Google Groups Saving Hollywood Reporter. [email protected] Oct 23, 2017 10:22 PM Posted in group: Clerk-PLUM-Committee Dear Plum Committee Members I have been involved in Los Angeles Historic Preservation now going on 25 years. In the past 5 years I have witnessed many historic Los Angeles building go to the wrecking ball. We must take a stand and say no to this development. Los Angeles is much more deserving of its past architectural history to erase it. Too many times with no viable plan. This whole area of Crossroads of the world deserves to be saved and not built over with soulless modem towers and commercial space. Sincerely Eric Evavold Vice President Board of the Museum of Neon Art Glendale Sent from my iPhone Google Groups Save The Hollywood Reporter Building, 6715 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood Adriene Biondo Oct 23, 2017 5:00 PM Posted in group: Clerk-PLUM-Committee Dear PLUM Committee Members, The Hollywood Reporter Building at 6715 Sunset Blvd. is part of the stuff that Hollywood dreams are made of. Hollywood Regency style buildings are becoming rarer, especially one of such grand Hollywood style. Importantly, The Hollywood Reporter Building is an authentic contributor to the historic district where it resides near the Egyptian Theatre, the El Capitan Theatre, the Chinese Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. These are more than buildings, each has a unique history and symbolizes the fabulous style, architecture and glamour that Hollywood's Film Capital is known for. Every year tourists from all over the globe travel to Southern California to visit Hollywood's world class landmarks. Historic landmarks can be important catalysts that energize new developments. A highly successful example is the Farmer's Market and The Grove. The Hollywood Reporter Building is an important touchstone for so many, a rare and intact survivor that *is* Hollywood and California's Golden Age at its zenith. It would be a wonderful landmark restaurant, boutique, visitors center, filming location. I advocate for adaptive reuse and responsible development over wholesale demolition, especially where demolition would result in a profound cultural and historical loss. Sincerely, Adriene Biondo Chair Emeritus Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee Google Groups The Hollywood Reporter Building Agenda Item #4 - Oct. 24 meeting File No. 17-0980 Art Deco Society Los Angeles ADSLA Oct 23, 2017 4:32 PM Posted in group: Clerk-PLUM-Committee Hello PLUM Committee - This is Margot Gerber from the Art Deco Society. We were wondering if you had any information about why our item #4 on The Hollywood Reporter Building keeps getting "continued?" At this time, we would like to submit to you, the comments on our petition to preserve the building. We currently have 1,265 signatures and 452 comments. You can look at the survey online, but you can also look at the attached file, https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-hollywood-reporter-building We have made contact with Willie Wilkerson, the son of the man who built the building that still stands today and who founded the Hollywood Reporter. He has stunning photos in his archive, of what the building looked like originally and you can really see the architect's vision. We will share the photos at your meeting. Comments from Willie Wilkerson are in the attached letter. The current incarnation of the paper, The Hollywood Reporter, is also going to support our campaign to save the save the building. I am attaching our comments and a copy of our survey. The comments on the petition are plentiful and I encourage you to scan them to get a sense of how people feel about the disappearance of the historic Hollywood neighborhood. Thank you again for your attention to this case which is file no. 17-0980. Sincerely, Margot Gerber President Art Deco Society of Los Angeles Preserve, Protect, Cherish Facebook Instagram Twitter www.adsla.org Join us in saving The Hollywood Reporter Building. Sign our petition now! October 23, 2017 From: The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles RE: Council File No. 17-0980 The Hollywood Reporter Building Dear Council Members of the PLUM Committee: Since we have not had the opportunity for public comment yet in this process, we would like to share some collected comments with you, both as part of a petition we launched in early September, and comments of the Art Deco Society and other heritage groups that have been championing the landmarking of the Hollywood Reporter building. Letters of support for the adaptive-reuse of The Hollywood Reporter Building have come in from all over the world. Saving simply the fagade is not true preservation. Journalism History The Hollywood Reporter started publishing on Sept. 3, 1930 and was the first daily entertainment trade paper to cover the motion picture industry from its base in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Reporter Building represents 80 years of Los Angeles journalism