The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance board of directors sent this letter to the city in support of its purchase of the Coast Playhouse building at 8323-8325 Santa Monica Blvd.:
RE: SUPPORT AGENDA ITEM 5.A. – PURCHASE OF REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT 8323-8325 SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD IN THE CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD
Dear Mayor Meister, Mayor Pro-Tem Heilman, and Councilmembers D’Amico, Duran and Horvath:
The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance (WHPA) supports the “Purchase of Real Property Located at 8323-8325 Santa Monica Boulevard” being discussed under Agenda Item 5.A. at the April 18thCouncil Meeting. Most recently the home of the “Coast Playhouse,” the building dates from 1925 and has a storied history in West Hollywood as both a live performance and a motion picture theater.
As the staff report lays out, purchasing this property and rehabilitating it for use as a city-owned cultural facility meets the city’s primary strategic goals of promoting economic development, enhancing the creative life of the community, and maintaining West Hollywood’s status as a regional hub and innovator in the fashion, arts and design sector.
The WHPA would like to go further and point out that purchasing this property will also address the General Plan’s Human Services element in “Arts and Culture” by addressing Goal HS-2.1 that “The City should support and/or establish cultural facilities to meet community needs for theater, art, intellectual exchange, and other cultural activities.”
Preserving and rehabilitating this nearly century-old building will also help meet General Plan Historic Preservation Goal HP-3 to “Protect cultural resources from demolition and inappropriate alterations.” The City is currently conducting a survey of potentially significant and historic commercial properties. Although we may be putting the cart before the horse, the WHPA believes that this building certainly meets the criteria for historical significance as well as future designation as a local cultural resource.
Sincerely,
West Hollywood Preservation Alliance Board of Directors Laura Boccaletti, Judson Feder, Roy Rogers Oldenkamp, Victor Omelczenko, and Jon Ponder
Cc:
City Officials Andrew Campbell, Steve Campbell, Helen Collins, Oscar Delgado, Stephanie DeWolfe, Rachel Dimond, Maribel Louie, David Wilson
West Hollywood City Clerk Yvonne Quarker
