Conservancy News

by Dolores Sloan, Chair Pro Tempore

A three-story City Services building, which will attach to the eastern edge of Santa Monica’s landmarked historic City Hall, came closer to fruition as the Landmarks Commission approved the building’s design, colors and materials, as well as signage to identify and direct visitors to needed services. When completed, the 50,200-square-foot addition will bring into one central structure the city offices and employees now housed at various addresses throughout Santa Monica. Commissioners agreed that the contemporary design of the proposed building, with its façade of high performance vision glass, is “compatible” with the original building’s 1930s-era PWA Moderne Style, and is in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties for rehabilitation. Landscaping will be introduced into the courtyard area between the rear of City Hall and the new building, which is designed to meet the Living Building Challenge, a high level of sustainability.

A rendering of the Mar Vista Apartments
Photo: Killefer Flammang Architects

The Commission has approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for the rehabilitation of the Mar Vista Apartments at 1305 2nd Street, a designated landmark in the downtown Bayside District. The 103-year-old structure is undergoing adaptive reuse from residential to commercial uses. A restaurant and fitness center on the first floor will be visible under colorful awnings over street-level windows, while upper floors will offer a variety of creative office spaces. New lighting, signage, and landscaping will be among the site improvement features. The final form of the non-original penthouse structure and installation of equipment on the roof will take into consideration their visibility from the street.

The ordinance, which established the San Vicente Boulevard Courtyard Apartments Historic District in 2015, requires owners of all buildings within the district to request Certificates of Appropriateness from the Landmarks Commission for repairs or work on the structures that could affect the character and features of the seven-block, designated area. Most recently, the Commission approved an application from 200 San Vicente Boulevard, a district non-contributor, for a façade remodel, and from 234 San Vicente Boulevard, a contributor, for a variety of improvements, additions and replacements.

The Santa Monica Conservancy recognized eight exemplary contributions to the preservation of Santa Monica’s architectural and cultural heritage by honoring individuals, building owners and architectural firms at its recent Annual Meeting.

This year, for the first time since 2010, the Conservancy presented its David G. Cameron Award. Cameron was instrumental in the establishment of the City’s first Landmarks Ordinance and a passionate advocate for the preservation of its heritage.

David G. Cameron Award: Alison Rose Jefferson, PhD

For over a decade, Jefferson has researched the history of African-Americans in Santa Monica and has educated the public on this subject, creating many projects and activities recognizing this history. These include her work on designating the Phillips Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church at 4th and Bay Streets as a Santa Monica Landmark and authorship of the text on the monument at the “Inkwell,” the historical Jim Crow era, African-American beach site adjacent to the Casa del Mar which remained an important gathering place long after racial restrictions at public beaches were abandoned in 1927. Her involvement with Heal the Bay, Black surfing organizations, the Conservancy and others in various programs and events continues to share more diverse stories about our heritage with younger and broader audiences.

President’s Award: Santa Monica Public Library

Recognized for their great historic and artistic value, the murals were restored and re-installed at the new Main Library in 2005. The Santa Monica Public Library played a key role in facilitating their return and restoration. Created in 1934-35 for our former Carnegie Library, these murals were the precursor of many other artworks placed in public buildings under Federal patronage during the Depression. Stanton Macdonald-Wright, an internationally acclaimed artist, created this mural cycle on wood panels, depicting technology and imagination in human development. When the library was demolished in the 1960s to make way for a new library building, the panels were removed and stored at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Several decades later, City leaders, library staff and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art initiated efforts to retrieve the murals for incorporation into our new modern library. The mural paintings have been restored and an informative website has been created to enable the public to once again experience Macdonald-Wright’s creative legacy.

Stewardship Award: City of Santa Monica, Department of Public Works

The California Incline is significant as a contributing element to Palisades Park, a Santa Monica Landmark. The original connector between the bluffs of Linda Vista Park (now Palisades Park) and the beach was a dirt trail for horses and wagons. Paved over and made into an automobile roadway in the 1930s, the California Incline replacement project that was completed in 2016 maintains the historic pathway linking the city with the coastline. With pedestrian and bicycle use enhancements, the railing and the neon sign continue to be emblems from the past.

Stewardship Award: Shugi and Alexander Cassini

For over 20 years, this Mediterranean Revival style house at 2523 3rd Street was the principal residence of nationally-famed cosmetics entrepreneur Merle Norman. Designed by architect Ellis Martin in 1936, it features original wood windows, tiled patios, and a sweeping interior staircase. It also has some Streamline Moderne elements including original decorative tiling and fixtures in the bathrooms as well as a beautiful mirrored dressing room. The Cassinis have been stewards of the property, incorporating new design elements that reflect their own sense of style. Additionally, they have been generous in opening their home for Conservancy events, sharing its beauty and historic significance.