history - spanning the Golden Age of Hollywood movies, all the way up to the present century. The well-known Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne wrote his “Rambling Reporter” column for The Hollywood Reporter, for many years while the paper was housed in this building. For 8 years in the 21st century, the building housed another important Los Angeles paper, the LA Weekly. The demolition of this building would be a profound cultural and historical loss to the city. The property has unique value and it is now the last extant building in the Hollywood area, that housed a printing press. The paper printed on site until the late 1980s. In the portion of the building where the paper was printed, original Eye-beams used to support part of the printing process, are still intact in the ceiling. As printed media itself becomes extinct, this is an important building to preserve. Unique Architecture l The Hollywood Reporter building is an elegant example of the exceptionally uncommon Hollywood Regency Moderne architectural style. It is the only design style which gets its name from the influence of the work of art directors and set designers in the film industry. The style is most commonly applied to interiors and objects, but noted architects such as S. Charles Lee and Douglas Honnold adapted it for private homes, restaurants, beauty salons, and hotels. The Hollywood Reporter Building, designed by architect Douglas Honnold. is pure Hollywood Regency, with its curved and fluted curvilinear sections contrasting with the darker marble and the brass fixtures. Among Honnold’s notable projects, is a steamline modem home for actress Dolores del Rio and her production designer husband, Cedric Gibbons. The elegant interior in the front part of the building is intact.. It features wood paneling, columns and a fireplace from the 1930s. We also believe that the ceiling light fixture is original to the building, based on photos in an ad that we have obtained. The ad is for Sunset House, an elite menswear store that briefly occupied this part of the building. The son of the founder of the Hollywood Reporter has recently made photographs available from his family’s collection, from when the building was brand new. Many of the architectural features remain in the complex, despite the alterations which were necessary for continued use. I encourage the PLUM committee to support the designation of this rare namesake Hollywood structure. Written by Richard Adkins, President of Hollywood Heritage Hollywood’s Early Publishing History It is a valuable example of early media connections to the entertainment industry. Hollywood newspapers formed the backbone of advertising and promotion of the industry from its earliest days in Hollywood. Other papers included HollyLeaves - which has no extant building, the Citizen News (no extant printing facility), Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. During the Golden Age, these publications were just as important as the LA Times -whose investors had considerable stakes in Hollywood. 2 The property (and our nomination) actually consists of three buildings built between 1924 and 1947. The front building facing Sunset is a 1936 redesign by architect Douglas Honnold for its brief life as The Sunset House men’s store. Based on its cultural significance as the home of The Hollywood Reporter, we believe that the entire complex should be preserved. There are precious few examples of this unique architecture left in the city. The time is now to save what is left of Los Angeles’ architectural history. Adaptive Re-Use of The Hollywood Reporter Building These three buildings together comprise a space that is well suited for adaptive reuse. The original wood interior would provide an elegant backdrop to an Old Hollywood style eatery, not unlike the Cicada restaurant/bar in the historic Oviatt building in downtown LA for example. Like the Hollywood Reporter, the Oviatt building was also originally a haberdashery with an exclusive clientele. There is a long list of extremely successful restaurants and bars that operate in historic buildings in Los Angeles. The Houston Brothers and the 1933 Group are two companies that exclusively open businesses in historic spaces, design the interiors creatively and capitalize on a vintage ambience. A district of high end restaurants housed in historic buildings is starting to emerge in this region. Among them are “Gwen” located at 6600 Sunset Blvd and the soon-to- open, renovated space at 6530 Sunset Blvd, which is leased to a yet to be named, NY celebrity chef-owned eatery. In an article announcing this project, LAist.com ended the story by saying “in a neighborhood otherwise devoid of high quality food destinations.” Especially as large entertainment companies such as Netflix and Viacom take up residence in Hollywood, the area sorely needs more unique, destination restaurants where the cuisine is the primary concern and dignified nightlife and business dinners and luncheons are promoted.