Conservancy News

At the top of the incline where Fourth Street meets Ocean Park Boulevard is a collection of 14 intact historic residential buildings which convey what the neighborhood looked like in the early 20th century when they were built.

The Santa Monica Conservancy nominated these homes to become the Fourth Street Corner District. All the homes showcase historic architectural styles that are highly intact and uninterrupted with more modern structures, thereby making a cohesive historic district. Although smaller than the nearby Third Street Historic District, it’s larger and contains more historic homes than the recently designated 11th Street Historic District.

Inexplicably, the Landmarks Commission failed to support the application in a 3-3 tie vote. The Conservancy has filed an appeal and hopes to persuade City Council that this historic section of old Ocean Park deserves to be protected and preserved.

We need your help! The Conservancy’s appeal will be heard at the Council Meeting on July 23. Help us show Council members that neighbors and Santa Monica residents support the creation of the Fourth Street Corner Historic District. Write a message to City Council at councilmtgitems@smgov.net and copy us at district@smconservancy.org by July 23. Or click the button below to vote yes by emailing us.

Contributors to 4th Street Corner Historic District.

Background About the District

What unites these different examples of early residential architecture is their history– they were built following the western extension of Ocean Park Boulevard from Fourth Street to the beach in 1917. Before then, OP Boulevard ended at Fourth. After, with a major thoroughfare from the beach to Los Angeles, residential development followed. All but two of the residences in the district were built between 1917 and 1925. The group includes an unusual asymmetrical courtyard and all retain a high level of original design. In fact, 100% are contributors to the district.

The Conservancy became very concerned after learning that tenants in many of the structures had received Ellis Act eviction notices– indicating that these buildings were at risk of possible demolition or adverse alterations. Without historic district status, we could lose an important part of our history– and a unique corner of Ocean Park.

More About the Buildings

With the earliest building in the district dating from 1904 and the last from 1936, the variety of architectural styles portrays the evolution of residential homes in Ocean Park in that era. The 1904 house is a late Victorian hipped roof cottage with wood clapboard and shingle cladding, Corinthian columns supporting the porch, leaded glass windows and original windows and front door.  A group of modest Craftsman “sister” bungalows parallels Ocean Park Boulevard, built around 1920. Other Craftsman homes are found in a bungalow court, a very unusual configuration as the buildings display various styles and construction dates. At the rear is a unique, one-of-a-kind fourplex with eclectic design features.  A group of stucco clad bungalows at the corner are contemporary with the Craftsman homes, but represent a rare style in Santa Monica, deriving from Mission Revival precedents. Usually called Mediterranean, they have stepped parapet roofs, terra cotta tile on the roof and on shed roofs over openings, Craftsman-style windows, and detailed window design, including stained glass. This style evolved into Spanish Colonial Revival, a mature example of which is represented by the latest house in the district, a 1936 triplex that is already designated as a Structure of Merit.  The City’s Historic Resources Inventory has listed all these buildings as landmark-eligible.

More About the Appeal

The consultant’s report and staff report did not support creating this district. The consultant objected to the size of the district, asserting that this group is a “cluster” and too small for a district.  This objection is based upon their definition of “best practices,” and not by the definition of historic district in the Santa Monica Municipal Code and by the National Park Service.  Santa Monica already has several small historic districts – the Bay Street Cluster consisting of four Craftsman-style multifamily buildings, and the 11^th Street Historic District, with fewer homes and just 50% of the homes as contributing to the district.

The consultants and staff also asserted that the streetscape changes made in the late 1960s, during the Redevelopment period, diminished the integrity of the district. Although 4^th Street and Ocean Park Boulevard were widened and an underpass created, these changes did not alter the integrity of the district at all, which retained its architectural and historical character intact.

The City Council hearing is “de novo,” meaning that they are not bound by the Landmarks Commission decision, but consider all the evidence and make their own determination.

adapted from Sea of Clouds Press Release on July 9, 2019

Santa Monica’s Bay Street Beach Historic District was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The 53-acre district, entirely on public trust lands, recognizes this important coastal history and celebrates a rarity: a 100-plus-year-old intact African American seaside cultural landscape. In the Jim Crow era, the beach was self-selected by African Americans as a place of recreation and leisure where its visitors felt relatively safe from harassment.

Verna and Sidney at Santa Monica’s Bay Street Beach, 1931. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library.

 
In addition to coastal planning protections secured through the listing, the Historic District maintains existing access, public safety and visitor amenities, nearby private property rights, underlying public ownership, and the area’s current uses.
 
The National Register of Historic Places, created more than 50 years ago, is the nation’s official list of properties worthy of preservation and remembrance. It recognizes more than 93,000 properties and 1.4 million individual resources. Our Bay Street Beach Historic District increases the number of listings associated with communities of color, which at this time is less than five percent of the total sites represented on the National Register.
 
Michael Blum Executive Director of Sea of Clouds and historian Alison Rose Jefferson, PhD,  developed the listing nomination, which the Conservancy supported. A dedication ceremony celebrating the listing will be scheduled for Summer 2020.

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.