Conservancy News

The Santa Monica Conservancy will be recognized by the Los Angeles Conservancy with a Preservation Award at its 36th Annual Preservation Award luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on May 3. The Conservancy’s rehabilitation of the Shotgun House was cited as a “fantastic example of grassroots advocacy and reuse for educational purposes” by Adrian Scott Fine, Director ofAdvocacy for the Los Angeles Conservancy.

This is the third award the Conservancy has received for our shotgun house rehabilitation, demonstrating outstanding achievement in historic preservation, adding to recent awards given by the California Preservation Foundation and the Office of the Governor.

“It is a testament to the perseverance and dedication shown by the community and very committed Conservancy volunteers in making this project a reality and hopefully, an inspiration for others to find creative and sustainable ways to use our historic structures,” said president Carol Lemlein.

The Los Angeles Conservancy’s Preservation Awards are selected by an independent jury of distinguished architects, preservation professionals, and business and community leaders. This year 22 applications were received and 8 were selected for awards.

“Oh! The places you’ll go!” exclaimed Dr. Seuss in his well-known children’s book…and the Conservancy wants to take you there, but we need more volunteers to lead the way.

Tour docents will guide visitors at two historic, award-winning venues in our city: the Annenberg Community Beach House and our Preservation Resource Center. Docents will be trained by knowledgeable historians and will be asked to commit to three-hour shifts twice per month.

Meet interesting locals and visitors, learn about Santa Monica’s history and architecture, and share your knowledge of the wonderful places that make our city unique.

Annenberg Community Beach House
415 Pacific Coast Hwy, Santa Monica

This iconic destination was originally the home of Marion Davies: actress, philanthropist, hostess, and companion of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Learn about the history, people and evolution of the Beach House. The Santa Monica Conservancy, in partnership with the City of Santa Monica, has offered docent tours at the Guest House since 2009. For more information about the Beach House, click here.

Docent orientation & schedule: Complete three Saturday training sessions on April 22, April 29 and May 6 from 3 – 5 pm at the Santa Monica Main Library. Prospective docents are encouraged to visit the Guest House and take a docent-led tour. Docents will be asked to work two shifts per month during operating hours, Friday through Monday, from 11 am – 2 pm, with expanded hours during the summer.

Preservation Resource Center at the Shotgun House
2520 2nd Street (near the Ocean Park branch library)

by Dolores Sloan, Chair Pro Tempore

Two multi-family sites were recently designated as Santa Monica landmarks by the Landmarks Commission. These designations were significant in that they were both owner-initiated.

SunTech Townhomes

Sun-Tech Townhomes. Photo:: ESA PCR

The eighteen-unit Sun-Tech townhome complex at 2433 28th Street, recognizable by its smokestacks, metal frame windows, and tubular pipe railings, has been cited for its historic, aesthetic and architectural significance. Postmodern, with references to Modern and Industrial precedents, the property was completed and first occupied in 1981 and is the first landmark designation in its Sunset Park neighborhood. Although the complex is less than the fifty-year landmarks threshold recommended by the National Parks Service, the Commission agreed that the association of its architectural team with the then Santa-Monica-based Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) satisfies the National Parks Service standard of “exceptional importance.” SCI-Arc has encouraged innovation and openness to unstructured approaches in design and architecture.

Purser Apartments

Generations of professional, amateur and tourist photographers have long memorialized the five-arch colonnade of 1659 Ocean Front Walk as a backdrop for the body builders on Santa Monica beachfront’s Muscle Beach. In the landmark designation for the Purser Apartments, Commissioners noted it as a familiar feature south of the Santa Monica Pier since its construction in 1913. The three- and four-storied vernacular style structure, with Italian Renaissance Revival features, was part of the Seaside Terrace Tract, developed to serve those seeking the recreational offerings of the burgeoning beachfront.

Purser Apartments. Photo: Santa Monica Public Library

Other properties in the popular pier neighborhood have also received recent Commission attention. Earl’s SeasideTavern, which is replacing Ristorante al Mare in the historic Billiard Building at 250 Santa Monica Pier, has been granted a façade remodel and signage request, and as reported in the Conservancy’s December newsletter, nearby commercial structures at 1601-1619 Ocean Front Walk have received landmark designation.

The latest Conservancy newsletter is now available online, as well as past editions. Our newsletter covers upcoming preservation events, preservation issues, features on the people and places of historic Santa Monica and much more.

In the current edition:

• Upcoming Annual Meeting & Preservation Awards
• Shotgun House Receives LA Conservancy Award
• Celebrating California’s First Female Architect, Julia Morgan
• Buildings at Risk
• One-Year Anniversary of the Preservation Resource Center
• New Online Preservation Resource Directory
• Two New Landmark Commissioners
• More News, Reports, and Event Listings

Download the March 2017 Newsletter or view past issues here.

Our newsletter is published four times per year. Conservancy members receive a copy of each new issue in the mail. If you’d like to become a member, please join today!

The Santa Monica Conservancy has earned LEED™ Gold certification, demonstrating that even a small, 100-year-old shotgun house can be rehabilitated and adapted for sustainable, contemporary use.

“We are extremely pleased with the LEED™ Gold certification,” said Conservancy president Carol Lemlein. “We made sure that the rehabilitation was done not only in a historically sensitive way but also sustainably under the leadership of Conservancy board vice president John Zinner, principal of Zinner Consultants, and his partner Glen Boldt.”

LEED™ has both prerequisites and credits, which earn points in categories such as water and energy efficiency, resources and materials, and indoor environmental quality. Most notably, the Shotgun House earned points for its reuse of 95% of the original building as well as recycling 95% of its construction waste. Additionally, the Shotgun house features a drought-resistant, water-efficient garden.

As a leader in sustainability, Santa Monica has over 50 LEED certified structures. “We are delighted the Santa Monica Conservancy has added yet another to our growing list and applaud its accomplishment in meeting the challenge of achieving the Gold standard for an historic property,” noted Mayor Ted Winterer.

A display describing the LEED™ rating is now part of the educational program at the Preservation Resource Center. The Conservancy thanks Engineering Economics, Inc (EEI), Brummitt Energy Associates, Carbon Solutions Group, Recology and the team at Zinner Consultants.