper. Harlan G. Palmer, Edwin Palmer’s second cousin, arrived in Hollywood in 1911 with an eye towards finding a business that he could operate while attending law school at the University of Southern California at the same time. Harlan Palmer had previously served as publisher of a local paper in his native Minnesota and, when he learned that a newspaper in Whittier was for sale, believed he had found the ideal business venture. However, as a newcomer to the area, he sought the advice of his older and more experienced cousin on the purchase. Harlan Palmer later recalled the conversation:

I went over to see Dr. Palmer. In substance I got this comment: “You don’t want Whittier. Hollywood has a bigger future than Whittier has. Though Whittier has a daily newspaper today and Hollywood has only a weekly newspaper, one of these days Hollywood will outdistance Whittier. I know that you can buy the Hollywood newspaper at a good price. The man who bought both the Hollywood Citizen and the Hollywood Sentinel 2 months ago is sick of his bargain and is ready to sell.”

Since Hollywood was closer to law school and the demands of a weekly paper less than the demands of a daily, and since I didn’t know that Dr. Palmer had a mortgage on the Hollywood Citizen, I took his advice.63

Years later, Harlan Palmer admitted that “for several years I blamed myself for doing so but in the course of time reached the conclusion that the advice had been good.”64 Harlan Palmer assumed ownership of the Hollywood Citizen on April 1, 1911, and commenced operations with only a single printer and one part-time reporter Mabelle Lewis (Mrs. Ward Heinzman). Operations were initially located at a small storefront at 1640 Cahuenga Avenue, which the paper shared with an ice cream shop.

63 Upon Harlan Palmer, Sr.’s death in 1956, the Honorable Joseph F. Holt, representative from California, entered remarks into the Congressional Record in honor of Harlan Palmer’s contributions to the community. These remarks included a biography of Palmer, as well as an oral history authored by Palmer himself that was originally published in the Hollywood Citizen-News in 1950. Some biographical details as well as all quotes attributed to Palmer have been excerpted from these remarks. See Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560. 64 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

One of Harlan Palmer’s first challenges was brokering peace between the partisan local 40 politics long espoused by the Citizen and the Sentinel and fostering a sense of unity along Hollywood Boulevard. “Before the consolidation,” he later recalled, “the Sentinel had been the champion of the Highland Avenue end of Hollywood Boulevard. The Citizen had been the champion of the Cahuenga Boulevard end. Each of those two ends had considered itself a rival of the other. It was my job to overlook the past and to see the two ends as growing together.”65 Palmer also expanded the operations of the paper and opened an ancillary stationery store, the first of its kind in the area. Such growth required relocation, and by 1914 the Citizen had moved to 6424-6426 Hollywood Boulevard, where the paper took over two storefronts.

The biggest move for the Hollywood Citizen, however, came in 1920, when the paper moved its operations to a newly-constructed building at 6362-6366 Hollywood Boulevard. That same year, Palmer made the decision to expand the Citizen’s coverage from weekly to daily publication. The decision was not entirely voluntary; as he later recalled:

We didn’t care to do it at that time for the new building wasn’t completed and we had no press capable of handling the daily. But the owner of the Los Angeles Express was setting up an extensive plant for the publication…of a new daily, the Hollywood News, to be circulated free with the Express.

For a period we had to have our presswork done at Glendale or in Santa Monica. The experience was trying when the type forms broke or other accidents happened en route to the presses…Only the most loyal group of subscribers and advertisers in the world could have carried us over those trying times.66

The Hollywood Citizen published its first daily edition on October 1, 1921, and appropriately changed its name to the Hollywood Daily Citizen. The Hollywood News,

65 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560. 66 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560.

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the catalyst for the Citizen’s expansion, would remain a constant competitor and 41 neighbor for the next ten years.

Harlan G. Palmer While Edwin O. Palmer played a critical role in establishing the Hollywood Citizen, it was Harlan G. Palmer who shepherded the paper – and, indeed, its successor, the Hollywood Citizen-News – through the eventful decades that followed, transforming the paper from a modest local bulletin into the fourth-largest daily newspaper in Los Angeles.67

Harlan G. Palmer, Sr. was born on March 19, 1885, in LeRoy, Minnesota. Palmer was educated at the University of Minnesota, where he worked his way through two years of schooling by delivering newspapers and working in a print shop. At the beginning of his third year of college, he was offered the opportunity to purchase his hometown newspaper, the LeRoy Independent. Palmer laid aside his plans for further education and returned home. He published the Independent for two years before his father took ill, and the younger Palmer assumed control of his father’s lumber and coal business while the elder Palmer recuperated in Pasadena, California. Three years later, Palmer sold the business and relocated to California in 1911 to join his family. Hoping to attend law school while in California, Palmer sought out a business venture that might allow him to attend school at the same time. At the suggestion of his cousin, Dr. Edward O. Palmer, Harlan Palmer purchased the Hollywood Citizen in April 1911. He enrolled in the University of Southern California Law School that fall, and juggled publishing while attending afternoon and night classes. As Palmer would later recall:

It was tough going. I went into school for an early morning class and then back for a late afternoon class, until pressure became so great I switched all classes to late afternoon and night…I passed the State bar examination after a year and a half of schooling and 6 weeks of special cramming of the bar examination, and opened the first law office to be opened in Hollywood. There were a number of successful lawyers living Hollywood at the time but their offices were in downtown Los Angeles.68

67 Statistic cited in Williams, 185. See also Torrence, 120. 68 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

The demands of managing both a full-time law practice as well as a daily newspaper 42 paid off for Palmer. In October 1915 he was appointed to the Los Angeles Justice Court (later the Municipal Court system). Palmer once observed that:

I had always figured that when I got a law business established, I would sell the paper…I had an idea, regardless of qualifications, I wouldn’t have gotten the appointment if most of the weekly newspapers of the county had not favored it. I was then president of the Southern California Editorial Association, the forerunner of the present California Newspaper Publishers Association. I decided that being both a lawyer and a newspaperman wasn’t such a bad idea.69

In 1921, however, when the Citizen relocated to a new facility and expanded to daily publication, the demands of holding both positions at once became too great. “The undertaking took on to what to us were large responsibilities,” Palmer explained. “I decided that I owed it to the folks who had loaned the money for the building to resign from the court job and devote my full time to business.”70 As a result, Palmer stepped down from the municipal court and devoted his full attention to the business of running the Hollywood Citizen. The title of judge, however, followed him for the rest of his life.

Palmer continued to remain active in politics; in 1929 subsequently served as president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, but resigned over the Commission’s reluctance to adequately compensate Owens Valley residents. (Palmer later served as special attorney for the Los Angeles City Council in an investigation of the Board.) In 1936, Palmer ran for District Attorney against incumbent Burton L. Fitts in a contentious campaign that was marked by legal battles and accusations against Palmer of undue influence, misrepresentation, and political conspiracy. Palmer, who campaigned as a progressive Hollywood reformer though he was known as a New Deal liberal, was “concerned above all with clean and efficient government.”71 Despite Palmer’s best efforts, he was defeated by Fitts in a close run-off election. The election “did much to polarize the political landscape” of Los Angeles, and also helped elevate

69 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560. 70 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560. 71 Michael Furmanovsky, “’Cocktail Picket Party’: The Hollywood Citizen-News Strike, the Newspaper Guild, and the Popularization of the ‘Democratic Front’ in Los Angeles,” UCLA Historical Journal 5 (1984): 24-49, 27.

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Palmer’s political identity as a “leading spokesman for the broad principles of the New 43 Deal.”72

However, Citizen-News employees later observed that Harlan Palmer’s attitude toward organized labor and other issues changed after his election defeat, and Michael Furmanovsky notes that subsequent labor negotiations at the Citizen-News “marked the beginning of the political transformation of Palmer from liberal democrat to anti-New Deal conservative.”73 Palmer’s intransigence on the issue of unionism contributed to a ten-week strike by Citizen-News editorial workers in 1938. The controversy was widely publicized, and the attendant newspaper coverage, protests, and subsequent labor relations board hearings brought the inner workings of the Hollywood Citizen-News to light. Palmer’s personal and professional reputation suffered as a result. As Roger Johnson, one of the striking workers and also a personal friend of Palmer’s, wrote, “Palmer could have been America’s outstanding progressive journalist if he had traveled with the tide of union growth instead of attempting to battle the inevitable. It is no pleasure to tear down an institution.”74

Harlan Palmer never again pursued political office, but remained active in business and publishing circles and served as president of the Southern California Editorial Association and as a director of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He continued to manage the Hollywood Citizen-News until his death in 1956. Upon his passing, he was succeeded as publisher of the Citizen-News by his son, Harlan G. Palmer, Jr.

The Hollywood News The Hollywood News was a relative newcomer to the Hollywood newspaper industry; by the time it was first published in 1921, there were already two local papers serving the Hollywood community: the Hollywood Citizen, which had recently expanded to become a daily paper, and Holly Leaves, a weekly paper. The Hollywood News, a daily paper, was established by newspaperman F. W. Kellogg. Kellogg established a number of local papers in Southern California in the first half of the 1920s, including the Pasadena Post, the Alhambra Post-Advocate, the Glendale Press, and others. Kellogg had a previous business relationship with the Earl family, who controlled the Los Angeles Evening Express, and had made an agreement with the paper to circulate his suburban dailies with the Express in those areas for a combined subscription price. The first issue

72 Furmanovsky, 27. 73 Furmanovsky, 32. See also “Start of News Guild Related,” Los Angeles Times, July 7, 1938. 74 Furmanovsky, 42.

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of the Hollywood News was published on November 1, 1921, and was distributed as a 44 local circular in Hollywood with the Express.