Restoration and Renovation Award: Anitra and Alan Escovitz

Photo: Deasy/Penner & Partners

This Landmark Aeroplane Bungalow at 315 Tenth Street was originally built in 1912. By 2013, when Alan and Anitra Escovitz purchased the property, it was in great need of structural and infrastructure upgrades. They spent one year restoring the main rooms, replicating original moldings, restoring the front door, and recreating the wood dining buffet. A new back porch was added that replicates the depth, materials and design of the original front porch. This couple is an inspiring example of devotion to Craftsman homes and the willingness to do what it takes for a house to live on.

Rehabilitation Award: 1012 Second Street, LLC, Howard Laks Architects, and Chattel Inc.

This project is the first to be completed taking advantage of modifications to the city’s development standards for projects on parcels involving designated landmarks. These modifications made possible the creation of three additional living units without exceeding the by-right floor area and volume permitted on the site and preserving an important landmark structure from the City’s earliest residential development.

Rehabilitation Award: Lighthouse Investments, LLC, and Paligroup Management, LLC

The stylish and sophisticated Embassy Hotel Apartments, now named Palihouse, was designed by architect Arthur E. Harvey and built by Luther Mayo in 1927 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. The site has been determined to be eligible for National Register of Historic Places both individually and as a contributor to a potential historic thematic district of Elegant Apartments in the north of Wilshire neighborhood. The current owners have conserved and refurbished the building throughout. Recognized as a Santa Monica Landmark in 2003, the original windows, decorative ceilings, patterned tile work, and outdoor patio paving have been preserved.

Outstanding Volunteer Service Award: Kay Pattison, Thomasine Rogas, and Rita Schneir

Left to right: Kay Pattison, Thomasine Rogas, Rita Schneir.

The Downtown Walking Tour was the Conservancy’s first weekly tour program, founded in 2007 by Carol Lemlein with extensive mentoring by Ruthann Lehrer and the research assistance of several volunteers. These three stalwart docents from the original 2007 group have served continuously for 10 years.

Nearly four years after it was nominated by the Landmarks Commission, the former Home Savings building at 26th and Wilshire, and the parcel on which it is located, have been designated as a landmark by the City Council.

The history of the nomination has been fraught with controversy.  The Landmarks Commission voted 6–0 (with one abstention) to designate the property in December 2013.  The owner appealed, but agreed to delay the hearing until the Zoning Ordinance Update was completed and the development potential with and without designation was determined. When the matter finally came before the Council in November 2016, a recent court decision had placed Santa Monica’s process of allowing proactive designation by the Commission in question. Staff recommended sending the matter back to the Commission to be heard by the four members appointed since the original nomination.

Photo: Historic Resources Group

A public hearing was conducted in February, and the Commission voted 3-1 in favor of designation, resulting in a “technical denial” since Commission rules require approval by four of the seven commissioners. The Conservancy appealed this decision, on the grounds that there was overwhelming evidence that the structure met five of the six criteria for designation, as supported by the Staff Report, Consultants’ Reports from 2013 and 2017, as well as letters from noted Millard Sheets expert Adam Arenson and architectural historians Alan Hess and Margarita Jerebek.

At the Council hearing, Conservancy representatives and numerous local residents wrote letters and/or testified in favor of the designation, with only the owner’s attorney speaking in opposition to the appeal. Council voted 6-1 to designate both the structure and the parcel on which it is located.

Completed in 1970, Santa Monica’s Home Savings is the 25th of a group of approximately 40 branch banks resulting from the unique collaboration of financier Howard Ahmanson and artist Millard Sheets.  Sheets was an eminent artist based in Claremont, acclaimed for his watercolors as well as for his leadership in arts education, promoting art programs in the region. He chaired the Scripps College Art Department (1932-55) and the Otis Art Institute (1953-1960), directed the art program at the L.A. County Fair (1931-1957), helped hire artists for the Federal Art Project, and mentored many renowned artists.

Ahmanson commissioned Millard Sheets, beginning in the 1950s, to create a visual identity for Home Savings that would convey an image of security and financial stability, and that would incorporate decorative artworks with imagery relating to the local community in which each building was sited.  The monumental geometric masses, clad in travertine marble with gold trim, incorporating mosaics and sculpture and stained glass, became the signature style of the Home Savings branches.  Sheets was given complete artistic freedom in designing these buildings with his collaborators in the Sheets Design Studio.

The Santa Monica Home Savings design had two significant innovations– the site plan and the scale of the mural.  The building is placed at a 45 degree angle to the corner, set back so that two wings extend outward to embrace an open plaza, with a sculptural focal point.  Sheets liked this so well that he repeated it in Anaheim.  The mosaic mural is larger than typical for Sheets’ work, and is scaled for the monumental architectural forms and its setback from the corner.

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)