HRG projects are recognized.

Historic Resources Group has recently been recognized for its work by the Los Angeles Conservancy and the California Preservation Foundation.

The rehabilitation of the iconic Forum sports arena into a premier live performance venue was honored with both a California Preservation Foundation Preservation Design Award and a Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award.

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts was awarded a CPF Preservation Design Award. The project combines rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office with a state-of-the-art performing arts venue designed by Studio Pali Fekete architects.

The Downtown Women’s Center, which rehabilitated a former shoe factory in downtown Los Angeles for use as housing and a resource center for homeless women, also won a CPF Preservation Design Award.

The Dunbar Hotel, the 1928 African-American luxury hotel that had seen years of decline, won a Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award for an adaptive reuse project that provides affordable housing for both seniors and families.

Above: Dunbar Hotel, 1928.

 

Principals and staff teach at USC.

Historic Resources Group has a long history of involvement with the Heritage Conservation program at the University of Southern California, which can count several HRG principals and staff among its faculty and graduates. At this year’s 22nd Annual Fundamentals of Heritage Conservation Summer Course, Principal Architect Peyton Hall, FAIA, gave several lectures on architectural materials conservation, including one at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Freeman House and one at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Principal Christine Lazzaretto spoke on conservation policy and planning, including discussions of Section 106 review, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs). Finally, Senior Preservation Planner Kari Fowler gave a presentation about SurveyLA and the growing use of GIS database systems in conducting fieldwork for historic resource surveys.

Above: Peyton Hall leads a tour of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts as part of the USC Fundamentals of Heritage Conservation Summer Course.

Side: Kari Fowler speaks on the use of GIS databases in historic surveys as part of the USC Fundamentals of Heritage Conservation Summer Course.

 

Molly Iker interns at HRG.

Historic Resources Group had the pleasure of working with intern Molly Iker this past summer, who has since  returned to the University of Delaware to complete her master’s degree in historic preservation. Molly is a Southern California native who received undergraduate degrees in history and instrumental performance from Chapman University in Orange before undertaking graduate studies in preservation. At HRG, Molly worked on a variety of assignments, including historic assessments, a historic structure report for a motion picture studio, and National Register nominations for the University of Southern California, a Mid-century Modern house in La Canada-Flintridge, and a 1920s school in Orange County. Molly was a great asset to the office, and we wish her the best as she completes her studies.

Above: Molly Iker at the 2014 Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Awards Luncheon.

 

Celebrate an iconic Los Angeles landmark!

Los Angeles Union Station celebrates its 75th Anniversary this month. Historic Resources Group continues work on the Union Station Master Plan serving as historic preservation consultant for the Master Plan team. Scheduled for completion in autumn 2014, the Master Plan will help guide expanded transit operations and future development at the station.

Side: Union Station, c. 1940. Courtesy of the California Historical Society.

 

Paul Williams-designed residence is designated.

Historic Resources Group successfully nominated the Hunt Residence, located on Oakmont Drive in Brentwood and designed by Paul R. Williams, as a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The nomination was initiated by members of the community who were concerned about the proposed demolition of the property. Williams designed the residence in 1940 for Nelle Payton Hunt, a recent widow who was looking to downsize from her grand residence in Berkeley Square. The Hunt Residence was designed specifically for the site and to suit the needs of the client, while reflecting Williams’ aesthetic and the development of his design theories in the middle years of his career. Extraordinary care was taken in the siting of the residence on the lot, and it exhibits the quality of design and detail for which Williams is known.

Side: Hunt Residence, 1940, designed by Paul R. Williams. Photo courtesy of Mary Morgan.