West Hollywood Preservation Alliance

Carolwood Apartments

Nestled along a sloping block in a park-like setting just south of the Sunset Strip stand the four distinctive Carolwood Condominium buildings at 1033 Carol Drive in West Hollywood. Conveying a modernistic sensibility embellished by redwood and brick features and plentiful open space and crisscrossed walkways, the Carolwood complex arose a half-century ago and is now up for historic designation in West Hollywood.

The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance (WHPA) has reviewed the nomination documents and urges the Historic Preservation Commission at its October 14 hearing to approve city staff’s recommendation that the City Council bestow local cultural resource designation for this architecturally significant condominium complex.

Comprised of four buildings of varying height reflecting respect for the environmental movement that arose in the 1970s, Carolwood retains all 7 aspects of integrity considered important before historic designation is bestowed. The nomination package prepared by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) on behalf of the Carolwood Homeowners Association presents a persuasive case.

ARG’s case is further buttressed by another professional firm – GPA Consulting – that has been conducting a survey of West Hollywood’s multifamily residential buildings. The draft survey results now available online reveal that Carolwood merits an official code of “5S3” which means it “appears to be individually eligible for local listing or designation through survey evaluation.” That determination further solidifies the case for Carolwood to be actually designated as a local cultural resource in West Hollywood.

Linda Dishman and Adrian Scott Fine

Los Angeles Daily News: Longtime president and CEO Linda Dishman of the Los Angeles Conservancy announced on Thursday, Oct. 19, that she will wait to retire until December, and in her place Adrian Scott Fine will lead the organization effective Jan. 1, 2024.

According to statement from the conservancy, Fine has led the organization’s advocacy team for 13 years and he is a “proven advocate and leader with a wealth of experience and passionate interest in preserving the historic places and cultural heritage of Los Angeles.”

The L.A. Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that “works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources throughout L.A. county,” according to its website.

“I’m grateful to be selected as president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy,” Fine said in a statement. “I love Los Angeles and its diverse cultural heritage, and strongly believe in the power of historic places to enrich our lives and bring us together as a community.”

He added, “I look forward on building Linda’s 31-year legacy as we being the organization’s next chapter.”

Dishman, who previously announced her plans to retire in November, said she will be wait to do so to ensure a “smooth transition in leadership.”

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Great Hall Long Hall (WEHO Times)

Dear Mayor Shyne, Mayor Pro Tem Erickson and Councilmembers Byers, Heilman, and Meister:

The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance (WHPA) supports the local cultural resource designations of Plummer Park’s Community Clubhouse AKA as Great Hall/Long Hall and of Fiesta Hall. We urge that you uphold the Historic Preservation Commission’s unanimous June 27 recommendation that these properties be recognized locally.

Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1938, Great Hall/Long Hall has already earned well-deserved listings on the National Register of Historic Places and the California State Register. And it’s time to make that a trifecta with a local cultural resource listing for this distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival courtyard building which has played such a great role in West Hollywood’s cultural life, including its more recent significant association with ACT/UP LA and LGBTQ activism.

Across the way from Great Hall/Long Hall stands the younger Fiesta Hall, designed by the distinguished architect Henry L. Gogerty. Built in 1949 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, Fiesta Hall is the only publicly commissioned and funded auditorium in the City, and it was the location of the first City Council meeting after West Hollywood’s 1984 incorporation.

The HPC’s initial consideration of these designations at its March 28 hearing resulted in a request for further documentation and research which was presented at the June 27 HPC hearing. These materials provided a comprehensive analysis of the role these buildings have played in the cultural history of the city and underscore the importance of designating them as local cultural resources.

Thank you for your consideration and support of these designations at your August 21 meeting.
— WHPA Board Members Judson Feder, Susana Miller, Roy Oldenkamp, Victor Omelczenko, and Jon Ponder

Great Hall-Long Hall dedication in 1938

Dear Historic Preservation Commissioners:

The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance (WHPA) supports the local cultural resource designations of Plummer Park’s Community Clubhouse AKA as Great Hall/Long Hall and of Fiesta Hall, and urges the Historic Preservation Commission to support the city staff’s recommended resolutions in Item 10.B. on the June 27 agenda.

Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1938, Great Hall/Long Hall has already earned well-deserved listings on the National Register of Historic Places and the California State Register. And it’s time to make that a trifecta with a local cultural resource listing for this distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival courtyard building which has played such a great role in West Hollywood’s cultural life, including its more recent significant association with ACT/UP LA and LGBTQ activism.

Across the way from Great Hall/Long Hall stands the younger Fiesta Hall, designed by the distinguished architect Henry L. Gogerty. Built in 1949 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, Fiesta Hall is the only publicly commissioned and funded auditorium in the City, and it was the location of the first City Council meeting after West Hollywood’s 1984 incorporation.

The HPC’s initial consideration of these designations at its March 28 hearing resulted in a request for further documentation and research which now appear in the current staff report and accompanying exhibits. These materials provide a comprehensive analysis of the role these buildings have played in the cultural history of the city and underscore the importance of designating them as local cultural resources.

— WHPA Board Members Judson Feder, Susana Miller, Roy Oldenkamp, Victor Omelczenko, and Jon Ponder

Proposed building at 910 N Wetherly Drive

The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance looks forward to a robust discussion regarding whether the locally designated First Baptist Church will experience a “substantial adverse change” as described in the staff report on Page 5 (of 5). This report further states that “Such a change is defined as a physical demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration of a resource or its immediate surroundings (emphasis added).

The staff report indicates that “There will be no physical demolition, destruction, relocation or alteration of the First Baptist Church …” but consideration should be given to the church’s immediate surroundings because they will certainly be altered by the new development.

The historic assessments provided as exhibits indicated that the home next to the church at 910 Wetherly is not eligible for designation. However, when the church received local cultural resource designation in 1993, the 1923-built home next to it was located on the same large parcel of land, thus being within the church’s immediate surroundings and including landscaping and trees which would be permanently lost.

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Google satellite view of Betty Way in West Hollywood

The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance (WHPA) is concerned that SB-9, known as the California HOME Act, may very likely impact future potentially designated historic cultural resources in West Hollywood. Specifically, the city has never completed an R-1 historic survey of its residential zones that include the subsets R1A, R1B, and R1C.

The WHPA requests the city to initiate a Single-Family Residence/Duplex survey as soon as possible and postpone enacting the final zoning map modifications until survey completion and analysis and identification of potentially significant historic properties/districts.

Since SB-9 bypasses any CEQA requirement, it is particularly important that West Hollywood have a full reckoning of all R-1 structures before those found as possibly historic become compromised by additional building construction. WHPA is very concerned about the possible loss of historic integrity according to the Secretary of the Interior’s standards.

As added by SB-9, California Government Code Section 65852.21(b)(2)(A) states:

The local agency shall not impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design standards that would have the effect of physically precluding the construction of up to two units or that would physically preclude either of the two units from being at least 800 square feet in floor area.

However, subjective standards — including postponement until an R-1 historic survey is completed and potentially historic properties identified — are not specified as prohibited, and in fact allow for a development moratorium AFTER approval of the tentative map. {This allows the option to approve the tentative map while commissioning a housing survey and reviewing results for up to five years, if needed).

As amended by SB-9, Section 66452.6(b)(1) of the California Government Code has been amended to read:

The period of time specified in subdivision (a), including any extension thereof granted pursuant to subdivision (e), shall not include any period of time during which a development moratorium, imposed after approval of the tentative map, is in existence. However, the length of the moratorium shall not exceed five years.

We urge the City Council to commission an R1 Single-Family Residence/Duplex survey as soon as possible so we can identify our neglected historic properties before they are irrevocably altered and compromised.

7900 Santa Monica Blvd.

Dear Mayor Meister, Mayor Pro Tem Shyne, and Councilmembers D’Amico, Erickson, and Horvath —

The Classical Revival style-building at 7900-7906 Santa Monica Boulevard has stood for nearly a century. This building not only maintains its architectural integrity but also reflects the history of our city’s commercial and economic development. And, the building prominently features an impressive clock which projects from the corner at the mezzanine level and which used to remind travelers of the passage of time.

The West Hollywood Preservation Alliance (WHPA) thanks Councilmember John Erickson for initiating this effort to designate the building as a local cultural resource and urges the Council to begin the process by supporting the resolution in Agenda Item 5.A. at your May 2 meeting.

The WHPA thanks you for initiating action items that support historic preservation and stands ready to work with all parties involved.

–Victor Omelczenko, Board President