Conservancy News

The fate of the Santa Monica 5th Street Post Office is featured in a New York Times article about preserving the nation’s historic post offices. Click here for NY Times article.   The March 8, 2013 article describes how frustrated local and national preservationists are with the Postal Service’s execution of the federally mandated processes intended to protect historic buildings when they are sold. A photo essay including a photo of the lobby of our post office accompanies the article.

At this time, the status of our 5th Street Post Office is in flux.   Under the Federal protection for historic buildings known as Section 106, the US Postal Service recently notified the Conservancy and other interested parties that the sale of the 5th Street Post Office would have “no adverse effect” upon Santa Monica because a protective preservation covenant would be placed on the building.

Some progress has been made toward instituting a covenant.  Two consultants’ studies describing the building’s character-defining features have been completed, one for the Postal Service and one for the City. The Postal Service is reported to be reviewing the municipal code regarding Landmark designation and protection to determine if it offers adequate protection for the building.

However, after discussions with several of the consulting parties, including the California Preservation Foundation, the Conservancy responded that we could not agree to the finding of “no adverse effect” until the City’s designation process – or an equivalent public process involving the consulting parties – was used to define and protect the character-defining features of the building, and either:

• an agreement between the USPS and the City that the municipal code provides sufficient protection to meet the requirements of the Section 106 process;  or
• the identification of a qualified entity to hold the required covenant, preferably the City of Santa Monica.

To date, the Conservancy has not heard back from the Postal Service on the status of the Section 106 process.

Update:

The 5th Street Post Office closed for business at noon on Saturday June 19.  Over 90 people, including the grandson of the first postmaster,  attended our rally that morning calling for the preservation of the building.

We are pleased to tell you that the Landmarks Commission has now reviewed the character-defining features of the building, including the lobby, and will formalize recommendations for the proposed covenant to protect the building at their meeting on August 12.  After review by the Postal Service, the final draft of the covenant will be presented to Santa Monica City Council with a recommendation that the the City accept responsibility for enforcement of the covenant. Then the Post Office will be listed for sale.  The covenant will provide the building with much the same protection as if it were a City Landmark.

Designation as a City Landmark is expected to take place when the building is in private hands and will make the property eligible for local preservation incentives.

Click here to view a video of the Santa Monica Conservancy post office rally

Join us on Saturday, June 29 at 11 AM for a rally to show your support for preservation of our downtown Santa Monica Post Office!

Meet us at the Fifth Street Post Office (1248 Fifth Street) on its last day of operation at this convenient and very historic location.

The Conservancy strongly supports an appropriate new use of the structure, but we are very concerned that the Post Office is closing without any formal protection for its character-defining features.  We share the community’s disappointment over the loss of the convenience of the Fifth Street location, but now we must focus on putting the needed protections in place or we could lose yet another important, iconic downtown building.

Please remember that Saturday morning is Farmer’s Market day and allow ample time for parking if you are coming by car!

Protecting the Post Office

In 2012, the National Trust for Historic Preservation was so concerned about the lack of protection for the historic Post Offices that it named them to its annual list of endangered historic places. As soon as the U.S. Postal Service announced that it would sell the historic Fifth Street building a year ago, the Conservancy and others began advocating for the preservation of the building.

Built by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Moderne building with Art Deco appointments opened with great fanfare in July 1938.

Photo credit:  Santa Monica Public Library Archives

Every historic preservation consultant who has looked at the building considers it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Post Office qualifies as a Santa Monica Landmark as one of three WPA buildings in the City, and is distinguished by its Art Deco-inspired features including the beautifully detailed paneling and the original lighting fixtures of the lobby.  The cities of Glendale, Southgate and Santa Barbara have landmarked their post offices, but that has not happened in Santa Monica.

Photo Credit: Ethan Pine for the New York Times

The Postal Service has proposed a protective covenant describing the important features of the building. Under Federal law, it must identify the entity which will preserve and protect the property by enforcing the covenant before the Post Office can be sold.