The paper was first published out of a storefront at 6379 Hollywood Boulevard, but by 1925 had outgrown the facility, and operations were relocated to a newly-constructed plant for the paper located immediately to the east at 6363-6371 Hollywood Boulevard. In a move that may have been either strikingly coincidental or cunningly strategic, the paper’s new building was located across the street from the News’ strongest competitor, Harlan Palmer’s Hollywood Citizen.

After several years of operation under Kellogg’s stewardship, the Hollywood News was acquired by politician and industrialist Ira C. Copley in 1928.75 At the time, Copley made it clear that his plans involved the “immediate expansion” of the Hollywood News, with his spokesman declaring, “We hope to give Hollywood a paper that will be a credit to that fast-growing center.”76 To that end, Copley filed building permits in 1930 for the construction of a new newspaper plant for the Hollywood News at 1545 North Wilcox Avenue. The move relocated the paper’s operations from 6363-6371 Hollywood Boulevard, where the Hollywood News had constructed a plant in 1924 – just across the street from its rival, the Hollywood Citizen. The Los Angeles Times noted that the new Wilcox Avenue building, which officially opened on July 1, 1931, represented the fourth such effort by Copley in just two years, with the publisher undertaking the construction of similar facilities in Santa Monica, Long Beach, and Alhambra.77

Despite the anticipated success of the newly-housed Hollywood News, Copley’s aggressive expansion of his Southern California newspaper holdings on the eve of the Great Depression proved to be ill-timed – and, as a result, short-lived. By 1931, Copley began to dissolve his holdings almost as swiftly as he had acquired them. The Hollywood News was one of the first papers to be sold, just months after its new headquarters were completed.78

Ira C. Copley Born in 1864 in rural Illinois, Ira Clifton Copley was the son of prominent farmer Ira Birdsall Copley, who eventually became manager of the Aurora Gas Light Company. Ira

75 “Copley Buys More Papers,” Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1928. 76 “Copley Buys More Papers,” Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1928. 77 “New Paper Plant Will Be Opened,” Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1931. 78 “First Edition of Consolidated Papers Appears,” Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1931.

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Copley was educated at Francis Jennings Seminary and Yale College before attending 45 the Union College of Law in Chicago. Although Copley was admitted to the bar in Illinois, before he could begin work as an attorney he decided to return to Aurora, Illinois, to assist his father in managing the now-struggling gas company. Copley discovered he had a talent for managing and acquiring utility companies, and in 1905 merged two of his own companies to establish the regional Western United Gas & Electric Company, which was later consolidated in 1921 with some of Copley’s other utility interests as the Western Utility Corporation.

Copley was also active in Illinois Republican politics, serving on the party’s Illinois state committee as well as the Illinois Park Commission. In 1910 Copley was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Illinois’ 11th congressional district, a seat he held until 1923.

In addition to his political and business career, Copley maintained a lifelong interest in publishing. Journalist Matt Potter has observed that “for Copley, promotion of commerce and favored politicians, rather than uncomfortable facts, was what newspapers were good for,” believing that people “will always boost a booster and knock a knocker.”79 He purchased his first newspaper, the Aurora News, in 1905, and completed his first newspaper merger that same year.80 He subsequently purchased other local Illinois newspapers in Elgin, Joliet, and Springfield before turning his attention to the West Coast. In January 1928 Copley purchased three Southern California newspapers: the San Diego Union, the [San Diego] Evening Tribune, and the San Diego Independent.81 The purchase of the San Diego papers proved to be only the first in a series of acquisitions of local papers by Copley over the following months. In February, Copley acquired fifteen local newspapers owned and published by F. W. Kellogg and his son, W. S. Kellogg, “in communities in the immediate vicinity of Los Angeles.”82 The Kellogg holdings – which included newspapers in communities including Alhambra, Pasadena, Monrovia, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Burbank, Hollywood, Sawtelle, Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, and others – represented a territory so expansive Bruce

79 Matt Potter, “The Rise and Fall of the Copley Press,” San Diego Reader, February 28, 2008, http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/feb/28/cover/# (accessed March 2017). 80 “Col. Copley Buys Third Newspaper,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1928. 81 “Col. Copley Buys Third Newspaper,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1928. 82 “Copley Buys More Papers,” Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1928.

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Torrence noted their coverage “pretty much encircled Los Angeles.83 Copley later 46 acquired six additional papers from Kellogg, and by September 1928 the Los Angeles Times observed that Ira Copley had acquired twenty-three newspapers in Southern California alone in the previous six months.84 Copley eventually established a holding company, the Copley Press, in 1928 to manage his newspaper interests.

By 1931, however, the newspaper industry was floundering, suffering from plummeting ad revenues during the Great Depression as well as the growing popularity of the radio as an alternative medium for entertainment and information. Copley began to sell off his Southern California papers, beginning with the Hollywood News and in November 1931.85 The Long Beach Sun and the Pasadena Post soon followed, along with the Santa Monica Evening Outlook.86 Copley remained active in the management of the Copley Press, however, and maintained control of five Illinois newspapers and 12 California newspapers until his death on November 1, 1947.87

11.3 Development of the Hollywood Citizen-News In 1931, Harlan G. Palmer purchased Ira Copley’s Hollywood News for $600,000 and merged the paper with his own Hollywood Citizen.88 Palmer would later recall how the News was purchased “on an installment plan that held over our heads for a period of 12 years the possibility of our losing everything.”89 Operations of both papers were consolidated at the News’s newly-constructed plant at 1545 North Wilcox Avenue, where the merger was physically embodied with the display of two signs: an engraved panel reading “Hollywood News Building,” and a new illuminated blade sign reading “Hollywood Citizen-News.”

The first edition of the combined Hollywood Citizen-News was released on November 2, 1931. The front page of the new paper featured an announcement that read, in part:

83 Torrence, 120. 84 “Long Beach Sun Deal in Making,” Los Angeles Times, September 27, 1928. 85 “First Edition of Consolidated Papers Appears,” Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1931. 86 “Copley Sells ‘Sun’ and ‘Post’,” Los Angeles Times, February 28, 1932, and “Santa Monica Paper Sold,” Los Angeles Times, April 1, 1932. 87 “Ira C. Copley,” Washington Post, November 4, 1907. 88 “First Edition of Consolidated Papers Appears,” Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1931. 89 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

Consolidation of the two newspapers has long been advocated by the 47 business men and advertisers of Hollywood. They have recognized that the interests of the community as a whole would best be served by one strong, excellent paper in place of two newspapers that were conducting a constant fight upon the business of each other. The recognized also that from the standpoint of their own interest they could do a much more effective job of advertising at lower costs…With the publication of the Citizen-News, a much better newspaper comes to the people of Hollywood. To the merchants of Hollywood comes a much better advertising medium. To the community of Hollywood comes a much stronger medium for the promotion of its welfare as a business and residential area second to none in the nation.90

Under Harlan Palmer’s stewardship, the Hollywood Citizen-News adopted a progressive stance, and Palmer frequently devoted his editorials to championing progressive reform and to launching “attacks on the corrupt city administration of Frank Shaw.”

The latter, he frequently asserted, gave protection to prostitution and gambling syndicates. The high moral tone of his editorials earned Palmer a reputation among his opponents as a “blue-nose” and “longhair,” and in fact, he failed to win the approval of most liberal Democrats until his paper’s general endorsement of the New Deal in 1936.91

Despite his continued campaigns for reform, Palmer’s values came into question in the late 1930s, when efforts to organize labor in the newspaper industry began to gain momentum. At the time, notes Michael Furmanovsky, “working conditions and wages in Los Angeles’ newspaper industry during the early years of the Depression were among the worst in the country.”92 Due to multiple wage cuts, white-collar editorial workers often found themselves making less than their blue-collar typesetting colleagues, who were unionized. The Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, a local branch of the American Newspaper Guild, CIO, attempted to organize at the Hollywood Citizen- News and negotiate a contract with Palmer. Palmer refused, and after protracted negotiations with the Guild he discharged three editorial and two advertising employees of the Citizen-News who had been most active in the organizing efforts of the Guild. Union officials were outraged and claimed that the employees had been fired because

90 “Announcement,” Hollywood Citizen-News, November 2, 1931. 91 Furmanovsky, 27. 92 Furmanovsky, 25.

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of their affiliation with the Guild. Palmer denied the allegations, explaining that a plan 48 for reorganization and reduction of the newspaper staff had been in development independently of any negotiations with the Guild.

Palmer’s refusal to reconsider his decision was seen as both a personal and professional betrayal of both his beliefs and his business. Many Guild members had grown accustomed to viewing Palmer as a liberal, “and therefore by definition at least tolerant of unionism.”93 The Citizen-News staff, smaller in number than most other publications, functioned more like a family; several employees, including Roger Johnson, one of the discharged staffers, were personal friends with Palmer. As Johnson would later say, many of the staff “had worked for the Judge as though it were our own paper.”94

In response, the Guild announced a strike, which began on May 17, 1938. More than twenty editorial workers who were also members of the Guild walked out of the Citizen-News. Although a number of Los Angeles labor organizations did not respect the picket line, support for the striking workers far outweighed the detractors and extended across a variety of professions. Striking auto workers, Spanish Civil War veterans, and state assemblymen all shared the picket line. Guild members with contacts to Communist Party members in Hollywood mustered financial and personal support from members of the Screen Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Screen Writers Guild.

