July/August 2009
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
VOLUME 31 JUL AUG 2009 NUMBER 4 Century Plaza Hotel: One of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America by Mike Buhler As you may know by now, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has included the Century Plaza Hotel on its 2009 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This annual list high- lights historic sites throughout the U.S. that face destruction or irreparable damage. While the Na- Kennedy High School architecture students completed their first year of the Student Advocates program by leading peer tional Trust for Historic Preservation typically tours of San Fernando Valley buildings they are nominating for landmark status. Sites include the "Onion" chapel (left), Lankershim Reading Room (middle), and Mission Hills Bowl (right). unveils the list near its Washington, DC headquar- ters, officials traveled to Los Angeles to make this year’s announcement, placing a national spotlight on the plight of the Century Plaza. Kennedy High Student Advocates In December 2008, the new owners of the Century Plaza Hotel, Next Century Associates, Complete Inaugural Year announced plans to demolish the iconic 1966 ho- tel, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki as the by Adam Rubin centerpiece of Century City, and replace it with In May, the Los Angeles Conservancy completed the first year of our Student Advocates after- two 600-foot towers. The new project would in- school program at the John F. Kennedy High School Architecture and Digital Arts Magnet in Granada clude a boutique hotel, condominiums, mixed-use Hills—and what a year it was! space, and two acres of open space. Six months Created in 2008 to build upon our existing relationship with Kennedy High, the program introduces prior, after purchasing the Century Plaza, Next an alternative aspect to the students’ architecture and design education: the idea that while architects are Century’s Michael Rosenfeld had hailed the hotel trained primarily to create new buildings, creative and fulfilling careers also exist in the field of historic as “a jewel in my hometown.” (Please see March/ preservation and in the rehabilitation of existing buildings. April Conservancy News for more background.) A total of twenty bright and talented individuals, ranging from freshmen to seniors, dedicated their The National Trust for Historic Preserva- time and energy to the Student Advocates program. They met every two weeks with Conservancy staff tion announced its list of America’s 11 Most to discuss local architectural history and preservation fundamentals, all while working on semester-long Endangered Historic Places at an April 28 news historic preservation projects in their neighborhoods. You may also recognize the students from last fall’s conference across the street from the Century L.A. NOIR-chitecture tour and this spring’s City of the Seekers tour, on which they served as volunteer Plaza. The event was attended by print, televi- docents. sion, radio, and online media outlets, and gar- One of the goals of the Student Advocates program is to put the students in direct contact with nered widespread local and national media cov- people throughout the Los Angeles preservation community, from city planners to historic home dwell- erage. Richard Moe, president of the National ers. Throughout the year, the students met staff members from the City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Trust for Historic Preservation, began the news Resources, the San Fernando Valley Historical Society, and Architectural Resources Group, as well as conference by announcing all eleven sites (visit volunteers from the Conservancy’s Modern Committee. They established personal and professional contacts with some of the many people in Southern California who consider our architectural history Please see CENTURY PLAZA HOTEL on page 6 something of great and enduring value. During the fall 2008 semester, the students participated in a historic resources survey for the I N S I D E proposed Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) of Balboa Highlands, a collection of mid-century Conservancy News 2 modern tract homes developed by Joseph Eichler, located three miles north of the Kennedy High campus. The survey was completed in January and has since been submitted to the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Preservation Issues in the News 3, 6 Commission for evaluation. Programs 4-5 Please see STUDENT ADVOCATES on page 4 Membership 7 CONSERVANCY NEWS Letter from the Executive Director: Los Angeles Conservancy 523 W. Sixth Street, Suite 826 New Methods, Same Need: Strength in Numbers Los Angeles, California 90014 (213) 623-2489 Fax: (213) 623-3909 laconservancy.org by Linda Dishman As described in our cover story (and as you may have heard in the news), the