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
