Conservancy News

Our Spirit of Preservation Gala was a smashing success! Our guests enjoyed cocktails and delicious food in the company of our honorees, friends and preservation community. Classical guitarist Mauricio Ortiz and the L.A. Love Band enhanced the lively atmosphere. And the extraordinary achievements and stories of Ernest Marquez and Doris Sosin inspired and moved us all.

Ernest Marquez with Diane Mausser (left) and Christi Walden (right). Photos: Omid Razavi

Doris Sosin (center) with Josefina Ortega and her daughter.

We are grateful for your participation and generosity! Thank you for making it an unforgettable evening. We express our gratitude to former Conservancy Board member and event coordinator extraordinaire Sherrill Kushner and her team: Margaret Bach, Tom Cleys, Phyllis Conkle, Kaitlin Drisko, Phillis Dudick, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, Nina Fresco, Sandra Itkoff, David Kaplan, Carol Lemlein, Steve Loeper, Diane Miller, Ali Moghaddam, Bea Nemlaha, Richard Orton, Kathy Solomon, Susan Suntree, Robin Tung and John Zinner.

View some of our Gala Tributes by Richard Orton below.

We Thank Our Sponsors & Donors

Doris Sosin
Leah Fischer
Harding, Larmore, Kutcher and Kozal, LLP
Westmount Asset Management
Architectural Resources Group
Mary Ann Hays
Historic Resources Group
Michael W. Folonis Architects
Sherrill Kushner
Carol Lemlein & Eric Natwig
Lauren Fedman
Susan McCarthy
OneWest Bank
Chattel, Inc.
Tom Cleys
Bea Nemlaha
North of Montana Association
Victor Fresco
Sue Larky
Barbara Schnitzler

.          .          .

Lauren Bloch
James D. Cherry
Chez Jay
Jessica & Alan Davis
DSJ Printing
Exec-U-Mail Direct
Ronald Goldman
Margarita Jerabek, Ph.D., Architectural Historian &
Roger Winston Bray, Architect, AIA, NCARB
John Merchak Painting
Tim Kittleson
Howard Laks Architects
Jean Leserman
Alan Polsky
Roger Genser, Prints & the Pauper
Susan Siegel
Barbara Solomon
Donald Solomon
Robin & Scott Venturelli
Eunice White, M.A.

by Alison Rose Jefferson, PhD

The California Coastal Commission adopted a new Environmental Justice Policy for equity and inclusion in the coastal zone at its March meeting. The Governor signed Assembly Bill 2616, sponsored by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, which amends the Coastal Act to give the Commission new authority to specially consider environmental justice, non-discrimination and civic rights law in government code and action, and to appoint an Environmental Justice Commissioner to the Board.

Environmental justice is defined in the Government Code as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” This policy will impact permits for new and rehabilitation housing and other projects in Santa Monica, as well as heritage conservation and historic preservation issues and policy. See www.coastal.ca.gov/env-justice for more information.

Coastal Commissioner Effie Turnbull-Sanders (fifth from right) and staff pose with leaders of various organizations following a victory of the California Coastal Commission’s Environmental Justice Policy approval.

During the March meeting, I also worked successfully with the Commissioners in attaching a public history education and public art program as a condition for a permit for the City to build a new soccer field at 4th Street and Pico Boulevard at the Civic Center. This programming will recognize the history of the site, a former neighborhood of African Americans and other marginalized groups, which was razed to build the Civic Center structures between 1940 to 1950.

Updates on this development will be forthcoming.

Our March Newsletter 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 Upcoming Spirit of Preservation Gala on March 31!
• Annual Meeting & Awards on May 18
• New 11th Street Historic District Designated
• Conservancy Awarded Two Grants
• Communitas Award for Conservancy President Carol Lemlein
• 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!

In January 22, Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved the designation of our city’s fourth historic district. The 11th Street Bungalow Historic District encompasses one block of 11th Street south of Wilshire Boulevard and around the corner on Arizona Avenue.

1223 11th Street. Photo: Santa Monica Mirror

This cluster of single-family historic homes is one of the few remaining groups of original single-family homes in Mid City and includes Craftsman houses, a late Victorian hipped roof cottage and a Spanish Colonial Revival home. The bungalows in the district, mostly Craftsman in style, were built between 1904 and 1925, during the city’s development eastward from the beach. They gave middle class residents affordable homes with a convenient floor plan and pleasing aesthetic.

In Santa Monica, special effects pioneer Ken Strickfadden, early civic leader Waldo Cowan, and locally renowned master builder Joseph Rowe called these bungalows home.

The designation culminates a 30-year effort by a grassroots coalition of Mid City Neighbors and local residents, tenants and owners, headed by co-chairs Susan Suntree and Diane Miller. The application was filed by Andrew Hoyer of Mid City Neighbors. Conservancy Board members Sherrill Kushner and Mario Fonda-Bonardi assisted the coalition. The Landmarks Commission unanimously decided to recommend the designation of the new historic district in December.

City staff will craft preservation guidelines with input from stakeholders. Property owners in the district are free to make any interior renovations they wish as well as develop the back of their properties.

The newly designated historic district joins the San Vicente Courtyard Apartments Historic District (formed in 2015), the Third Street Neighborhood District (1990) and the Bay Street Craftsman Cluster (2000).

Another historic district has been nominated by the Conservancy. Located at 4th Street and Ocean Park Boulevard, it comprises 15 contiguous, intact structures without no intrusion from modern apartments. It represents layers of Ocean Park architectural history in a variety of styles, including a late Victorian cottage, Craftsman homes, a courtyard configuration, Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival. In addition, a group of nearly identical small Craftsman cottages along the steep hillside of Ocean Park Boulevard marks the opening of this important roadway in the neighborhood. Strong resident and owner support was evident at the community meeting in January.

2518 4th Street. Photo: Ostashay Associates Consulting

Major rehabilitation of a formerly neglected courtyard complex at 227 Beach Street received a Certificate of Appropriateness for new landscaping, lighting as well as a four foot fence to secure the courtyard. The courtyard is a contributing building in the Third Street Historic District. The Landmarks Commission recommended design improvements and a reduction in the scale of the fence to preserve the open courtyard feeling.

In January, a 1916 Craftsman Bungalow at 1129 Ashland Avenue received landmark designation. Elegantly designed and with a high level of original architectural integrity, it was a pioneering home in an area of Sunset Park which was primarily agricultural at that time. The house was featured on a Conservancy architectural tour a few years ago. The builder, Charles Warren Brown, designed his own Craftsman house on Third Street, which was already landmarked in 1997.

1129 Ashland Avenue

In December 2018, the Landmarks Commission initiated a new procedure for preliminary review of Demolition Permit Applications for buildings and structures 40 years and older, based on an Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance adopted by City Council in November. The Commission considers whether there is credible evidence in the record to proceed with a future public hearing, avoiding the perception of bias in making a recommendation for further investigation of the merits of a threatened building. Such factors as whether the property is listed on the Historic Resources Inventory or whether a member of the public has provided evidence of historic significance are considered. Following this new process, the Commission has recommended additional assessments for the 1954 Fire Station at 1447 7th Street and the Tudor Revival residence at 401 19th Street.