Description

City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department [Published date: 1987]. Published in connection with the 25th anniversary of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. Paper covers, 28 pp. In good+ condition. Blue paper covers with illustration of "original Frank LLoyd Wright drawing of Hollyhock House, monument, #12". Covers have light bumping to edges and corners and light overall scuffing. Binding tight (staple bound). Pages clean and unmarked. NOT Ex-library. NO remainder marks. Includes descriptions and locations for 321 Historic - Cultural Landmarks in Los Angeles as of 1987. Some black and white photos throughout. [From Introduction] Twenty-nine years ago, a small group of volunteers, as members of the Historical Buildings Committee of the local Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, were alarmed by the increasing destruction of historic landmarks caused by the onslaught of exploding growth and development in this city. The post-war years of the Fifties were taking a heavy toll on these historic sites of the urban scape. . . It was felt that only government action could effectively stem the relentless tide of demolition and irreplaceable loss of the rapidly dwindling remnants of our cultural environment. During the spring of 1961, the AIA committee contacted various local civic and cultural leaders. On April 21 of that year, 16 representatives of civic, cultural and business organizations together with government leaders met in the Mayors conference room to explore the ways and means of implementing a preservation program. This initial group unanimously supported the concept of an ordinance that could create a citizens' board and include the legal language that would provide the means to survey, identify and encourage a measure of protection for those significant examples of landmarks, both natural and man-made, of our cultural heritage. . . During the spring and early summer of 1962, the organization of the five-member Cultural Heritage Board and staff was completed. . . August 6, 1962, the first day of the Board's public business, was both a landmark event and a pressure-packed, memorable one. The first five landmarks presented that day, were all threatened to a degree. No. 1, the Leonis Adobe in Calabasas, was at that moment being assaulted by the bulldozer. Immediately, upon the Board's designation, a demolition "stop-order" was rushed to the appropriate City agencies to stay the destruction of this significant landmark. One live oak tree was lost, but the historical Monterey-style adobe, the old barn and oak-covered site were eventually saved with the moratorium period granted by the ordinance. Today, 25 years later, it is interesting to reflect that from that August 6 day in 1962, the ordinance has continued to work, with little change in its basic structure. The Board, which is now a Commission, with members appointed by the Mayor, receives recommendations for historic preservation or recognition, examines the worth of submissions and designates Historic-Cultural Monuments in concert with the City Council.