With the participation of so many celebrities on the picket line, opportunities for widespread publicity soon became evident, and, following the appointment of Frank Scully as head of the [Guild’s] public relations committee, the sidewalk outside the paper’s offices rapidly took on the appearance and atmosphere of a carnival...Among his most effective stunts was an invitation to five hundred movie stars, directors, and screen writers, asking them to appear in front of the paper’s offices on June 3 for a “cocktail picket party.” With most of the celebrities who had walked the picket lines present, and dressed in

93 Furmanovsky, 33. 94 Furmanovsky, 36.

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costume, the event naturally attracted the attention of the national 49 press.95

Despite the negative publicity, as the strike wore on over the course of the summer, Palmer remained steadfast. Secondary picketing of Citizen-News advertisers resulted in a loss of revenue for the paper; the Guild reported that more than eighty-three advertisers had canceled their contracts with the paper, and Palmer also lost the contracts for printing the Daily Variety and the programs for the Hollywood Bowl.96 However, The Hollywood Citizen-News never missed a deadline, despite losing nearly its entire editorial staff. After the Guild filed a complaint against Palmer with the Regional Labor Board, forcing public hearings, Harlan Palmer finally compromised and the strike was called off on July 30, 1938. The publisher agreed to reinstate the dismissed striking workers, to recognize the Guild, and to accept the previously-negotiated contract.97 Palmer reluctantly agreed, although he remained publicly bitter, writing in an editorial that the returning strikers “return to meet the bitterness of 225 employees who remained loyal to the paper while they, other labor organizations, and Communists sought to destroy the business that provides the jobs.”98 Privately, Palmer maintained his personal resentment, and his political views and those expressed by the Hollywood Citizen-News began to grow increasingly conservative. The paper, once described as “an oasis of reason and good taste in Los Angeles’ cultural and political desert,”99 now reflected the national shift to the reactionary right in the wake of the New Deal and the economic downturn in 1937-1938.

In the years following World War II, the Hollywood Citizen-News continued to expand until it became the fourth-largest daily newspaper in Los Angeles.100 In 1950, the paper published a special “50 years of progress” edition, which afforded Harlan Palmer an opportunity to look back – and perhaps, unknowingly, ahead – at the life of the Citizen- News.

95 Furmanovsky, 37-38. 96 Louis B. Perry and Richard S. Perry, A History of the Los Angeles Labor Movement, 1911-1941 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1963), 478. 97 Furmanovsky, 42. 98 Furmanovsky, 42. 99 As quoted in Furmanovsky, 33. 100 Statistic cited in Williams, 185. See also Torrence, 120.

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When we launched the Daily Citizen, experienced newspapermen 50 predicted failure. When we purchased the Hollywood News experienced newspapermen again predicted failure. They are still predicting failure. They say that a daily newspaper cannot be successfully operated in one section of a big city. They are doubtless right.101

The turning point in the life of the Citizen-News was marked by the death of Harlan G. Palmer, its longtime owner and publisher, in 1956. Palmer’s son, Harlan Palmer, Jr., assumed his father’s position as publisher of the paper, and his brother, Ralph Judson Palmer, was eventually named editor. The paper remained a Palmer family affair for another five years, but in 1961 Harlan Palmer, Jr. sold the Hollywood Citizen-News to David Heyler, publisher of the Beverly Hills Citizen.102 The paper changed hands again in 1964, when Heyler sold the Citizen-News to the then-publisher of the Valley Times, Lammot du Pont Copeland, Jr.103

The acquisition sounded the death knell for the Hollywood Citizen-News. The newspaper, already suffering from declining circulation and diminished community support – which historian Bruce Torrence claimed was “symptomatic of Hollywood’s malaise”104 at the time – could not survive Copeland’s stewardship, as he was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Copeland reorganized the paper’s corporate structure under Graphic Productions, Inc., and at the same time, changed the newspaper’s name to the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News.105 However, once Copeland filed the largest personal bankruptcy in United States history in 1970,106 nothing could be done to save the Citizen-News. The paper’s assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, the newspaper went into receivership, and a federal bankruptcy court made the decision to suspend publication. The last issue of the paper was published on August 28, 1970, after sixty-six years of continuous publication.

101 Congressional Record, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, 102 pt. 11: 15588-15560. 102 “Hollywood Newspaper Purchased by Heyler,” Los Angeles Times, November 21, 1961. 103 “Citizen-News Changes Hands in Hollywood,” Chicago Tribune, July 29, 1964. 104 Torrence, 120. 105 Torrence, 120. 106 “Photo archive from defunct ‘Valley Times’ newspaper goes digital,” Los Angeles Daily News, October 10, 2013.

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11.4 Architect Francis D. Rutherford 51 Francis David Rutherford was born in 1883 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The son of immigrants from Scotland and Wales who settled in Utah, Rutherford was raised in Salt Lake City and was educated at the University of Utah. He began his early architectural career in Utah, where he was a member of the Utah Association of Architects, and he spent the first years of his practice in architectural partnerships, including Rutherford & Hansen (1907-1910), Lepper & Rutherford (1912), and Rutherford & Ashton (1919- 1921).107 These early collaborations, as well as brief periods of solo practice, yielded several institutional buildings in Utah, and laid the groundwork for Rutherford’s future focus on institutional and educational projects.

Around 1921 Francis Rutherford relocated to Santa Monica, California, with his wife Elva Alice (Roberts) Rutherford and their three young children. He established an architectural practice in the area, with an office in downtown Santa Monica, and remained a resident for the rest of his life. Rutherford’s architectural career in California was primarily concerned with institutional work, including the construction of a number of primary and secondary schools as well as several university buildings, and he is credited for the design of “some 40 structures in the Santa Monica bay district.”108 Examples of his work include the Martha Washington School in Venice, two junior high schools in Burbank, and several buildings for the Santa Monica Junior College.

Several historians also name Rutherford as the staff architect for Ira C. Copley’s newspaper syndicate, and he designed at least two newspaper plants which were part of Copley’s campaign to acquire and expand the presence of local newspapers in Southern California in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In addition to the Hollywood News building, Rutherford also designed a publishing plant for Copley for the Long Beach Sun (1930; now known as The Arts Building) and likely designed similar plants in Alhambra and Santa Monica.109

Francis Rutherford’s career was cut short by his untimely death on January 10, 1933, from a sudden heart attack. He died in Santa Monica, California, at the age of fifty.

107 Early biographical details for Francis Rutherford are available at “Francis Rutherford,” Utah Center for Architecture, http://utahcfa.org/architect/francis_d_rutherford (accessed March 2017). 108 “Francis D. Rutherford,” Architect and Engineer (January 1933): 85. 109 “New Paper Plant Will Be Opened,” Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1931. While the extent of Rutherford’s association with Copley remains unconfirmed for the purposes of this study, a brief discussion of the architect’s association with Copley during this period is noted in both Long Beach Art Deco and Los Angeles Art Deco.

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11.5 Art Deco Architecture 52 Art Deco originated in France in the 1910s as an experimental movement in architecture and the decorative arts. It developed into a major style when it was first exhibited in Paris at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, from which it takes its name. The Exposition’s organizers had insisted on the creation of a new, modern aesthetic. The architecture of the Art Deco movement rejected the rigid organizational methods and classical ornamentation of the Beaux Arts style. It emphasized a soaring verticality through the use of stepped towers, spires, and fluted or reeded piers, and embraced highly stylized geometric, floral and figurative motifs as decorative elements on both the exterior and interior. Ornate metalwork, especially aluminum, glazed terra cotta tiles, and bright colors were hallmarks of the style.

Art Deco was the first popular style in the United States that consciously rejected historical precedents. It was instead a product of the Machine Age and took its inspiration from industry and transportation. It was employed primarily in commercial and institutional buildings, and occasionally in multi-family residential buildings; it was rarely used for single-family residences. By the mid-1930s, in the depths of the Great Depression, the highly-decorated style was already viewed as garish and overwrought, and it was soon abandoned in favor of the cleaner, simpler Streamline Moderne style.

Character-defining features of the style include:

• Vertical emphasis • Smooth wall surfaces, usually of plaster • Flat roofs with decorative parapets or towers • Stylized decorative floral and figurative elements in cast stone, glazed terra cotta tiles, or aluminum • Geometric decorative motifs such as zigzags and chevrons • Stepped towers, piers, and other vertical elements • Metal windows, usually fixed or casement

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12.0 EVALUATION OF ELIGIBILITY 53

12.1 Evaluation of Historic Contexts The Hollywood Citizen-News Building has a rich and distinctive history, with close ties to the community and built environment of Hollywood. The building is significant for its association with the Hollywood Citizen-News and the paper’s enduring and influential role as an important publication in Hollywood and Los Angeles; its association with Harlan G. Palmer, Sr., publisher of the Hollywood Citizen-News and a member of the prominent and influential Palmer family; and as an excellent example of Art Deco architecture in Hollywood.

There are several primary factors which contribute to its significance: the building’s association with the Hollywood Citizen-News, and the building’s architecture. As identified in Section 11.1 of this report, the following contexts and themes have been identified for their association with the history and development of the subject property.

• Context: Public and Private Institutional Development, 1850-1980 o Sub-Context: Newspapers and Publishing, 1850-1980 • Context: Architecture and Engineering, 1850-1980 o Sub-Context: LA Modernism, 1919-1980 Theme: Related Responses to Modernism, 1926-1970 □ Sub-Theme: Art Deco, 1926-1939

The following section includes an evaluation of significance for each identified context.

Context: Public and Private Institutional Development, 1850-1980 The subject property is significant under this context for its association with the development of the newspaper industry in Hollywood and Los Angeles. The building was the longtime headquarters for the publication of the Hollywood Citizen-News, which operated out of the building from 1931 until 1970. The publication of the Hollywood Citizen-News had its origins in one of the oldest local newspapers in Hollywood, the Hollywood Citizen, which was founded in 1905. The Citizen was subsequently merged with the Hollywood News in 1931, at a time when the newspaper industry as a whole was suffering from the financial effects of the Great Depression as well as the growing popularity of the radio as an alternative source for breaking news and information. However, under Harlan G. Palmer’s stewardship the newly-consolidated paper emerged as a progressive voice which campaigned vigorously against social injustice as well as the growing problem of political corruption in Los Angeles. Although the Citizen-News began as a local paper, many of the sentiments expressed within were shared by citizens outside the boundaries of Hollywood, and the

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

paper soon evolved beyond its local origins to become the fourth-largest paper in Los 54 Angeles. The paper also served as an important touchstone in the continuing debate over organized labor and unionism in the newspaper industry when editorial workers staged a 10-week walkout in 1938. The initial development, subsequent growth, and continued influence of the Hollywood Citizen-News throughout the paper’s 66-year run during the middle decades of the 20th century reflect the evolving role newspapers played in daily American life.

