City Councilmember Jeffrey Prang will ask West Hollywood to update its survey of commercial properties to identify those that might be historically significant. The last such citywide survey was conducted in 1986-1987.
Prang’s request, which will go before the City Council at its meeting Monday, comes after some residents have objected that plans for the Melrose Triangle development on the city’s Westside call for demolishing a building in the Streamline Moderne style built in 1928. Another recent debate over the cultural significance of a building occurred this week at the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, which was considering a proposal to alter the former Irv’s Burger stand on Santa Monica Boulevard to better integrate it with the adjacent Beach Nation cafe.
In his memo to the Council, Prang writes that a “survey update would address the need for a long-awaited comprehensive review of the approximate 900 commercial properties, in light of the on-going interest in new development and redevelopment of properties along the commercial corridors.”
Prang said the survey would help in ” identifying, evaluating, and protecting historic and cultural resources while being mindful and supportive of appropriate developments and alterations.”
The survey conducted 27 years ago focused largely on buildings built before 1942. It included1,750 sites from which the city compiled an official inventory of historic resources totaling 118 properties. Another survey, of buildings in the city’s R2, R3, and R4 residential zones that were built prior to 1961, included 2,160 properties. A total of 61 were determined eligible to be designated cultural resources. The survey proposed by Prang would include approximately 900 commercial properties.
The Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the City Council Chambers at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., south of Santa Monica.
whats the point?
this council approves tearing everything down anyway?
lets rip it all down and build mixed use ugly boxes of stucco and glass.
I think everyone would see this as valuable. However, we need to make sure we get a good consultant. We need to separate the crap from the credible. No Jim Morrison Slept here stuff. OA–that’s not overeaters anonymous, its Only Architecture. For example the Circus of Books building should be evaluated, it MAY be eligible. But not because Jeff Stryker was there.
Wow. Long overdue. No?