...., C:> = ==~ 0 -<:. October 20, 2008 c-J -l Planning & Land Use Management Committee N C/o The Office of the City Clerk 200 N. Spring Street, Room 395 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Re: CF# 08-2689, CHC 2008-2708-HCM The Black Cat Bar, 3909 Sunset Boulevard Dear Councilmembers, I'm writing on behalf of the Friends of the Black Cat. There is widespread support for the designation of this site both in Silver Lake and within the LGBT community. And I understand that the application is scheduled to be heard before your committee on October 28th. At the Cultural Heritage Commission meeting on September 18th, the property owner and his representative made statements suggesting that only the front far;ade and sign are historically significant. At the same meeting, Lambert Giesinger of the OHR indicated that any such discussion is premature - and would properly occur only if the site is designated a Monument, and an application is subsequently received for a development project. We understand that the property owner and his representative have submitted correspondence to back up their above statement. This is being submitted to your Committee and to the file to make the point that much more of the site should be considered as historically significant. The Attachment goes in depth on this, but briefly: - The interior of the bar is largely unchanged from the morning of the raid on New Year's Day 1967. We assert that events within the bar-the exchange of New Year's kisses and the subsequent violent seizure and arrest of bar patrons and employees - were historically significant. As such the setting for these events is also significant. These acts were crucial links in the chain of events that led to the appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court and to the unprecedented protest outside the bar on the night of February 11 , 1967. - Primary source material indicates that the bar's parking lot (the eastern portion of the site along Hyperion Avenue), largely unchanged since 1967, was the location of the main protest held on the night of February 11, 1967. Thank you for your consideration, Sincerely, C<J o/{~ Wes Joe, on b~thf the Friends of the Black Cat 932 Mailman Ave., #12, Los Angeles 90026 cc: CD13 (Eric Garcetti, Mitch O'Farrell) Lambert Giesinger, OHR ATTACHMENT to 10/20/08 Letter to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee Regarding CF: 08-2689. CHC 2008-2708-HCM. The Black Cat Bar. 3909 Sunset Blvd. The following is offered to document the historical significance of both the interior of the bar and the parking lot located on the eastern portion of the bar site along Hyperion Avenue. The Interior of the Bar General Layout. Per Building Permit No. LA 78487 (to convert a portion of the former Safeway Market to a beer bar), dated 9/28/64, the bar is described as 20' x 100'. This is close to the width of the bar (21 ') noted on the most recent building permits. This suggests that the bar was not divided into a narrower space and is very close in physical dimensions to what existed at the time ofthe raid in 1967. Perhaps because the site is irregularly shaped the length of the building noted on building permits has been stated as anywhere from 100' to 150'. And the width between 15' and 21'. In any case, it's apparent that the bar has always consisted of a long open box-like space. In Courting Justice, Murdoch and Price note that, "Inside, the rather ordinary tavern was one long room with a handful of tables, a jukebox and a pool table." (Their account of the Black Cat raid and the associated arrests, convictions and cert petition to the U.S. Supreme Court was based on the authors' interviews with 4 individuals and a review of court documents and papers). (CJ 143) This was the space where just after midnight, New Year's morning 1967, Charles Talley and another man "kissed on the mouth for three to five seconds." And where Benny Baker, wearing a white dress, had kissed three men for two to five seconds. (CJ.144) These and other kisses prompted the vice officers already in the room to arrest Talley, Baker and ten other men for the felony offense of lewd conduct. (T2 6) Those convicted of this crime were forced to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. Talley and Baker chose to appeal their convictions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Where their attorney, Herbert Selwyn, argued for the first time before the Court solely on the basis that homosexuals have the right to equal protection under the law. (CJ 146) The Ceiling The ceiling of the bar currently features an open pipework grid which does:not appear to date from 1967. No information has been uncovered regarding the original ceiling design. The Floor: This is the floor that a bartender was dragged onto during the raid, toppling a patron. The floor a second employee fell onto after being clubbed from behind and kneed. Where, "A stout man in a red wig ... tried to look inconspicuous. He woke on his ·stomach on the floor." With an officer kneeling on his back. (T2 5) Building Permit LA 93812, was issued 4/29/65 for the Black Gat's double faced plastic electric sign. In Box 11 of the permit form, the material of construction for the floor is noted as "Cone." (The earlier permit for the conversion of the market space to a bar does not request such information.) Building Permit LA 19250 was issued 2127/81 for replacing the paneling and resurfacing the stand up bar structure. In Box 12 on this permit form, the floor is noted as being "cement." So to this day, "Le Barcito" does business on the original concrete floor of the bar. The Front Wall: The bar featured a glass front faQade in 1967 (see photo in the application), which has been covered over with plywood. Attachment, PLUM 10/28/08, CF#08-2698, The Black Cat Bar, 3909 Sunset Blvd, 1 The Side Walls: The original plaster walls of the bar are still present under a thin paper covering and a thin layer of wooden wainscoting. The Rear of the Bar: The Tangents article notes that the short order cook was seized early in the raid, and an officer attempted to take him out the back door. This indicates a cooking area existed which has since been removed. The attempt to take the cook out the back door suggests that the cooking area was to the rear of the bar. (T2 5) Alexei Romanoff, owner of the New Faces bar (the other business raided the same night as the Black Cat) until mid 1966, notes that it was typical for bars at the time to incorporate small kitchens and to serve simple meals. This was the case at New Faces Bar in 1966. (Romanoff). The Mezzanine: The rearmost section of the bar is currently occupied by a mezzanine above with restroom facilities and a pool table area below. There is still a rear exit. Building Permit LA80704 dated 1/19/84 (when the occupancy was changed from a sit down to a stand up bar with dancing) notes an existing mezzanine. So it is possible that the mezzanine existed at the time of the raid. In fact, it seems unlikely that a mezzanine constructed without a building permit between 1967 and 1984 in a gay bar would have been allowed to remain without having been required to be legalized in 1984 (rather than noted as "existing"). Especially given that the 1984 building permit was pulled to comply with a City order. Dance Floor: A raised dance floor was added under Building Permit LA80704 dated 1/19/84. This is on the east side of the main room of the bar. The Stand-Up Bar Structure: Jim Highland notes in Tangents, "A bartender was seized by the shoulders, dragged bodily across the bar amid splintering glass and hustled outside where uniformed police waited. A second bartender tried to run, was caught and yanked across the bar, toppling a patron who fell with him to the floor." (T2 5) And per Jim Kepner in "Concern," "Officer Duehring testified that he saw the bartenders kissing one another just after midnight. After the bartenders and several witnesses said Duehring, with some help from Butler, had jerked or shoved two of the bartenders over the bar onto the floor. .. " (C5 2) Building permit No. LA 19250 was issued 2/27/81 to "replace paneling on bar & resurface it." As noted below, the different bar businesses at this location have never been targeted towards a high end clientele. And the bar had a history of being under police surveillance. This makes it likely that the bar structure currently used by Le Barcito is the same bar used by the Black Cat. First, the bars at this location are unlikely to have spent large sums on remodeling. And secondly- if they had, then the change would likely have been recorded by a permit. The permit that is on record is for repaneling and resurfacing the original bar structure. Integrity and Significance of the Interior: The interior of the Black Cat remain largely unchanged from 1967. The main space is still a large open box. The room where New Year's kisses were exchanged and so many were seized, arrested and read their rights. (C5 2) The mezzanine still occupies the upper rear.