The building is significant for its association with the Palmer family, who established the early newspaper from which the Hollywood Citizen-News originated, and who also operated the Hollywood Citizen-News from the paper’s headquarters at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue for nearly thirty years. Dr. Edwin O. Palmer, an early Hollywood pioneer who was active in business and real estate development in the early days of the town and also maintained Hollywood’s first medical practice, established the Hollywood Citizen in 1905 and then subsequently sold the paper in 1911. Dr. Palmer’s second cousin, Harlan G. Palmer, relocated to California that same year and purchased the paper back from another publisher. While overseeing production of the Hollywood Citizen – and, subsequently, the paper’s merger to form the Hollywood Citizen-News – Harlan Palmer maintained an active and influential role in as an attorney working in Hollywood and Los Angeles city politics. Palmer opened Hollywood’s first legal practice and later served as a Los Angeles judge, Board of Water and Power Commissioner, and special attorney for the Los Angeles City Council. When Harlan Palmer died in 1956, control of the paper passed to his son, Harlan Palmer, Jr. The younger Palmer, who was active in community philanthropic efforts, had begun working for the Citizen-News as an assistant editor, but became publisher upon his father’s death. Harlan Palmer, Jr. oversaw publication for another five years, until he decided to sell the paper to an outside publisher in 1961. The Hollywood Citizen-News and its headquarters reflect the longtime stewardship of three generations of the influential Palmer family, all of whom made important contributions to the newspaper industry as well as the development of Hollywood and Los Angeles.

The period of significance for the building under this context is 1931 to 1961. This timeframe encompasses the initial establishment of the consolidated Hollywood Citizen- News by Harlan G. Palmer and reflects the early development and continued stewardship of the paper by the influential Palmer family. The period concludes in 1961, when the Hollywood Citizen-News was sold to an outside publisher and the family relinquished their interest in the paper.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

Context: Architecture and Engineering, 1850-1980 55 The Hollywood Citizen-News Building is significant as an excellent and intact example of Art Deco commercial architecture in Hollywood. Designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford, the building was completed in 1931, when the popularity of Art Deco as an architectural style was at its peak. Today, the building retains many character-defining features of the style, including smooth cement plaster wall cladding, a flat roof surrounded by a parapet wall, metal-frame windows, stylized decorative elements executed in glazed terra cotta tile and cast metal, and the use of repeating geometric motifs.

The period of significance for the building under this context is 1931, when initial construction was completed.

12.2 Evaluation of Integrity The Citizen-News Building has undergone some alterations since its initial construction in 1930. However, despite these changes, a majority of the building’s character-defining features remain intact and the property continues to reflect its original design. A detailed assessment of the property’s integrity is discussed below. For a complete inventory of character-defining features which contribute to the building’s historic integrity, please see Appendix B.

• Location: The subject property remains in its original location at 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood. Therefore, the property retains integrity of location. • Design: The subject property retains a majority of the character-defining features of its original construction. These include but are not limited to the original building plan, setback, form, and massing; sidewalk skylights; concrete construction; symmetrical 13-bay primary façade; central primary entrance with projecting tile surround; integrated vehicle portals within the north and south bays; secondary entrance set within a metal-framed bay; asymmetrically- composed secondary façades; geometric fretwork frieze; flat roof surrounded by a parapet wall; and saw tooth skylights. Despite some alterations, a majority of the essential physical features reflecting the original design remain intact. Therefore, the property retains integrity of design. • Setting: The subject property fronts Wilcox Avenue, a mixed-use neighborhood street. While some properties along Wilcox Avenue have been redeveloped over time, the character of more recent adjacent development reflects a similar mix of functions and use on a similar scale, and Wilcox Avenue has retained its identity as a mixed-use neighborhood street. Thus, the property retains integrity of setting.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

• Materials: The building is largely intact and retains a majority of its original 56 construction materials. These include but are not limited to smooth cement plaster and granite cladding; fixed, sash, and awning-style metal-frame windows with divided lights and transoms; fully-glazed wood and metal entrance doors; decorative cast transom panels; and glazed terra cotta tile surrounds. Therefore, the property retains integrity of materials. • Workmanship: The building retains the physical evidence of period construction techniques, including original finishes and design elements that reflect the character and identity of the Hollywood Citizen-News building as designed by Francis D. Rutherford. Therefore, the building integrity of workmanship. • Feeling: The subject property retains a majority of the character-defining features of its original construction. The original building plan, form, massing, cladding, entrances, fenestration, and decorative detailing continue to convey the original aesthetic and historic sense of the Hollywood Citizen-News building. Thus, the building retains integrity of feeling. • Association: Integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and feeling combine to convey integrity of association. Because the property retains the first six aspects of integrity, it continues to convey its original Art Deco design as the Hollywood Citizen-News building by architect Francis D. Rutherford. Therefore, the property retains its integrity of association.

12.3 Evaluation of Eligibility Evaluation of the Subject Property for the National Register The Hollywood Citizen-News Building appears to meet the following National Register Criteria:

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history

The building appears to be significant under National Register Criterion A for its association with the development of the newspaper industry in Hollywood and Los Angeles. The Hollywood Citizen-News, which evolved from a modest local Hollywood paper into an important newspaper of record for Los Angeles at large, operated out of the building from its establishment through merger in 1931 until the paper ceased publication in 1970.

B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

The building appears to be significant under National Register Criterion B for its 57 association with the influential Palmer family and their contributions to the cultural, commercial, and political development of Hollywood and Los Angeles. Publication of the Hollywood Citizen-News was supervised by three generations of the Palmer family, most notably by former attorney, judge, and city official Harlan G. Palmer, Sr., who served as the paper’s publisher from its establishment through merger in 1931 until his death in 1956.

C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction

The building appears to be significant under National Register Criterion C as an excellent and intact example of Art Deco commercial architecture designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford in Los Angeles. The Art Deco architectural style was most frequently applied to commercial buildings in the early 1930s, and the building reflects the execution of this style at the peak of its popularity.

In addition to fulfilling the above criteria for significance, the building has retained integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and as a result continues to convey its original historic identity and significance.

For these reasons, the potential historic district appears to meet the criteria for listing on the National Register of Historical Places.

Evaluation of the Subject Property for the California Register The Hollywood Citizen-News Building appears to meet the following California Register Criteria:

1. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the United States

The building appears to be significant under California Register Criterion 1 for its association with the development of the newspaper industry in Hollywood and Los Angeles. The Hollywood Citizen-News, which evolved from a modest local Hollywood paper into an important newspaper of record for Los Angeles at large, operated out of the building from its establishment through merger in 1931 until the paper ceased publication in 1970.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

2. Associated with the lives of persons important to local, California or national 58 history

The building appears to be significant under California Register Criterion 2 for its association with the influential Palmer family and their contributions to the cultural, commercial, and political development of Hollywood and Los Angeles. Publication of the Hollywood Citizen-News was supervised by three generations of the Palmer family, most notably by former attorney, judge, and city official Harlan G. Palmer, Sr., who served as the paper’s publisher from its establishment through merger in 1931 until his death in 1956.

3. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region or method of construction or represents the work of a master or possesses high artistic values

The building appears to be significant under California Register Criterion 3 as an excellent and intact example of Art Deco commercial architecture designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford in Los Angeles. The Art Deco architectural style was most frequently applied to commercial buildings in the early 1930s, and the building reflects the execution of this style at the peak of its popularity.

In addition to fulfilling the above criteria for significance, the building has retained integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and as a result continues to convey its original historic identity and significance.

For these reasons, the property appears to meet the criteria for listing on the California Register of Historical Resources.

Evaluation of the Subject Property for Local Designation as a Los Angeles Historic- Cultural Monument The Hollywood Citizen-News Building appears to meet the following Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument criteria:

1. Is identified with important events of national, state, or local history, or exemplifies significant contributions to the broad cultural, economic or social history of the nation, state, city or community

The building is significant under this criterion for its association with the development of the newspaper industry in Hollywood and Los Angeles. The Hollywood Citizen-News, which evolved from a modest local Hollywood paper into an important newspaper of record for Los Angeles at large, operated out of the building from its establishment through merger in 1931 until the paper ceased publication in 1970. The period of significance for the building under this criterion is 1931 to 1961. This timeframe

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

encompasses the initial establishment of the consolidated Hollywood Citizen-News by 59 Harlan G. Palmer and continued stewardship of the paper by the influential Palmer family. The period concludes in 1961, when the Hollywood Citizen-News was sold to an outside publisher and the family relinquished their interest in the paper.

2. Is associated with the lives of historic personages important to national, state, city, or local history

The building is significant under this criterion for its association with the influential Palmer family and their contributions to the cultural, commercial, and political development of Hollywood and Los Angeles. Publication of the Hollywood Citizen- News was supervised by three generations of the Palmer family, most notably by former attorney, judge, and city official Harlan G. Palmer, Sr., who served as the paper’s publisher from its establishment through merger in 1931 until his death in 1956. The period of significance for the building under this criterion is 1931-1956, reflecting Harlan G. Palmer’s stewardship of the Hollywood Citizen-News.

3. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction; or represents a notable work of a master designer, builder, or architect whose individual genius influenced his or her age

The building is significant under this criterion as an excellent and intact example of Art Deco commercial architecture designed by architect Francis D. Rutherford in Hollywood. The Art Deco architectural style was most frequently applied to commercial buildings in the early 1930s, and the building reflects the execution of this style at the peak of its popularity. The period of significance for the building under this criterion is 1931, when initial construction was completed.

