The Lost Victorian Mansions of Downtown LA

[nate]

Sad IMO.  LA is so modern it has lost any semblance of history.

 

The Lost Victorian Mansions of Downtown LA

[TobiasFunke]

weird, I just finished reading this email that a coworker sent me. Then I come on here and it's the first post I see.

 

Definitely a bummer. You can still see a lot of rundown Victorian mansions in uber shitty parts of LA. So much potential...

[gotbeer]

I see these buildings all the time.  In Redlands and Rancho Cucomonga.  

 

Surprisingly, I don't see many/any in the Hancock Park Area when I drive through.  

[James]

This is why I volunteer my time with multiple restoration outfits while working on my doctorate. We are currently working at saving the Felix Chevrolet sign which is planned for demolition for high rise condos.

 

I am also working on another project for a self guided tour of different districts to teach the history of that area. Really exciting stuff but a ton of work.

 

Atleast a handful of these mansions still stand and a few are over at Heritage Square as well.

[James]

Nate, to a point you are correct but not totally true. There is a lot of history around downtown LA, most have no clue what they are looking at though and we do very little to show that to the public. The Western United States is and always will be an area of constant change at the expense of historical preservation. I meet people all the time that complain about this but yet have never putting any of their time and effort into ensuring that history is preserved.

[Angel Dog and Beer]

8 or so years ago, I was in Hollywood visiting some friends. We stumbled into a bar/lounge/restaurant called Memphis which was in an old Victorian house located off one of the main streets there, but just set back far enough where it was much more mellow and quiet. Jazz music was playing, and it was a chill place. At the time, I thought it was odd to find this piece of Victorian architecture in the middle of all that is wrong with Hollywood.

[James]

Just read the link. Must say that it is innaccurate. Vandals did not burn those building down. They city moved the most important homes on Bunker Hill to a city warehouse until they determined the location in which they would preserve the buildings. During that time a mysterious fire broke out aty the warehouse and the buldings were destroyed. Chandler and the LA Times went to shop on the city saying that they did so to avoid the costs of another relocation as well as the high restoration costs.

[Taylor]

Downtown L.A. skus.

[Tank]

This is why I volunteer my time with multiple restoration outfits while working on my doctorate. We are currently working at saving the Felix Chevrolet sign which is planned for demolition for high rise condos.

 

i love that sign! why would anyone want to tear it down? i see that sign and remember wrestling and roller derby at the olympic auditorium (i think felix chevy may have been a sponsor). it's so iconic. tearing it down would be like tearing down randy's donuts. i hope you're successful.

[James]

i love that sign! why would anyone want to tear it down? i see that sign and remember wrestling and roller derby at the olympic auditorium (i think felix chevy may have been a sponsor). it's so iconic. tearing it down would be like tearing down randy's donuts. i hope you're successful.

Well, I just volunteer my time and really not the one who actually strikes the deal to save it but they have been very succesful in doing so. There are plans for a museum to house these signs in the SGV. The Art Laboe Original Sounds Studio sign was saved a couple weeks back right before demolition.

[notherhalo]

this article is a little bit of BS - there are a TON of these things around LA and many by the USC area, which are preserved historic zones.

 

A smart/greedy developer I know would actually get the city council to allow him to move these to another "historic" plot of land in a similar area and then he would be able to build a 16 unit building there, charge $2900 a month for USC housing, per door.

[Amazing Larry]

Just read the link. Must say that it is innaccurate. Vandals did not burn those building down. They city moved the most important homes on Bunker Hill to a city warehouse until they determined the location in which they would preserve the buildings. During that time a mysterious fire broke out aty the warehouse and the buldings were destroyed. Chandler and the LA Times went to shop on the city saying that they did so to avoid the costs of another relocation as well as the high restoration costs.

Speaking of Bunker Hill, I saw this video a couple of weeks ago. It shows downtown and the Bunker Hill area in the 1940's in high resolution. It's a shame that the area has had most of its soul sucked out of it. I wish I could have experienced SoCal back then.

http://blogdowntown.com/2011/09/6380-a-drive-around-late-1940s-bunker-hill

[yk9001]

This is awesome.  My first job out of college was w Union Bank, and I worked a lot at the Union Bank building.

 

Anybody ever see those terrific HUGE houses on the north side of the 10 fwy..(la brea/arlington-ish area)?  They are fantastic.

[James]

Speaking of Bunker Hill, I saw this video a couple of weeks ago. It shows downtown and the Bunker Hill area in the 1940's in high resolution. It's a shame that the area has had most of its soul sucked out of it. I wish I could have experienced SoCal back then.

http://blogdowntown.com/2011/09/6380-a-drive-around-late-1940s-bunker-hill

Yeah, I have watched that a few times myself. Great stuff. 

[ELEVEN]

I received this email from Esotouric a couple of weeks ago.

