Intensive Survey
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INTENSIVE SURVEY WESTLAKE RECOVERY COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AREA CITY OF LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA June 15, 2009 INTENSIVE SURVEY WESTLAKE RECOVERY REDEVELOPMENT AREA CITY OF LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Prepared for: Ken Moye, Senior Planner City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, Hollywood and Central Region 3055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 520 Los Angeles, California 90010 Prepared by: Tanya Rathbun Sorrell, M.A.; Bill Bell; and Casey Tibbet, M.A. LSA Associates, Inc. 1500 Iowa Avenue, Suite 200 Riverside, California 92507 LSA Project No. CAX0701 June 15, 2009 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. INTENSIVE SURVEY JUNE 2009 WESTLAKE RECOVERY REDEVELOPMENT AREA CITY OF LOS ANGELES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY LSA Associates, Inc. (LSA) is under contract to Chattel Architecture, Preservation, and Planning (Chattel) who is the prime consultant under contract to the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to conduct an intensive-level survey of three Community Redevelopment Areas. LSA is responsible for the Westlake Recovery Redevelopment Area (Westlake), while Chattel is responsible for the Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area (Hollywood) and PCR Services Corporation (PCR), a second subconsultant, is responsible for the Wilshire Center/Koreatown Recovery Redevelopment Area (Wilshire/Koreatown). The Westlake survey area comprises 633 acres and roughly 1,522 assessor’s parcels in an area surrounding MacArthur Park, bounded by Olympic Boulevard to the south, 3rd Street and Beverly Boulevard to the north, Hoover and Benton Streets to the west, and Witmer Street to the east. The project area was created in the aftermath of the civil unrest of 1992 as part of a larger area targeted for recovery and revitalization. The purpose of the survey, completed in cooperation with the City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources (OHR), was to identify, document, and evaluate, at the intensive level, all properties 45 years of age or older for eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (National Register), California Register of Historical Resources (California Register), and/or for designation as a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument (HCM) to facilitate future planning considerations. All three project teams coordinated with methodology under development for SurveyLA, the City’s first comprehensive historic resources survey. In the spring and summer of 2008, the survey team conducted windshield surveys and archival research to prepare a historic context statement, which identified significant themes and eligibility criteria. A draft of the historic context statement was reviewed by the other two CRA survey teams, CRA Project Managers, and Janet Hansen, Deputy Manager of OHR. In the fall and winter of 2008– 2009, the survey team conducted an intensive-level survey. Of the approximately 1,522 unique parcels within the survey area, 977 were digitally photographed and surveyed using the Historic Architecture Inventory (HAI), a field collection application and database custom-designed by LSA for the CRA surveys. Field maps showing the location and status of each documented property are attached as Appendix A. LSA photographed all properties constructed in 1965 and earlier, prepared descriptions for all of the properties that retained integrity, and conducted property-specific research on intact properties that appeared to be significant. Each of the surveyed properties was assigned a California Historical Resources status code according to level of significance. Of the 977 properties documented during the current survey, 4 properties were not visible from the public right-of-way and require special access before they can be evaluated (California Historical Resources [CHR] status code 7R). There were 32 properties that had been previously designated or determined eligible for designation, including 4 properties listed in the National and California Registers (CHR status code 1S), 9 properties that were formally determined eligible for the National and California Registers (CHR status code 2S), 10 properties that had been determined eligible for the National Register through a previous survey (CHR status code 3S), and 15 designated Los Angeles HCMs (CHR status code 5S1).1 These 32 properties were photographed and updated. 1 Eight of the designated HCMs have also been designated/determined eligible for the National Register and are also included in the totals for 1S and 2S. R:\CAX0701\REPORT\Report.doc (6/15/2009) i LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. INTENSIVE SURVEY JUNE 2009 WESTLAKE RECOVERY REDEVELOPMENT AREA CITY OF LOS ANGELES Of the properties that LSA fully surveyed, 163 appear to be eligible for listing in the National/California Registers (3S), and 58 appear eligible for the California Register, but not National Register (3CS). These 211 resources would also be eligible for designation as Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monuments. Another 63 properties are contributors to a potential National Register Historic District (3D) and, within that district, 8 properties were also individually eligible (3B). One apartment complex (Belmont Square) was documented as a California Register-eligible historic district because it was composed of several parcels (37 total), but for the purposes of evaluation should be considered one property. There was one property that was determined eligible exclusively for designation as an HCM, Langer’s Delicatessen (5S3). This amounts to 354 historical resources for the purposes of CEQA, 32 that were previously determined significant at one or more levels and 322 that as a result of this survey appear eligible for listing in the National or California registers or for designation as an HCM. The other 619 properties surveyed were determined to be ineligible for the National Register, California Register, or for designation as an LA HCM under any criteria (CHR status codes 6Z, 6DQ, and 6L). These properties are not “historical resources” under CEQA; however, 154 6DQ properties and 102 6L properties may warrant special consideration in local planning efforts. A master table, summarizing the results of the survey and listing the 977 properties documented in order by address, is attached to this report as Appendix B. Additional information is stored in the HAI database, which was conveyed to the CRA GIS specialists for inclusion in the CRA historic properties database. At CRA’s direction, this information will also be transmitted to the OHR for inclusion in the SurveyLA database. DPR forms (Primary and Building, Structure, Object [BSO] records) for significant individual properties were also printed from the database and are attached to this report as Appendix C. Primary records for historic district contributors have been printed, attached to an appropriate District Record, and attached to this report as Appendix D. All properties assigned a status code of 1–5 are considered to be “historical resources” for CEQA compliance purposes and City’s Cultural Heritage Ordinance. Those properties assigned a status code of 6DQ, 6Z or 6L do not constitute “historic properties” (Section 106) or “historical resources” (CEQA) and require no further cultural resources considerations. R:\CAX0701\REPORT\Report.doc (6/15/2009) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................iii FIGURES AND TABLES...................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................. 1 PROJECT METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 3 ARCHIVAL RESEARCH...............................................................................................................3 FIELD SURVEY ............................................................................................................................. 3 SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA................................................................................................................. 4 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ....................................................................... 4 CALIFORNIA REGISTER OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES ...................................................... 6 CITY OF LOS ANGELES HISTORIC CULTURAL MONUMENT (HCM) ............................... 6 CITY OF LOS ANGELES HISTORIC PRESERVATION OVERLAY ZONE (HPOZ) .............. 7 CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL RESOURCE (CHR) STATUS CODES......................................... 7 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................. 8 WESTLAKE’S BEGINNINGS, 1857–1910 ................................................................................... 8 DESTINATION WESTLAKE, 1906–1930 .................................................................................. 12 LATER DEVELOPMENT, 1970–1995 ........................................................................................ 21 HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT ............................................................................................... 25 CONTEXT: RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, 1887–1910 .....................................................