In addition to fulfilling the above criteria for significance, the building has retained integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and as a result continues to convey its original historic identity and significance.

For these reasons, the property appears to meet the criteria for designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

12.4 Summary of Evaluations Based on visual observation of the property, research of primary and secondary sources, and an analysis of the eligibility criteria for listing at the federal, state, and local levels, HRG has determined that the Hollywood Citizen-News Building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historical Resources, and for local designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

13.0 DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS 60

13.1 Significance Thresholds The City of Los Angeles CEQA Thresholds Guide (2006, p. D.3-2) states that a project would normally have a significant impact on historic resources if it would result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource. A substantial adverse change in significance occurs if the project involves:

• Demolition of a significant resource;

• Relocation that does not maintain the integrity and (historical/architectural) significance of a significant resource;

• Conversion, rehabilitation, or alteration of a significant resource which does not conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings; or

• Construction that reduces the integrity or significance of important resources on the site or in the vicinity.

In addition to this guidance provided by the City of Los Angeles, the State Legislature, in creating the California Register, amended CEQA to define historic resources and historical significance as well as which project impacts are considered to be significantly adverse.

A project with an effect that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment.110 A substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource means demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration of the resource or its immediate surroundings such that the significance of a historical resource would be materially impaired.111

The Guidelines go on to state that “[t]he significance of an historic resource is materially impaired when a project… [d]emolishes or materially alters in an adverse manner those

110 CEQA Guidelines, section 15064.5(b). 111 CEQA Guidelines, section 15064.5(b)(1).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

physical characteristics of an historical resource that convey its historical significance and 61 that justify its inclusion in, or eligibility for, inclusion in the California Register of Historical Resources… local register of historic resources… or its identification in a historic resources survey.”112

13.2 Discussion of Potential Impacts The proposed Project will rehabilitate and adaptively reuse the Hollywood Citizen-News Building for the tenant improvement and change of use to include two ground-floor restaurant spaces and a second-floor flexible event space/banquet facility. Potential impacts to the building’s exterior facades and interior character-defining spaces are discussed in detail below.

Potential Impacts to Exterior Façades As proposed, the Project will require some alterations and additions to the Hollywood Citizen-News Building. As noted in Section 10.1 of this report, the building’s exteriors have already undergone some alterations since its initial construction in 1931.113 Openings on the north and west façades have been infilled; some windows on the north, west, and south façades have been replaced, and new windows have been added utilizing metal storefront glazing systems. A new entrance was also added to the north façade. The majority of these alterations took place after the Citizen-News ceased publication and vacated the building in 1970 and were undertaken following the conclusion of the building’s periods of significance; the building was later occupied by a number of subsequent tenants who undertook primarily interior alterations beginning in the 1980s and continuing through the 2000s. Indeed, the majority of permits issued from the building’s initial construction until the present day are composed of permits for alterations undertaken after 1970.

The proposed Project would require some alterations and additions to the building’s secondary facades at the north, west, and south. Some portions of the secondary façades subject to alteration as part of the proposed Project have been previously altered through infill construction completed after the building’s periods of significance and currently include non-historic features such as contemporary doors and windows. As a result, these areas are not considered to be character-defining; alterations proposed for

112 CEQA Guidelines, section 15064.5(b)(2). 113 For a detailed chronology of construction and alterations recorded in building permit records available through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, please see Appendix A.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

these areas are discussed in detail below as part of the proposed Project but are 62 distinguished within the discussion based on their location.

East (Primary) Façade The proposed Project allows the building’s primary (east) façade fronting Wilcox Avenue to remain intact. Existing features and finishes which date from the building’s periods of significance will be retained and restored.

North (Secondary) Façade The Project proposes alterations to the north façade which would be situated in areas previously subject to later infill construction and alteration, as noted above, and therefore not considered to be character-defining. Alterations proposed for these non- historic areas of the north façade consist of the addition of new openings for a new freight elevator and a new pedestrian entrance.

Alterations proposed to areas of existing historic fabric on the north façade include the addition of infill construction over the existing driveway and the associated removal of existing historic windows at the second story, the removal of the existing historic freight elevator and infill of the associated opening, the removal of one historic window and infill of the associated opening, and the infill of one existing historic door opening at the ground floor.

Existing historic windows above the new first-floor entrances will be retained.

South (Secondary) Façade The Project proposes alterations to the south façade which would be situated in areas previously subject to later infill construction and alteration, as noted above, and therefore not considered to be character-defining. Alterations proposed for these non- historic areas of the south façade consist of the replacement of existing non-historic aluminum windows.

Alterations proposed to areas of existing historic fabric on the south façade include the addition of infill construction over the existing driveway and the associated removal of existing historic windows at the second story, the removal of portions of the pony wall enclosing the south driveway. One existing historic door and overhang and three adjacent historic windows will be removed to accommodate installation of new double doors required for egress. Remaining existing historic windows at the ground floor will be infilled behind the glass to the required fire rating. One existing historic door will be replaced with a contemporary door within the original historic opening.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

West (Rear) Façade 63 The Project proposes alterations to the west (rear) façade which would be situated in areas previously subject to later infill construction and alteration, as noted above, and therefore not considered to be character-defining. Alterations proposed for these non- historic areas of the west façade consist of the removal of existing ground-floor non- historic entrance doors and adjacent non-historic windows to accommodate the installation of new entrance doors.

Alterations proposed to areas of existing historic fabric on the west façade include the infill of an existing opening at the second-floor stairwell.

Existing historic windows above the new first-floor entrances and at the second story will be retained.

Potential Impacts to Other Exterior Features The Project also has the potential to install additional mechanical equipment and screening on the roof of the Citizen-News building. These alterations have the potential to remove original fabric and compromise the integrity of the building.

Potential Cumulative Impacts to the Overall Exterior Implementation of the work proposed as part of the Project would not affect the building’s integrity of location, setting, workmanship, feeling, or association. The building would remain intact in its original location and would therefore retain integrity of location and setting. Additionally, the building would continue to retain the physical evidence of period construction techniques, including original finishes and design elements that reflect the character and identity of the building as an Art Deco commercial building, and would therefore retain integrity of workmanship. Furthermore, the building would continue to retain a majority of the character-defining features of its original construction and would continue to convey the original aesthetic and historic character of the building as the headquarters of the Hollywood Citizen-News. Therefore, the building would continue to retain integrity of feeling.

The only aspects of integrity that could potentially be impacted by the Project are design and materials. The Project proposes the two additions to the building over the existing driveways at the north and south facades, which has the potential to alter the building’s existing design. However, these additions are limited to infill construction between existing projecting volumes at the second floor and are confined to portions of the secondary north and south facades. As such, these additions do not constitute a significant disruption to the building’s overall form and massing. The building would continue to retain most of the character-defining features associated with its original design and construction, which include but are not limited to the original building plan,

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

setback, form, and massing; sidewalk skylights; concrete construction; symmetrical 13- 64 bay primary façade; central primary entrance with projecting tile surround; integrated vehicle portals within the north and south bays; secondary entrance set within a metal- framed bay; asymmetrically-composed secondary façades; geometric fretwork frieze; flat roof surrounded by a parapet wall; and saw tooth skylights. These essential physical features reflecting the building’s original design would remain intact, and therefore the building would continue to retain integrity of design.

The Project also proposes to remove existing historic windows and doors on the secondary north, south, and west façades, which will reduce the number of extant character-defining features associated with the building’s construction and has the potential to impact the building’s historic fabric and character. However, the addition of new entrances and fenestration to the building will be limited to the secondary façades; the primary (east) façade fronting North Wilcox Avenue will remain intact and existing features and finishes which date from the building’s periods of significance and are visible from the public right-of-way will be retained and restored. In addition, the majority of new openings created will be located within original openings on the secondary façades which were infilled by subsequent tenants after the Citizen-News vacated the building. As these openings were altered following the building’s periods of significance, their current condition is not considered to be character-defining. As a result, the addition of new doors within these openings does not constitute a significant impact to a historic resource. Furthermore, the population of existing historic windows to be removed as part of the proposed Project does not constitute the full complement of the building’s fenestration; existing historic fenestration will be preserved on the building’s primary (east) façade and select examples will also be retained on the secondary north, south, and west façades. The building would continue to retain the key exterior materials dating from the periods of significance, including smooth cement plaster and granite cladding; fixed, sash, and awning-style metal-frame windows with divided lights and transoms; fully-glazed wood and metal entrance doors; decorative cast transom panels; and glazed terra cotta tile surrounds. These character-defining features related to the building’s original construction would remain intact, and therefore the building would continue to retain integrity of materials.

Because the building would continue to retain integrity of location, design, setting, workmanship, and feeling, it would remain sufficiently intact to convey its original Art Deco design by architect Francis Rutherford as well as its historic role as the headquarters of the Hollywood Citizen-News. Therefore, integrity of association would also remain unaffected by the Project.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

While the proposed Project has the potential to alter and/or remove character-defining 65 features that are important in conveying the historic significance of the property, resulting in a significant impact to a historic resource as defined by CEQA, with appropriate mitigation to ensure that essential character-defining features are retained and that the rehabilitation of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building will conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, the Project would not materially alter the building such that it can no longer convey its historic significance and identity. The proposed Project would therefore result in a less-than-significant impact to a historic resource as defined by CEQA.

Potential Impacts to Interior Spaces As proposed, construction associated with the Project will be largely confined to the interior of the Citizen-News Building. These alterations will include substantial spatial reconfiguration and remodeling of the interior spaces at the basement, ground floor, and second-floor levels. These interior alterations will be limited to areas which have been previously altered and no longer retain character-defining features dating from the building’s periods of significance.