 

RIP Felix the Cat (1958-2012) edition

Gentle reader,

If you've been on our bus, you know how passionate we are about the cause of HISTORIC PRESERVATION. In recent years, we've worked hard to Save the 76 Ball gas station signs, landmark the bungalow where Charles Bukowski wrote his first novel, preserve the world's only tamale-shaped building and restore the famous formerly-neon Felix the Cat sign near USC, among other windmill-tilting activities. Now, thanks to a redesign of our website, all of these projects are conveniently located in one place (under the ABOUT US menu at the top of the page). And while you're visiting http://www.esotouric.com, do have a look at the HISTORIC PRESERVATION HOT SPOTS MAP to see if there's something at risk in your own backyard.

Speaking of windmill tilting, the election of a new mayor in Los Angeles has compelled us to declare the FIX FELIX THE CAT campaign a failure--of sorts. While outgoing mayor Antonio Villaraigosa refused to respond to the petition asking him to honor his 2007 promise to protect the Felix sign if the Cultural Heritage Commission would halt the process of landmarking it, in ignoring the petition he set an important precedent. LA politicians should never again be permitted to STOP A LANDMARK DESIGNATION on behalf of a wealthy donor, like Villaraigosa and Councilwoman Jan Perry did for Darryl Holter of Felix Chevrolet. So while the great Felix the Cat neon sign is lost to us, let the burned-out LED replica prominently viewed from the 110 Freeway be a constant reminder of how important it is to properly preserve and protect our cultural heritage.

So RIP dear Felix, and thanks for the lesson. You can read more about this preservation campaign at the link below:
http://fixfelix.blogspot.com/

[Amazing Larry]

On 8/27/2013 at 8:12 AM, Lawrence said:

Speaking of Bunker Hill, I saw this video a couple of weeks ago. It shows downtown and the Bunker Hill area in the 1940's in high resolution. It's a shame that the area has had most of its soul sucked out of it. I wish I could have experienced SoCal back then.

http://blogdowntown.com/2011/09/6380-a-drive-around-late-1940s-bunker-hill

 

On 8/27/2013 at 9:35 AM, James said:

Yeah, I have watched that a few times myself. Great stuff. 

Check out the then and now version of the video.

https://thescene.com/watch/thenewyorker/notes-from-all-over-seventy-years-of-los-angeles

[mrwicked]

^ Great video. The cars sure were prettier back in the day.

[AngelsLakersFan]

4 hours ago, Lawrence said:

 

Check out the then and now version of the video.

https://thescene.com/watch/thenewyorker/notes-from-all-over-seventy-years-of-los-angeles

I love how the car drives around the female pedestrians in both videos. Also like how near the end when the driver slows down for some reason in the 1940's they mirror it in the modern version and just as before a driver gets stuck behind them... probably wondering wtf they are waiting for?

Interestingly it looked like very few buildings that we saw up close were still standing.  

[ten ocho recon scout]

i need to play LA noir again

[AngelsLongBall]

9 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

i need to play LA noir again

I leant mine to my brother in law, he sold it after he was done, gaveme a $20 ebay certificate for my bday. Head scrather. 

I will sometimes listen to the soundtrack on youtube

[red321]

We do an urban hike every once in awhile. LA has a plethora of public staircases that led from the old trolley system up in to the hills/neighborhoods. Some of the staircases still exist as public walkways and the urban hike takes you through some fantastic areas. There is one area near the Hollywood Bowl that is quite amazing. It's an entire neighborhood that is only accessible via walkways. Cars all park at the bottom of the hill and signed walkways run throughout the hillside. There is a private elevator for the lucky.

http://www.secretstairs-la.com/welcome.html

 

If anyone is interested let me know, we've combined the griffith park/observatory area with the hollywood bowl area into a 11 mile hike that is pretty cool and I have detailed instructions. You start at Barsndall Park, work your way up to the observatory,and then back down and over to Hollywood Bowl and then you can either walk back or take the redline from Hollywood to pick up your car. Some of the best view you will get of the city.

[Amazing Larry]

1 hour ago, red321 said:

If anyone is interested let me know, we've combined the griffith park/observatory area with the hollywood bowl area into a 11 mile hike that is pretty cool and I have detailed instructions. You start at Barsndall Park, work your way up to the observatory,and then back down and over to Hollywood Bowl and then you can either walk back or take the redline from Hollywood to pick up your car. Some of the best view you will get of the city.

I want to do this. My sister lives in the area and has told me about the stairs. If you have a designated route I would love to hear about it.

[ten ocho recon scout]

5 hours ago, AngelsLongBall said:

I leant mine to my brother in law, he sold it after he was done, gaveme a $20 ebay certificate for my bday. Head scrather. 

I will sometimes listen to the soundtrack on youtube

im not a big gamer, but that one was cool. really cool atmosphere.

[Brandon]

that game was rad. i really liked that they made an accomplishment out of finding historical locations or sites. loved the vibe and soundtrack.

always hoped they would make a second or do a different area with the same vibe and setting.

[ten ocho recon scout]

definitely. seemed really popular and got great reviews. youd think a sequel would have been an absolute

off topic (like a video game in this thread), but the older i get the more i like LA confidential