A Communication Via E-Mail to the Board of Recreation and Park

A communication via e-mail to The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners from: Peyton Hall <[email protected]> to: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> date: Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 3:29 PM subject: Submission of architectural report regarding Live Nation's proposal for the Greek Theatre mailed-by: historicresourcesgroup.com Dear Ms. Patsaouras and Honorable Commissioners, As consultants to Nederlander, we respectfully submit and request your consideration of the attached report concerning historic preservation and architecture related to Live Nation’s proposed work. Sincerely, &#0##)&#20# '4#2'-,_10-.-1* !2- #0>=Q><=@ 0#.0#" 7S '12-0'!#1-30!#10-3.Q =>T'0)14#,3# 1"#,*'$-0,'E==<A I. Introduction The Greek Theater, as part of Griffith Park, is designated as a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (Monument). As such, Los Angeles Administrative Code section 22.171.14 sets forth the requirements that the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission must follow in determining whether to allow any proposed substantial alterations. The Cultural Heritage Commission can only issue permits for substantial alterations to the Greek Theater if the requirements of Administrative Code section 22.171.14(a) are met. I am a Historic Preservation Architect, with substantial expertise and experience in the requirements for obtaining building permits for work on designated Monuments. As explained below, The Greek Theater is a classic Greek Revival design. Instead of preserving and protecting that architectural style, Live Nation’s proposal seeks to juxtapose contemporary architectural forms to contrast with the theater’s historic architectural style. Among other things, Live Nation proposes the addition of a modern, curvilinear steel canopy floating above the stage’s roof supported by sleek steel poles. Live Nation also proposes to alter the Primary Façade by adding large, permanent, rectangular structures that notably have no characteristics of the Greek Revival style on each side of the façade. And Live Nation proposes adding two new, large, permanent structures in the forecourt that also have no compatibility with the Greek Revival style and that destroy the spatial relationships of being able to see around the buildings. As explained below, Live Nation’s proposed alterations do not preserve The Greek’s historic architectural and physical characteristics, nor the spatial relationships that characterize the property. Accordingly, Live Nation’s proposed work does not qualify for a permit from the Cultural Heritage Commission. II. Expertise of the author of this Report I am the Managing Principal at Historic Resources Group, LLC, which many consider to be the leading consulting firm in the west for the most significant and high profile historic preservation projects. From 1987 through 1995, I was the Director of Architecture at John Ash Group Architects, where I introduced historic preservation practice and therefore established the reputation of the firm as one of the leading Southern California historic preservation architectural firms. I received my Bachelor of Architecture in 1974 from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, I studied at the Centro di Storia Dell-Architettura “Andrea Palladio” in Vicenza, Italia, and I received my Masters in Environmental Design from the Yale University School of Architecture in 1980 after completing a thesis in historic preservation. I was the first ever Creative Arts Exchange Fellow at the Tokyo National Cultural Properties Institute in Japan, studying the history and technology of building conservation through a United States program administered by the National Endowment for the Arts. I am an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California School of Architecture, where I was one of the founding faculty in the Certificate and Master Degree in Historic Preservation Programs (now known as the Heritage Conservation Program). I frequently make presentations on historical preservation to national organizations and institutions. I have contributed to a book on the topic of new additions to historic buildings sponsored by the National Park Service, and authored numerous papers on many topics in architectural preservation. 1 In 2010, I was appointed by the President of the American Institute of Architects (“AIA”) to be one of five Members of the Advisory Group to the AIA Historic Resources Committee. I was appointed Chair in 2014, and currently lead the 6,200 historic architect members of the AIA. In 2010, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed me as a Member of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel. I am a Member of the Advisory Board to the Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and have served on several Boards of Directors, including Co- Chair, Historic Resources Committee, AIA, Los Angeles Chapter; Member of Board of Directors, Western Chapter, Association for Preservation Technology International; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Pasadena Heritage; President and Trustee of the California Preservation Foundation & Californians for Preservation Action. I have been recognized five times from the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles for my excellence in historic preservation projects. I have received five National awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and dozens of Preservation Awards from the Los Angeles Conservancy and Preservation Design Awards from the California Preservation Foundation, among other honors. I have extensive experience with the permitting process before the Cultural Heritage Commission and its administrative staff at the Office of Historic Resources of the Planning Department, City of Los Angeles. Among other projects, I served as the Historic Architect and Lead Consultant or team member in clearing the permits for twelve buildings at El Pueblo, Grauman’s Egyptian and Chinese Theatres, the Gamble House Conservation Project, the Hollywood Palladium, the Annenberg Community Beach House, the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Aline Barnsdall House, Ennis House, and Freeman House, Hughes Industrial Historic District (Playa Vista), Doris Duke’s Shangri-La in Honolulu, Wichita’s Orpheum Theater, Fox Studio, Harada House National Historic Landmark, the Point Fermin Lighthouse, and the Cabrillo Beach Bath House, among other projects. A number of my completed projects were under the jurisdiction of the Department of Recreation and Parks of the City of Los Angeles. A copy of my C.V. is attached to this Report. III. Live Nation’s proposed addition of a CANOPY above the stage does not qualify for a permit A. To obtain a permit from the City, the proposed alteration must (1) comply with the U.S. Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation; (2) preserve the Monument’s historic and architectural qualities and physical characteristics; and (3) comply with CEQA The City of Los Angeles enacted a Cultural Heritage Ordinance, codified in Los Angeles Administrative Code section 22.171.14(a), governing the issuance of permits for any substantial alterations of designated Monuments, such as The Greek Theater. Specifically, Los Angeles Administrative Code section 22.171.14(a) provides: 2 “Standards for Issuance of a Permit for Substantial Alteration. The Commission shall base a determination on the approval of a permit for the substantial alteration of a Monument on each of the following: 1. The substantial alteration, including additional buildings on a site containing multiple buildings with a unified use, complies with the Standards for Rehabilitation approved by the United States Secretary of the Interior; and 2. Whether the substantial alteration protects and preserves the historic and architectural qualities and the physical characteristics that make the site, building, or structure a designated Monument; and 3. Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq. L.A. Admin. Code § 22.171.14(a). In other words, each of these three (3) prongs must be satisfied for Live Nation to obtain a permit to work on The Greek Theater: Prong 1: the alteration must comply with the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (which Standards are set forth immediately below); Prong 2: the alteration must protect and preserve the historic and architectural qualities, and the physical characteristics, that make the structure a designated Monument; and Prong 3: the alteration must comply with CEQA. As just stated, Prong 1 requires compliance with the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (“Standards”). Those Standards provide, in relevant part: “(1) A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces and spatial relationships. (2) The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive

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