As noted in Section 10.1 and in Appendix A of this report, after the Citizen-News ceased publication and vacated the building in 1970, the building’s interiors were substantially altered by subsequent tenants. As a result, most of the building’s interior spatial configurations were altered, and most interior character-defining features were removed and/or replaced during the 1980s through the 2000s. Only the editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby) at the southeast corner of the building retains its original spatial configuration and interior finishes. The adjacent former advertising lobby has retained its original tile floor, but no other original finishes appear to remain.

Because the majority of these interior alterations occurred following the building’s periods of significance and prior to the commencement of the proposed Project, the building currently retains very few interior character-defining configurations, fixtures, and finishes. Those extant interior character-defining features that date from the building’s periods of significance, continue to convey its historic character, and are considered character-defining are limited to the editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby) and its associated spatial configuration, fixtures, and finishes contained within; and the floor of the former advertising lobby. The editorial lobby will remain intact and will not be altered by the Project. Therefore, the rehabilitation of the building’s interiors as proposed by the Project will not constitute a significant impact to a historic resource.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

13.3 Impacts Analysis Using Los Angeles CEQA Thresholds 66 The following analysis uses the thresholds provided in the City of Los Angeles CEQA Thresholds Guide.

1. Would the Project involve the demolition of a significant resource? The Project does not propose the demolition of any significant resources on the Project Site or in the surrounding area.

2. Would the Project involve relocation that does not maintain the integrity of a significant resource? The Project does not involve the relocation of any significant resources on the Project Site or in the surrounding area.

3. Would the Project involve conversion, rehabilitation or alteration of a significant resource which does not conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings? The Project would rehabilitate the Hollywood Citizen-News Building, which has been found eligible for listing in the National Register, California Register and local listing. With appropriate mitigation to ensure that rehabilitation of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building will conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, the Project would not involve conversion, rehabilitation, or alteration of a significant resource that does not conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.

4. Would the Project involve construction that reduces the integrity or significance of important resources on the site or in the vicinity? The Project will rehabilitate the Hollywood Citizen-News Building, which has been found eligible for listing in the National Register, California Register, and as a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. With feasible mitigation to ensure that rehabilitation of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building will conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, the Project would not involve construction that reduces the integrity or significance of important resources on the site or in the vicinity.

13.4 Summary of Potential Impacts Analysis of impacts to historical resources reveals that the Project will rehabilitate a building that has been identified as eligible for the National Register, California Register, and for local listing as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. With mitigation to ensure that the Project rehabilitation is conducted in accordance with the Secretary of

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

the Interior’s Standards, impacts from the Project will be less than significant and will 67 avoid significant impacts to historic resources.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

14.0 MITIGATION MEASURES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68

14.1 Mitigation Measures The following mitigation measures will minimize the loss of any character-defining features and/or historic fabric as a result of rehabilitation associated with the proposed Project and would reduce potential impacts associated with the proposed Project to a less-than-significant level.

1. The rehabilitation of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building shall conform with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

2. The Applicant shall engage a qualified historic preservation consultant that meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards to oversee the design development and construction for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The historic preservation consultant will conduct on-site construction monitoring throughout the construction phase.

3. The Project shall include an on-site interpretive display commemorating the history of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building and its historic significance. This display may include historic photos, drawings and narrative text.

14.2 Recommendations for Future Maintenance The following measures are recommended to facilitate long-term stewardship of the Hollywood Citizen-News Building. These measures will support the building’s continued preservation as a historic resource and ensure that its history and significance are understood by future generations.:

1. The Applicant shall nominate the Hollywood Citizen-News Building for designation as a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in recognition of its historic significance.

2. A Historic Structure Report (HSR) shall be developed for the Hollywood Citizen-News Building to document its historic significance, identify character- defining features, and establish treatments for its continued preservation. The HSR will be developed in accordance with Preservation Brief 43: The Preparation and Use of Historic Structure Reports, available from the National Park Service. The HSR shall include specifications for the treatment of character-defining features, which will include but are not limited to sections for the treatment of historic fabric; quality control; substitution procedures; demolitions; selective removal and storage of historic materials; protection,

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

patching, and cleaning; and determination of repair options and potential 69 replacement of severely deteriorated features.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

SOURCES 70

“Announcement.” Hollywood Citizen-News, November 2, 1931.

Building Records System, City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. http://ladbsdoc.lacity.org/idispublic/ (accessed March 2017).

Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Inc. Historic Resources Survey: Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area. Prepared for the Community Redevelopment Agency, February 2010. http://preservation.lacity.org/surveyla- findings-and-reports#Hollwood%20Redevelopment%20Project%20Area (accessed March 2017).

“Citizen-News Changes Hands in Hollywood.” Chicago Tribune, July 29, 1964.

Congressional Record. 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956. Vol. 102, pt. 11: 15588-15590.

Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell, Amy Ronnebeck Hall, and Frank E. Cooper, Jr. Los Angeles Art Deco. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell, John W. Thomas, and J. Christopher Launi. Long Beach Art Deco. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.

“Francis D. Rutherford.” Architect and Engineer (January 1933): 85.

“Francis Rutherford.” Utah Center for Architecture. http://utahcfa.org/architect/francis_d_rutherford (accessed March 2017).

Furmanovsky, Michael. “’Cocktail Picket Party’: The Hollywood Citizen-News Strike, the Newspaper Guild, and the Popularization of the ‘Democratic Front’ in Los Angeles.” UCLA Historical Journal 5 (1984): 24-49.

Historical Los Angeles Times, 1881-1987. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

“Ira C. Copley.” Washington Post, November 4, 1907.

“Los Angeles Historic Context Statement, Context Outline.” SurveyLA: Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. https://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/SurveyLA_HistoricContextStatement Outline_July2018.pdf (accessed July 2018).

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

McCorkle, Julia Norton. “A History of Los Angeles Journalism” Historical Society of 71 Southern California 10, parts I and II (1915-1916): 24-43.

Perry, Louis B. and Richard S. Perry. History of the Los Angeles Labor Movement, 1911-1941. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1963.

“Photo archive from defunct ‘Valley Times’ newspaper goes digital.” Los Angeles Daily News, October 10, 2013.

Potter, Matt. “The Rise and Fall of the Copley Press.” San Diego Reader, February 28, 2008. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/feb/28/cover/# (accessed March 2017).

“SurveyLA Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey Report: Hollywood Community Plan Area.” August 2011, revised November 2015. Prepared for the City of Los Angeles by Historic Resources Group, Pasadena, CA. http://preservation.lacity.org/sites/default/files/HistoricResourcesSurveyReport_Holly wood.pdf (accessed June 2017).

The Copley Press. Aurora, IL: The Copley Press, Inc., 1953.

“The Hollywood News, the new evening daily…”The Typographical Journal LIX no. 6 (December 1921), 669.

“The Hollywood Press.” Holly Leaves, July 1, 1922.

Torrence, Bruce T. Hollywood: The First 100 Years. Hollywood, CA: The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce & Fiske Enterprises, 1979.

U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. By the staff of the National Register of Historic Places, finalized by Patrick W. Andrus, edited by Rebecca H. Shrimpton. Washington, DC: 1990; revised for Internet, 2002. https://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb15/ (accessed July 2018).

U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Nomination Form. Washington, DC: 1997. https://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb16a/ (accessed July 2018.)

Williams, Gregory Paul. The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History. BL Press, LLC, 2005.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

APPENDIX A – BUILDING PERMIT CHRONOLOGY 72

YEAR PERMIT WORK PERFORMED ARCHITECT OWNER NUMBER 1930 1930LA25926 Construction of a new 2- Francis D. Ira C. Copley story (plus basement) Rutherford concrete news publishing building. 1936 1936LA27997 Replace wood floor on None listed Hollywood first floor. Citizen-News 1939 1939LA09711 Strengthen existing floor Harold P. King Hollywood construction on first [engineer] Citizen-News floor. 1947 1947LA17022 Mezzanine floor between Joseph Rhodes Hollywood 1st and 2nd floor. [engineer] Citizen-News 1950 1950LA25468 Build 8’ x 10’ platform None listed Hollywood 7’7” high in corner of Citizen-News press room. 1951 1951LA01078 Install metal canopy over John E. Mackel Hollywood loading dock at rear of [engineer] Citizen-News building. 1951 1951LA04230 Construct [illegible] room None listed Hollywood in corner of existing Citizen-News room on second floor. 1955 1955LA12233 Base for new presses. John E. Mackel Citizen News of [engineer] Hollywood 1957 1957LA69826 Parapet corrections; None listed Citizen News Co. brace front parapet wall. 1959 1959LA42082 Cut opening in [floor] & John E. Mackel Citizen News install foundation for two [engineer] new presses. 1959 1959LA44171 Wet sandblast; side wall None listed Mrs. Vera only Palmer 1961 1961LA95038 Add 14’ x 32’ cover over Robert W. Citizen News driveway. Haussler [engineer] 1962 1962LA05469 Non-bearing partition, None listed David B. Heyler 2nd floor. 1967 1967LA44454 Installation of air cond. L. M. Citizen News equip. on roof. Nerenbaum