National Trust for The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit Historic Preservation recently named the Century Plaza Hotel to this year’s list of the 11 Most membership organization that works through Endangered Historic Places in America. education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and The Los Angeles Conservancy has been extremely fortunate revitalize the historic architectural and cultural to have had four local sites placed on this prestigious list over the resources of Los Angeles County. years. Three of these sites have since been saved and revitalized: The Conservancy News is published bi-monthly. the world’s oldest remaining McDonald’s restaurant in Downey Editor: Lisa M. Snyder (listed in 1994), the former Cathedral of St. Vibiana in downtown Lithography: The Prince of Printing Los Angeles (listed in 1997), and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House Board of Directors in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles (listed in 2005). The Thomas R. Miller, President Alison Crowell, VP Membership/Development fourth, Santa Anita Racetrack (listed in 2000), still stands. Having Steven D. Archer, VP Education/Community Relations a historic resource placed on this list is an honor, and the accompa- Charmaine Atherton, VP Finance/Administration nying publicity helps greatly in garnering widespread support for Mitchell E. Abbott; Roberto E. Barragan; preservation. Clare De Briere; Barbara Flammang, AIA; It’s interesting to see how the process of advocating for an 11 Robert K. Foster; Dexter Henderson; Chris Iovenko; Maura M. Johnson; Diane Keaton; Lauren King; Most site (or any endangered historic place) has evolved over the Stephanie Kingsnorth, AIA; Michael LaFetra; years. Clearly, the single greatest difference is in how we communi- Cedd Moses; Jackie Kim Park; Kevin Ratner; cate with and engage people. In past years, we’ve informed and Ben Stiller; Trina Turk; Corinne Verdery; mobilized people through our member newsletter, other mailings, Donald Weggeman phone banks, and if we were lucky, through news coverage. After the 2009 11 Most list was Advisory Council announced, the Conservancy was able to notify 16,000 people instantly by e-mail and over 1,000 Margaret Bach; Sally S. Beaudette; Bruce Corwin; “fans” (and countless others) on our Facebook page. Tim Disney; George A.V. Dunning; Amy Forbes; Within 48 hours after the announcement, hundreds of people had taken our online pledge of Douglas J. Gardner; Albert Greenstein; Curtis Hanson; Greg Harless; Robert S. Harris, FAIA; support for preserving the Century Plaza Hotel (and given us their contact information so we can Mary Kay Hight; Dr. Thomas S. Hines; keep them informed of the issue as it progresses). As of press time, that number had grown to nearly Kathryn Welch Howe; Huell Howser; 1,000. Blog postings on the issue spread the word even further, and reader comments offer invaluable Brenda Levin, FAIA; Ronald S. Lushing; insight. We have yet to take full advantage of social media for preservation advocacy, but we’re Robert F. Maguire III; Christy McAvoy; Mimi Perloff; working on it. Frank Romero; Jack Rubens; Alan Sieroty; Alison Silver; Joel Wachs; John H. Welborne; Of course, traditional media still play a central role in raising awareness of critical issues such as Roland A. Wiley, AIA; Ken Williams; the Century Plaza Hotel. Yet print coverage is increasingly rare, and nothing can match social media Dr. Robert W. Winter for instant notification, fast mobilization, and true interaction. Lifetime Cornerstone The means may change, but the critical need for strength in numbers stays the same. If you George A.V. Dunning haven’t yet taken the pledge to support preservation of the Century Plaza Hotel, please do so Stephen and Christy McAvoy today. It’s fast, easy, and free. Simply visit our website at laconservancy.org, e-mail Leonard Hill and Ann Daniel [email protected], or call the office at (213) 623-2489. I cannot overstate the importance of Christopher and Ayahlushim Hammond John H. and Martha L. Welborne each and every voice in our ability to prevent the senseless demolition of the Century Plaza. As always, thank you for your support. Staff Linda Dishman, Executive Director April Arrozal, Membership Coordinator Nominations Sought for 2009 Governor’s Historic Michael Buhler, Director of Advocacy Naomi Castillo, Receptionist Preservation Awards Flora Chou, Preservation Advocate Constance Farrell, Communications Coordinator Celebrate California’s heritage by participating in the 2009 Governor’s Historic Preservation Connie Humberger, Volunteer Coordinator Awards, honoring organizations or public agencies whose contributions demonstrate notable achieve- Adrienne Kisson, Director of Development ments in preserving the heritage of California. Nominations are being accepted through Friday, July Annie