Conservancy News

Discover the Neighborhood: Living in a Landmark

July 3, 2020

The Santa Monica Conservancy will be providing a weekly newsletter while much of our world is shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each week, we will bring you digital resources related to preservation with the aim of helping you connect with our community and beyond. Sign up here, if you’re not already on our mailing list.

As part of our weekly offerings, we are bringing you Discover the Neighborhood, free digital downloads of our tour brochures and booklets so that you can explore our city from the comfort of your home.

2504 3rd Street, 2424 4th Street and 2101 La Mesa Drive. Photos: Brian Thomas Jones

Discover the Neighborhood

Living in a Landmark

Contrary to popular myth, landmark buildings are not frozen in time. By evolving and adapting to meet the needs of successive owners, they remain useful and endure over many lifetimes. The homes in our Living in a Landmark Tour brochure exemplify many creative solutions to finding the balance between historic preservation and modern functionality.

Discover an outstanding Craftsman home from 1908 that has been owned by a single family for more than a century, an 1875 Methodist Church transformed into a private residence, an award-winning adobe Mexican hacienda and more.

Our digital downloads enable you to view architectural and historical highlights and learn about the evolution of Santa Monica from the comfort of your home. If you do go outside for a walk to view the sites listed, please remember to wear a mask and put six feet of distance between you and others. The latest COVID-19 updates for Santa Monica can be found here.

Downloads are free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

Discover the Neighborhood

Update on Efforts to Restore the Landmarks Commission

June 3, 2020

Two weeks ago, we reached out for your support in helping to save the Landmarks Commission. The impact of the global health crisis on our City and its historic preservation program has resulted in a restructured budget. It prioritizes essential City services as defined in the City Charter but includes suspension of this ever-needed Commission. More than 70 members of our preservation community wrote to City Council.

The Landmarks Commission is a fundamental responsibility of our local government. As defined by the municipal code, it is the heart of our City’s historic preservation program and part of the City’s planning framework. The Santa Monica Conservancy attends all Landmarks Commission’s public hearings and we must underscore that they are crucial for bringing to light historic information which City staff and consultants may not previously know. This community participation is a vital part of our process for identifying and protecting our valuable historic resources.

Additionally, we are very concerned about proposals to drastically increase applicant fees for Landmarks Commission services by as much as 5 to 10 times the existing fees. These increases are based on estimates for “full cost recovery.” This approach fails to recognize that historic preservation is a community benefit and makes designation of a landmark or historic district out of reach for all but the wealthiest property owners. Needless to say, it excludes the Conservancy and other nonprofits as well.

Conservancy Board members have met virtually with Planning Director David Martin and Interim City Manager Lane Dilg. We presented a number of specific strategies to restructure the Landmarks Commission that would reduce staff time, streamline processes, and reduce costs. We also offered our volunteer support in any capacity that could assist City staff. We do not yet know the results of these proposals.

However, be assured that our advocacy and your letters of support have made a difference! At the May 26 City Council meeting, Councilmember Ted Winterer, inquiring about the status of both the Architectural Review Board and the Landmarks Commission, was informed by Interim City Manager Lane Dilg that the ARB continues to meet in order to process project approvals, and that they are working on ways to allow the Landmarks Commission to continue. But we remain vigilant as long as the Commission is in limbo.

Saving historic places helps shape our identity and preserves the stories of our communities in a rapidly changing environment. We are so grateful for your commitment to historic preservation. Thank you!

We will keep you updated as soon as we learn what is proposed for the Council Budget Working Session on June 9. To read our third letter to City Council, click here. Our previous news post about our advocacy to stop the suspension of the Landmarks Commission can be found here.

Virtual Tour: Historic Marion Davies Guest House

June 1, 2020

Discover the history and architecture of the Marion Davies Guest House at the Annenberg Community Beach House. Designed by California’s first woman architect, Julia Morgan, the estate was built in the 1920s for actress and philanthropist Marion Davies by media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Take a glimpse at the fantastic costume parties Davies hosted, which included guests like Clark Gable and Greta Garbo. And learn about the transformation of the landmarked Guest House and pool, which survive as the historic core of the estate today.

We thank the Annenberg Community Beach House and Santa Monica Conservancy Docent Council for creating the tour. Please note that the Annenberg Community Beach House is temporarily closed.

A view of Marion Davies estate.

Annenberg Community Beach House Annenberg Community Beach HouseMarion Davies

Discover the Neighborhood: Spectacular Vernacular

May 23, 2020

829 25th Street. Photo: Joshua White

Discover the Neighborhood

Spectacular Vernacular

Discover the architectural qualities and charm of five vintage homes throughout Santa Monica with our Spectacular Vernacular Tour brochure. Explore a cottage from 1897 as well as Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival residences. Learn how these homeowners chose to retain their historic homes and modify them for contemporary living rather than demolish and start anew.

If you haven’t already, check out our 6 other booklets and brochures! Our digital downloads enable you to view architectural and historical highlights and learn about the evolution of Santa Monica from the comfort of your home. If you do go outside for a walk to view the sites listed, please remember to put six feet of distance between you and others. The latest COVID-19 updates for Santa Monica can be found here.

Downloads are free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

The Workman’s Cottage, 1521 16th Street; Photo credit Shooting LA

Discover the Neighborhood

Stop Santa Monica from Suspending the Landmarks Commission!

May 14, 2020

In response to the anticipated $224 million deficit in the City budget over the next two years, Santa Monica City Council has approved plans that include suspension of the Landmarks Commission. See the full press release here.

Stand with the Santa Monica Conservancy and send a strong message to the City to make sure they know how much the community values our Historic Preservation Program in Santa Monica. Read the Santa Monica Conservancy’s May 4 Response to City Council’s proposed plan and our May 9 Response to City Council’s plan to suspend the Landmarks Commission.

Send the sample letter below or show your support in your own words. Click the button to send a message or email council@smgov.net, clerk@smgov.net, david.martin@smgov.net, lane.dilg@smgov.net and copy us at advocacy@smconservancy.org. Please also forward this message to your friends and group lists.

Dear Council Members,

We all know, the City of Santa Monica is in dire financial straits and is looking to find ways to cut costs. Erasing the future important work of the Landmarks Commission, however, is too drastic.

Instead the City should streamline processes to keep the Historic Preservation Program viable and working.

Since its establishment by ordinance nearly 50 years ago, Santa Monica’s preservation program has safeguarded 137 historic sites, 13 structures of merit and 5 historic districts!

The members of the Commission are experts who not only designate landmarks and districts and oversee changes made to them, but also review demolition applications for unprotected historic resources. The loss of the Landmarks Commission means that all of our historic resources are at risk; landmarks that define Santa Monica’s unique identity and character.

Once a historic structure or site is lost, it is lost forever.

Please work with the Santa Monica Conservancy and other volunteers to find ways to streamline and reduce the cost of City procedures, support the Landmarks Commission and continue to implement historic preservation in our city. Preservation is one of our core community values. Don’t erase the Commission and risk demolition of our historic resources.

Sincerely,

[your name here]

Advocacy Landmarks Commission AdvocacyLandmarks Commission

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