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

YEAR PERMIT WORK PERFORMED ARCHITECT OWNER 73 NUMBER 1980 1980LA00291 Build non-bearing None listed Ernest George partition walls & add doors 1st flr. & 2nd flr.; conc. bl. rear walls & add doors. 1980 1980LA00571 Interior partitions. None listed Mr. Doud 1980 1980LA01510 Partitions (interior) & 6’ x None listed Ernest George 8’ door in existing wall. 1980 1980LA03441 Building non-bearing None listed Ernest George / partition walls for Doud Realty storage space in basement. 1980 1980LA07774 Partitions & stairway. H. Thomas Ernest George Wilson 1981 1981LA24284 Non-bearing partitions. None listed Ernest George 1981 1981LA30900 Add dark room. None listed Mr. W. George 1981 1981LA31947 Stairway to basement. None listed Mr. George 1982 1982LA44066 Put a new wall (dividing None listed Ernest George room); interior partition. 1982 1982LA53610 Interior partition None listed Ernie George (remodel portion of bldg.) & remodeling. 1984 1984LA84676 Building non-bearing None listed Ernest George; walls (partitions); 1st David George floor. 1985 1985LA19442 Add 51 L.F. of non- None listed Ernest George bearing partition; remove and replace 1-HR door at stair shaft. 1992 1992LA91256 T. I. – Add and/or Artech Group Elmi Graphics / 1 relocate non-bearing Magic partitions. 1994 1994SP15532 E. Q. – Repair cracks in Riley Howe Ernest George concrete wall. Assoc. [engineer] 1997 97016-40000- t/o (e) rock roof & reroof None listed Selma Wilcox 09411 w/ LLC 1998 98016-10000- TI: Install full height non- None listed Selma Wilcox 08991 bearing partition wall @ LLC ground floor. Remodel restrooms to comply with handicap requirements. Add new exit door.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

YEAR PERMIT WORK PERFORMED ARCHITECT OWNER 74 NUMBER 2003 03016-10000- Replace damaged drywall None listed None listed 21682 and plaster on the 2nd floor office. 2005 05016-10000- Removal of interior non- None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 24866 structural walls on basement and first floor levels. 2005 05016-30000- T.I. Remove/install non- Kenneth L. Butts BCP Wilcox LLC 22708 bearing wall at office suite (6800SF). 1 HR wall at corridor. Expend [sic]/remodel existing bathroom. 2006 06014-40000- Add mezzanine level to Kenneth L. Butts BCP Wilcox LLC 00079 second floor within existing office bldg. 2006 06016-10000- Construct interior None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 09420 passenger elevator and adjacent inter. stair thru corridor on 2nd floor of office. 2006 06016-10000- Tear-off portion on roof None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 19548 (70sqs.) re-roof w/ built- up roofing 2006 06016-20000- T.I.: Remove and add None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 20171 non-bearing partitions at unit #201 2006 06016-30000- Demolition of (e) None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 21428 dumbwaiter & infill of (e) slab openings on the second floor of an existing 2-story office building.

[Subsequent permit cancels demolition of dumbwaiter.]

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

YEAR PERMIT WORK PERFORMED ARCHITECT OWNER 75 NUMBER 2007 06016-10000- T.I. of (e) office. Clayt Hudson BCP Wilcox LLC 24391 Comments: CRA APPROVED WITH CONDITION; No historic features shall be altered or demolished. No alteration to the exterior. 2007 07016-10000- Combine (2) separate Nelson Algaze BCP Wilcox LLC 04751 office spaces into (1) space, remodel 1st floor and mezzanine levels and alter € stairways. Replace exterior roll-up doors with new glass storefront system with (e) wall openings. 2007 07016-10000- Add 1-hr fire rated Nelson Algaze BCP Wilcox LLC 13573 corridor to connect existing lobby and two stairways. 2009 08016-30000- Interior non-structural None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 20854 office remodel to existing 2-story, type II A. Include the addition and removal of non-bearing partitions on the 1st and 2nd floor.

Comments: Work performed under this permit shall not impact historic lobby area at front nor the exterior. Demo of curved walls is allowed. Combined (2) separate offices into (1) 1st + mess. level.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

YEAR PERMIT WORK PERFORMED ARCHITECT OWNER 76 NUMBER 2009 09016-10000- Tenant improvements for Gerald Whitfield BCP Wilcox LLC 02600 a new refrigerated locker Compton rental facility for wine collectors. Change of use of portion of basement floor (90’ x 65’) from office to chilled locker rental area for wine bottles. 2009 09016-10000- Interior demolition at None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 03720 basement level: demolish interior nonstructural drywall and partition wall. 2010 10016-10000- Change of use of William Douglas BCP Wilcox LLC 19239 5850sqft of office space Stanton to sound score production – interior remodel of existing sound studio including non-bearing drywall partitions and (1) 7’ ht free standing wall. 2011 10016-10002- Remove reception desk William Douglas BCP Wilcox LLC 19239 at reception area. Stanton 2012 12016-10001- Adding an equipment None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 06806 room with (e) office on 2nd floor of (e) 2-story office building. 2013 13016-10000- Non load bearing None listed BCP Wilcox LLC 02092 partition wall in an (e) office suite.

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APPENDIX B – CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES INVENTORY, MARCH 2017

Exterior

Location Character-Defining Features Notes Photographs

Site Zero setback at north, east, and south

Narrow setback at west

Concrete drive wrapping north, west, and

south sides of building

Sidewalk skylights

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Exterior

Location Character-Defining Features Notes Photographs

Massing Complex massing

Rectangular plan

Two-story height

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East Façade Symmetrical 13-bay façade Metal railings at first story windows (Primary) are a later addition and are not character-defining

Smooth cement plaster over concrete walls

Granite base

Fluted piers capped with decorative cast panels

Geometric fretwork frieze

“Hollywood News Building” panel and metal flagpole

Decorative cast cornice

Vehicle portals with “Entrance” and “Exit” signs at north and south end bays

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Recessed, fixed metal-frame windows with divided-light transom lights and geometrically patterned transoms at first story

Recessed, divided-light, metal sash, awning and fixed windows with projecting sills at second story

Glazed terra cotta tile window surrounds

Metal-framed bay windows with decorative transom panels and cresting

Central public entrance with projecting surround of decorative glazed terra cotta tile

Metal entrance doors with metal frame, center light, divided-light transom lights, decorative cast transom panels, and geometrically-patterned transoms

Secondary editorial entrance in metal-framed bay with pair of glazed wood doors

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Exterior

Location Character-Defining Features Notes Photographs

Citizen News illuminated blade sign

South Façade Asymmetrical composition Large, fixed metal frame windows at west portion of south façade are later additions and are not character-defining Expressed board-formed concrete construction

Projecting second-story bays on square concrete columns over driveway

Board-formed concrete perimeter screen wall

Divided-light, metal sash, awning and fixed windows

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Exterior

Location Character-Defining Features Notes Photographs

West Façade Asymmetrical composition Large ground floor openings have been filled and finished with plaster scored to resemble board-formed concrete Expressed board-formed concrete construction

Vehicle portals at north and south end bays

Divided-light, metal sash, awning and fixed windows

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Exterior

Location Character-Defining Features Notes Photographs

North Façade Asymmetrical composition

Expressed board-formed concrete construction

Projecting second-story bays on square concrete columns over driveway

Divided-light, metal sash, awning and fixed windows

Metal fire door

Roof Flat roof with parapet

Sawtooth skylights

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

APPENDIX C – STATE OF CALIFORNIA DPR SURVEY FORMS 84

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP State of California - The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial NRHP Status Code 3S Other Listings Review Code Reviewer Date

Page1 of2 *Resource Name or #: (Assigned by recorder) HOLLYWOOD CITIZEN NEWS BLDG

P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for PublicationX Unrestricted *a. County Los Angeles County and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5' Quad: HollywoodDate: 1996 c. Address: 1545 WILCOX AVECity: LOS ANGELESZip: 90028 d. UTM: (Give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone: mE/ mN e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate) Elevation: APN:5547017030 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)

*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP06 *P4. Resources Present: X Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.) P5b. Description of photo: (View, data, accession #) 01/21/09 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: X Historic Prehistoric Both 1930 Assessor *P7. Owner and Address: BCP WILCOX LLC 11601 WILSHIRE BLVD (STE 1675) LOS ANGELES, CA 90025

*P8. Recorded by: Jenna Snow Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preserva 13417 Ventura Boulevard Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-3938

*P9. Date Recorded: 01/21/2009 *P10. Survey Type: (Describe) Intensive *P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources or enter "none.") Chattel Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Inc. Historic Resources Survey of the Hollywood Redevelopment Area. Prepared for the Communit Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles in collaboration with PCR Services Corporation and LSA Associates, Inc., March 2009.

*Attachments: X None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (List): DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information State of California - The Resources Agency Primary # DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial

Page22 of *Resource Name or #: (Assigned by recorder) HOLLYWOOD CITIZEN NEWS BLDG

*Recorded By: Jenna Snow*Date: 01/21/2009 ContinuationX Update

Update Status: Retains Integrity

DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information

APPENDIX D – PHOTOGRAPHS OF EVALUATED RESOURCE 87

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox View looking northwest from Wilcox Avenue.

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox View looking southwest from Wilcox Avenue.

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Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Primary entrance, former public entrance, primary (east) façade.

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Primary entrance detail, former public entrance, primary (east) façade.

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Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Secondary entrance, former editorial entrance, primary (east) façade.

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Secondary entrance detail, former editorial entrance, primary (east) façade.

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Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Façade detail, second-floor fenestration and frieze, primary (east) façade.

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Façade detail, first-floor display windows, primary (east) façade.

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Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Hollywood News and Citizen-News signage, primary (east) façade.

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Hollywood News and Citizen-News signage and cast decorative elements, primary (east) façade.

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Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Secondary entrance, editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby).

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Secondary entrance, editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby).

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Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby), second floor.

Hollywood Citizen-News Building, 1545-1551 N. Wilcox Editorial lobby (Wilcox Lobby), staircase detail.