“The current draft of the covenant leaves out important character-defining features like the 1937 plaque commemorating the building’s dedication, and could be weakened further in the sale negotiations if the City is not proactive. It is important to ensure local control over the building’s future. The Landmarks Commission must better define the attributes of the building listed in the covenant and the City should agree accept enforcement responsibility,” notes Carol Lemlein, Conservancy President.  ”We cannot wait until after the Post Office passes into private hands and then landmark it. This process takes time, during which unacceptable alterations could be made to the building. And once the Post Office is closed, the lobby is no longer a public space and the Commission loses its ability to protect the important interior features.”

The protection of the Post Office building is expected to be on the July 8 Landmarks Commission agenda, which should be posted on the City website by Friday July 5.

Click here to link to the KCRW interview with Carol Lemlein, Santa Monica Board President, about the Post Office.

The Santa Monica Conservancy recognized exemplary contributions to the preservation of Santa Monica’s architectural and cultural heritage by honoring individuals, building owners and architectural firms during its Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 24.

President’s Award

The Conservancy’s President’s Award was presented to William and Lenore Lambert for the example set by their stewardship of the Biedler-Heuer Building at 2701-2705 Main Street, home of businesses Jadis, Paris 1900, and the Chinois-on-Main banquet hall.  The Lamberts, second generation owners, approached the Landmarks Commission about the building during a discussion about the historic structures on Main Street.  After it was designated, they wondered how anyone would know it is a City landmark so they recently erected a historic plaque describing its significance.

Restoration Award

Credit photo to Kelly Sutherlin McLeod Architecture

Renovation Award

The Renovation Award went to 2240 6th Street, a modest, single-story Craftsman home, built in 1915, which was carefully restored on the exterior.  The interior was beautifully modernized with a contemporary open plan.  Owners John Given and Daphne Dennis collaborated with architects Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg (KEA) to create an inspiring example for other homeowners.  The builder was Charles Kuipers. The Given/Dennis and KEA collaboration first began in 1984 with an equally transformative addition that has become a studio apartment.

Adaptive Reuse Award

The Adaptive Reuse Award was presented to NMS Properties and their architects, Killefer Flammang, for preserving a unique historical artifact, a World War II Quonset hut, keeping its historic exterior intact while the interior was remodeled, making it a focal point for its new mixed use complex at 8th and Broadway.

Stewardship Award

Photo credit Brian Thomas Jones

The owners of the Horatio West Court in Ocean Park, Bill Creber, Margaret MacLean, Wende Watt and Barbara Whitney, received the Stewardship Award for their exceptional dedication to the preservation of this significant multiple-unit project by architect Irving Gill. The successive owners of the Court have, for over four decades, restored, preserved and maintained the four units in pristine original condition and have created a landscape setting that is compatible in spirit.

Rehabilitation Award

Photo credit CCSM

The Rehabilitation Award was given to Community Corporation of Santa Monica for rehabilitating a significant number of older multi-family homes over several decades, both historic and non-historic, thereby giving renewed life to the city’s existing housing stock while fulfilling their mission of expanding access to affordable housing.  The example above is 2302 5th Street, a 6-unit Craftsman built in 1912.

Advocacy Award

Jerry Rubin and David Conrad were recognized with the Advocacy Award for their leadership in the campaign to protect and preserve the “Chain Reaction” sculpture created by Paul Conrad, a signature part of the Civic Center and Santa Monica’s first landmark work of public art.   For more information on Chain Reaction, see www.conradprojects.com.

Outstanding Service Award

Hostelling International in Santa Monica received the Conservancy’s Outstanding Service Award for its ongoing support of the Conservancy’s weekly Downtown Walking Tour. The Hostel offered use of its facilities for the initial docent training in 2007. Management and staff have continued to provide use of the lobby and the Rapp Salon as gathering places for the tours and have always welcomed our docents and tour guests.  The Hostel has partnered with the Conservancy on one of its most important educational programs.

Outstanding Volunteer Service

This year’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service was presented to Stephen and Christy McAvoy.  Although not residents of Santa Monica, this couple has given extraordinary service to the Conservancy. Steve has devoted considerable energy, leadership and expertise as Vice Chair of the Conservancy’s current capital campaign.  Christy has been invaluable to the Conservancy’s docent program at the Annenberg Community Beach House, providing both written materials and lectures to train docent volunteers and to educate the public about the history of the Beach House.

