Conservancy News

It has just been announced that the Millard Sheets mural and the other artwork at Home Savings at 2600 Wilshire Boulevard will be relocated to a museum in Orange County. Although the City of Santa Monica was given first priority as a relocation site for the Home Savings artworks according to the terms of the legal settlement agreement, they will be going to another location. (Learn more in this Santa Monica Lookout article.)

Photo: Peter Leonard

The Museum of California Art at Chapman University will keep all of the decorative arts– the sculptures and stained glass in addition to the mural– together and available for public view and study.

The Conservancy’s efforts focused on preserving the entire collection of decorative arts in their original architectural framework, as emblematic of the Home Savings banks’ building program uniting art and architecture and the work of the Millard Sheets Design Studio.

We expect the mural removal to start shortly, so see it now while it’s here! The murals and artworks are accessible to the public. (Read more about the Home Savings building and Millard Sheets mosaic mural here.)

Our June Newsletter and 2019 Preservation Awards Insert is now available. Discover exciting preservation events, the latest preservation issues, features on the people and places of historic Santa Monica and much more. To view past issues, click here.

In this issue:

• Our Summer Speaker Series on June 9, July 14 and August 11
• New Board Members
• Lost Landmarks
• A “Proper” Future for a Historic Landmark
• Bay Street Beach Historic District Designation
• Communitas Award for Conservancy President Carol Lemlein
• Coastal Commission Update
• and more news and events!

Our newsletter is published quarterly and is a great way to stay updated on all the latest Conservancy news. Conservancy members receive a copy of each new issue in the mail. If you’d like to become a member, please join today!

by Ruthann Lehrer and Carol Lemlein, Advocacy Co-Chairs

In February, demolition of 516 Colorado Avenue (the former Angel’s Attic) was considered by the Landmarks Commission. Despite the fact that the Commission had previously rejected the owner’s nomination for landmark designation, several individuals testified that it might qualify as a Structure of Merit. Following the new process for consideration of demolitions, the Commission voted that there was credible evidence to justify further investigation and a future public hearing.

The Conservancy’s nomination of John Parkinson’s residence at 808 Woodacres Road was the focus of a lengthy public hearing at the March meeting. Two independent historic preservation firms (engaged by a neighbor who supports the nomination plus the City’s consultant) all agreed that the residence met five of the six criteria for landmark designation.

808 Woodacres Road. Photo: Michael Locke

This house is the only extant example of iconic architect John Parkinson’s residences that he designed for himself. Parkinson is most noted for designing the LA Memorial Coliseum, Bullocks Wilshire, LA City Hall (a collaboration), Union Station and numerous other commercial and institutional buildings in downtown Los Angeles and at USC. (Attend our July 14 lecture to learn more about his work.) The property owner opposes the designation, believing that it will cause a significant reduction in the property’s appraised value. A continuance was granted and the nomination will be heard again in June.

Finally, the Craftsman bungalow located at 610 California Street, which had been the subject of a demolition application, was approved for designation as a Structure of Merit by City Council. The unanimous decision was made in response to an appeal submitted by Conservancy Board member Nina Fresco, after the Landmarks Commission failed to take action on the Conservancy’s nomination due to a procedural challenge.

See it now before it’s gone! Santa Monica’s iconic Home Savings building at the corner of 26th Street and Wilshire Boulevard will soon lose its remarkable artworks, including the impressive mosaic mural depicting a beach scene. The loss is the result of the City’s settlement of a lawsuit brought against it by the property owner, reversing the landmark designation in 2013 as well as the Santa Monica Conservancy’s appeal to City Council, which once again confirmed the designation in 2017. This result  allows the owner to remove the artwork and ultimately demolish the building.  The owner’s stated intent is to relocate the artwork and obtain a charitable tax deduction for donating it to a yet undisclosed nonprofit organization.

Designed in 1969 and completed in 1970, the Santa Monica branch is distinguished by its spacious entry plaza, which allows enjoyment of the dazzling mosaic mural. After Home Savings closed in 1998, the building was converted to retail use. The signature exterior mural with its brilliant colors is just one of a group of artworks integrated with the architecture of the building. The Home Savings building exemplifies the innovative collaboration of artist Millard Sheets with financier Howard Ahmanson.

Millard Sheets was a renowned artist, educator and promoter of art in Southern California, who was based in Claremont. The recently published Banking on Beauty by Adam Arenson describes Sheets and the Home Savings projects.

Photo: Peter Leonard

Photo: Larry Underhill

Beginning in the 1950s, Ahmanson commissioned Sheets to create a visual identity for Home Savings that would convey an image of security and financial stability, incorporating decorative artworks with themes linked to the local community. The monumental geometric masses clad in travertine with gold trim, enhanced with mosaics, sculpture and stained glass, became Home Savings’ recognizable identity, attracting customers seeking to build or purchase new homes during the Southland’s post-war building boom.

Sheets, in collaboration with artists at Sheets Design Studio, was given complete artistic freedom in designing these buildings. Millard Sheets’ name is writ large on the mosaic mural, which was executed by artist Nancy Colbath. The entry plaza sculpture of a family playing at the beach was created by Richard Ellis and the dolphin sculpture over the rear door by John Svenson. Inside, a large stained glass design by Susan Hertel is visible under a scrim.

Despite our efforts to dissuade the City from this settlement and persuade the owner to leave the artwork in its original setting, this important landmark will disappear. Visit it now because we understand that the removal of the mosaic mural is imminent.

by Alison Rose Jefferson, PhD

On May 8, the California State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC) voted unanimously that the historic African American beach site in Santa Monica is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Next, the State Historic Preservation Officer will determine whether to forward the nomination to the National Park Service for a final review prior to listing in the NHRP. Michael Blum of Sea of Clouds and I worked together to develop the listing nomination and to get it approved by the Commission.

Beachgoers at the segregated section of Santa Monica Beach.  Photo: Los Angeles Public Library

Bay Street Beach is recognized as an important seaside recreation and leisure place that was relatively free from white citizens’ harassment for African American Angelenos during the Jim Crow era (1908-1965). The site became contested ground in the development of attractive beaches and resorts. The area was also called “the Inkwell” by whites, referring to the skin color of the beachgoers.

This National Register nomination project aligns with the goals of the California Coastal Commission’s landmark environmental justice policy to protect California’s coast and ocean for the benefit of all Californians regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, or place of residence, and supports the mission of the California Coastal Act.

The Santa Monica Conservancy supported the NRHP listing of the Bay Street Beach Historic District, advocating for greater visibility of the African American experience, and equity and social justice to be represented in preservation and history. At this time, the number of properties associated with communities of color and women is less than 5 percent of the total 1.4 million historic places listed on the National Register.

Additionally, I was able to attain new signage during the March Coastal Commission meeting to identify the Bay Street Beach area and its historical significance as a condition of permit approval for the improvements to be constructed along the shoreline bike and pedestrian path from the Pier to Bay Street.