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

APPENDIX E – RESUMES OF AUTHORS/CONTRIBUTORS 94

HISTORIC RESOURCES TECHNICAL REPORT Hollywood Citizen-News Building 1545-1551 North Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP

PAUL D. TRAVIS, AICP MANAGING PRINCIPAL Years of Experience: 13 Experience Profile Education Paul Travis specializes in master planning, CEQA, NEPA and Section 106 Master of Arts in Urban Planning, environmental review, and historic resources assessment. At HRG, Paul University of California, Los manages planning-related projects with a focus on large, multi-property sites Angeles, 2006 including college campuses, historic downtowns, neighborhoods and districts,

industrial sites, motion picture studios, and military bases. Paul has drafted Bachelor of Fine Arts, Printmaking, San Jose State University, San Jose, preservation plans for the University of Southern California, NBC Universal 1985 Studios, Hollywood, and Los Angeles International Airport. He has participated in the development of community plans or specific plans for Paso Robles, Lectures Fresno, and Whittier; and has been involved in the master planning process California Preservation Foundation for Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Mount St. Mary’s • Historic Resources and the College, Fox Studios, the Alameda Naval Station, and the Downey NASA site. California Environmental Recent survey experience includes historic resource surveys for the cities of Quality Act Los Angeles, Ventura, Glendale, Paso Robles, San Diego, and Fresno. • Historic Resources Surveys Prior to working at HRG, Paul worked as a research assistant at the Lewis • Preservation Planning Center for Regional Policy Studies performing academic research for study of

transit-oriented development along the Pasadena Gold Line light rail system. Professional Affiliations Responsibilities include gathering and analysis of ridership data and adjacent American Institute of Certified development activity, and field observation of conditions surrounding transit Planners, Member stops.

Paul Travis meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification American Planning Association, Urban Design & Preservation Standards in Historic Preservation Planning and History. Division, Member Selected Project Experience American Planning Association, NBC Universal Evolution Plan, Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Chapter, Member Client: NBC Universal Project Role: Principal-in-Charge and Project Manager California Preservation Dates: 2006 to current Foundation, Guest Speaker, Since 2006, HRG has been the historic preservation consultant for the NBC Workshop Leader Universal Evolution Plan and its associated EIR. The overall purpose of the Evolution Plan was to provide a clear set of comprehensive guidelines under National Trust for Historic which future development of the Universal City property would occur. Preservation, Member Working in conjunction with the architectural team, HRG developed a Preservation Plan to guide the rehabilitation of historic buildings, structures, and sites within the historic district; and established basic criteria for new construction within the historic district to maintain its historic character. The Preservation Plan provides a guide for architects and designers in creating compatible new construction within the historic district.

LAX Historic Assessments, Environmental Review, and Preservation Plan

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Los Angeles, California Client: Various including CDM Smith, Ricondo Associates, Gensler Project Role: Principal-in-Charge and Project Manager Dates: 2014 to current Originally named Mines Field when the first landing strips opened in 1928, Los Angeles World Airport has grown to be the largest airport in California. Its extensive history, encompasses the nascent development of the aviation industry in California, World War II, the jet age, deregulation, and widespread flight travel in the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Careful planning was required to recognize the airport’s rich history while accommodating necessary facilities upgrades to meet current and future needs. HRG has worked with the airport for over three years to identify historic resources located on the airport site, conduct environmental review under CEQA, NEPA and Section 106 for multiple projects, and prepare a comprehensive Preservation Plan to guide the preservation of historic resources.

City of Fresno Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, Fresno, California Client: City of Fresno Project Role: Principal-in-Charge and Project Manager Dates: 2010 to 2014 In an effort to turn around decades of urban decline, the City of Fresno embarked on a planning effort to revitalize the City’s Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods. The project included the creation of a future vision of the plan areas, policy and regulatory overhauls to support that vision, and replacement of the existing zoning with a form-based code. To support this effort, HRG conducted an intensive survey of Downtown Fresno and reconnaissance surveys of its surrounding neighborhoods to inform the planning process with a comprehensive understanding of historic resources located within the planning areas. Armed with an in-depth knowledge of the City’s historic resources, HRG consulted on policies and regulatory processes to strengthen the City’s preservation efforts within the plan areas. HRG also provided environmental review of the proposed plans in compliance with CEQA and consulted on Section 106 review.

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JOHN LOCASCIO PRINCIPAL Years of Experience: 30 Experience Profile Professional License A licensed, practicing architect for 25 years, John has been involved with California Architect C24223 historic preservation for 15 years and working at HRG for 6 years.

John’s areas of focus at HRG include historic architecture and technology, Education building conservation, historic structure reports and federal historic Master’s Degree, Historic rehabilitation tax credit projects. He provides technical assistance for Preservation, University of construction documents, advises on compliance with the Secretary of the Southern California, Los Angeles, Interior’s Standards and the use of the State Historic Building Code, provides CA construction monitoring, and paint and materials sampling and analysis Bachelor of Architecture, services. University of Southern California John has worked on a wide variety of projects involving historic buildings and Honors and Awards structures in Southern California, including CBS Columbia Square, Grand Los Angeles Conservancy Central Air Terminal in Glendale, the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum, Preservation Award Los Angeles International Airport, Hotel Constance, Los Angeles Forum, • Glendale Central Air University of Southern California, numerous LAUSD campus modernization Terminal, 2017 projects, and the 28th Street YMCA. • CBS Columbia Square, 2016 • 28th Street YMCA, 2013 Prior to joining HRG, John served as Executive Director of Claremont Heritage, including reviewing environmental documents and advising the City of California Preservation Foundation Claremont on planning and design issues. John also worked for 14 years as a Preservation Design Award project architect in private practice, specializing in custom residential projects. • CBS Columbia Square, 2016 • Glendale Central Air John LoCascio meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Terminal, 2016 Standards in Architecture and Historic Architecture. • 28th Street YMCA, 2013 City of Pasadena Historic Selected Project Experience Preservation Award, Constance Hotel, 2015 Project: CBS Columbia Square, Hollywood, California AIA Institute Honor Award, 28th Client: Kilroy Realty Street YMCA, 2015 Project Role: Historic Architect Dates: 2012-2016 Professional Affiliations American Institute of Architects CBS Columbia Square, the West Coast headquarters of Columbia Broadcasting, symbolized all that was modern, glamorous and innovative in Glendale Historical Society the entertainment industry when it opened in 1937. HRG worked with the • President, 2008-2011 owner and project team to bring renewed life into the complex, opening the courtyard to pedestrian use, bringing back design elements to the ground level walkways, restoring the steel casement ribbon windows and rehabilitating dramatic interior spaces. The three buildings were rehabilitated according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.

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Incompatible additions and alterations were removed; the historic Studio A entrance canopy was restored; the aluminum-framed glass walls at the ground floor of the Radio and Commercial/Television buildings were reconstructed; the historic steel casement windows were rehabilitated; a paint seriation analysis was conducted to determine original paint colors; and the historic courtyard was re-landscaped and re-opened to Sunset Boulevard.

Project: Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California Client: Frederick Fisher & Partners Architects Project Role: Historic Architect Dates: 2012-2016

Adaptive reuse project to rehabilitate Los Angeles’ first commercial airport. The Grand Central Air Terminal opened in 1930 and served the LA area until 1959. This project restored the building’s exterior and significant interior spaces, and the building was adapted into office space and an event center. HRG offered expertise from the pre-development phase, through design and construction, identifying significant character-defining features of the property, advising on compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards; and acting as construction monitor to ensure compliance.

Project: Constance Hotel, Pasadena, California Client: Park Place Commercial LP Project Role: Historic Architect Dates: 2010-current

Rehabilitation of a historic hotel, including utilizing the Federal Historic Tax Credit program. HRG offered expertise from the pre-development phase, through design and construction, identifying significant character-defining features of the property, conducting historic paint analysis, advising on compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, preparing tax credit documentation and acting as liaison with the State Office of Historic Preservation; and acting as construction monitor to ensure compliance.

Project: Venice High School Modernization, Los Angeles, California Client: NAC Architecture/LAUSD Project Role: Historic Architect Dates: 2017-ongoing

$138 million modernization project for LAUSD's Venice High School, including construction of three new classrooms and upgrading existing facilities. Historic Resources Group coordinated mitigation, including HABS documentation of two shop buildings. John is serving as Historic Architect to ensure compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation for new construction.

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HEATHER GOERS ARCHTIECTURAL HISTORIAN Years of Experience: 9 Experience Profile Education Heather has been with Historic Resources Group since 2012. She holds a Master of Historic Preservation, Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of Chicago and a Master’s University of Southern degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Southern California, California where her master’s thesis discussed the work of Buff & Hensman in relation to Bachelor of Arts, Humanities, the cultural landscape of the Arroyo Seco. University of Chicago After completing her master’s degree, Heather managed her own historic Professional Affiliations preservation consulting practice, where she provided guidance and research to owners of historic properties and archival collections. She has also worked for California Garden and organizations including the Ennis House Foundation, the Los Angeles County Landscape History Society, Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles Conservancy. member At HRG, Heather specializes in technical reports and cultural landscape reports California Preservation as well as esearch analysis for commercial, industrial, and institutional Foundation, Guest Speaker & properties containing multiple resources. She also drafts Los Angeles Historic- Workshop Leader Cultural Monument nominations and survey report contexts for SurveyLA. Hollywood Heritage, Board of She has developed research for a wide variety of projects, including citywide Directors historic context statements for Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Beverly Hills, and South Pasadena; neighborhood context statements for Hollywood, Westwood, Los Angeles Conservancy, Westwood Village, and Holmby Westwood; and individual properties including Member and Volunteer the Gamble House, the Freeman House, and the Hollyhock House. Her most recent projects include the Entertainment Industry Support Services Historic Context Statement and the SurveyLA Entertainment Context. Heather has guest-lectured on research methodology and cultural landscapes for the California Preservation Foundation and at Hollywood Heritage, Cal Poly Pomona, and the University of Southern California. She maintains memberships with Hollywood Heritage, where she serves on the Board of Directors; with the Los Angeles Conservancy, where she is a five-year volunteer; and the California Garden and Landscape History Society. Heather meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards in History and Architectural History. Selected Project Experience SurveyLA Entertainment Industry Support Services Historic Context Statement Freeman House Historic Structures Report Update Gamble House Cultural Landscape Report Hollyhock House Supplemental Historic Structures Report Holmby Westwood HPOZ Survey Sunset Gower Studios Preservation Planning Thacher School Survey & Assessment

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