A second Outstanding Volunteer Service award was presented to Dick Orton for his eight years of service as the Conservancy Newsletter’s graphic designer, for his many contributions of imaginative ideas and graphic skills to the Program Committee; as photographer at Conservancy programs; and as creator of the 2010 Adventures Tour.

About the Conservancy’s Annual Preservation Awards

The Conservancy has recognized exemplary contributions to preservation in Santa Monica with awards at the Annual Meeting since 2004.  At the first awards ceremony, the late Michael Rosenthal accepted an award for the Santa Monica Mirror’s illustrated “Landmarks and Treasures” series, which included both famous and little-known Santa Monica historic and cultural sites.

In recent years, the awards program has expanded to include multiple categories.  If you would like to make a suggestion for the 2014 Awards, please send email to [email protected], providing a description of the project or individual and why you are making the recommendation.

An informal conversation with architect John Fidler,  former Conservation Director of English Heritage, and resident wit, hosted by Ann Gray.

On Tuesday, November 27, the Santa Monica Conservancy, RICS, and Form Magazine invite you to sip a cocktail with friends and colleagues as John recounts his exploits from protecting historic mold to advising the royal family all the while avoiding a one-way trip to the Tower.

The event will be held at Davis Langdon, an AECOM Company, 301 Arizona, Suite 301, Santa Monica, CA 90401

• 6:00 pm Wine + Cheese on the terrace
• 7:00 pm The Event

Space is limited.  Advanced ticket purchase is suggested at  http://smconservancy.kintera.org/mylifeinruins

Ticket price: $20 per person.

Proceeds benefit Santa Monica Conservancy, with special thanks to event sponsors and partners Morley Builders, Davis Langdon, RICS Americas (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyers), Form Magazine, AIA Los Angeles, and the Western Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology.

Over 100 members and friends celebrated the Conservancy’s 10 years dedicated to historic preservation with a party at the future home of the Preservation Resource Center in Ocean Park. There was something for everyone – tours, a scavenger hunt, blue grass music by Brax Cutchin and the Lazy Roosters, cake, and a drawing featuring donations from many local businesses.

Our thank yous are numerous:

• Our neighbors: Fred di Maio at the Merle Norman Building, Tobi Smith and Mike Snow at the California Heritage Museum, and Karen Rietz and Greg Mullen of the Santa Monica Library.
• City TV, for filming the event, Fabian Lefkowitz, who featured it on Santa Monica Close-up, and StoryBank Productions, who conducted video interviews.
• Steve McAvoy for obtaining commendations from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the State Office of Historic Preservation.
• Nina Fresco, who developed the scavenger hunt, and Jim Bianco and Lisa Mead, who opened their home on 3rd Street.
• Our event committee:  Sherrill Kushner, Chair, Nina Fresco, Susan Eve, Dwight Flowers, Ruthann Lehrer, Carol Lemlein, Gigi Smith, Diane Locklear, Libby Motika, Ruth Shari, Denise Simon, Christie Smith and Jane Wiedlea Koehler.
• The additional Conservancy volunteers who pitched in to help: Margaret Buchheit, Tom Cleys, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, Chris Gray, David Kaplan, Eric Natwig, Dick Orton, Mike Salazar.

And last but not least, the generous local businesses who made donations:

• 66 to Cali at the Pier
• Albertsons
• Angel City Press
• Hennessey + Ingalls Bookstore
• Perry’s Beach Café and Rentals
• Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Santa Monica/Westside YWCA
• Soda Jerks at the Carousel
• Trader Joe’s

 10th Anniversary Officially Recognized!

The Conservancy received commendations recognizing its 10th Anniversary from the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors and from the State Office of Historic Preservation, as well as a mention in the closing remarks at the annual California Preservation Awards by Cindy Heitzman, Executive Director of the California Preservation Foundation.

From the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors “in proud recognition of your 10th anniversary as an all-volunteer organization devoted to enhanced understanding of the numerous benefits of historic preservation and to promoting incentives, policies and programs to encourage landmarking and adaptive reuse and cultivating a deeper appreciation of the rich architectural legacy of the Santa Monica community.”

For more about the Conservancy’s plans to rehabilitate the City’s landmark 1890’s shotgun house as the Preservation Resource Center, click here.