Oh Say Can You See’s A New Cultural-Historic Monument

Altadena archivist Charlene Nichols and her husband, friend of Franklin Avenue/Los Angeles mag staffer/preservationist Chris Nichols, have their sights on saving a new landmark: The birthplace of See’s Candies.

Charlene, an archivist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, nominated the original home of See’s as a Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument. The City’s Cultural Heritage Commission will decide whether to grant that status this Thursday, Feb. 5, at City Hall, room 1010. (Info here.)

Details, from Charlene and Chris:

Eighty-eight years ago this fall, Canadian immigrant Charles A. See and his mother Mary See opened their very first candy shop and kitchen in a charming Renaissance Revival building at 135 N. Western Avenue in what is now Koreatown. See’s current Los Angeles candy factory opened on La Cienega Blvd. in 1946.

The building now sits empty and plans call for the destruction of it’s classical façade for a new mini-mall shopping center. The City Office of Historic Preservation gave a staff report supporting the nomination and the city has received support letters from neighborhood associations as well as the Vice President of See’s Candies who wrote “See’s has survived some of the most dramatic decades in American history and we are extremely proud of its heritage. See’s has maintained the classic look of the 1920s and Mary See’s image will always be the symbol on See’s Candy boxes…We hope the Commission will honor Charles See and the history of See’s with a Historic-Cultural Monument designation of store No. 1.”

Charlene once “took a summer job wearing the famous white dress and giving out samples in the hopes that she could tour the famous See’s candy factory.”

A New Year’s Present from Martin Schall: New Los Angeles Pics

(Photo of Chip’s Diner, in all its Googie glory, by Martin Schall.)

Germany-based Martin Schall has chronicled the buildings and architecture of Los Angeles for his amazing website, you-are-here.com. Now, Martin writes that he’s just completed a massive update of brand new photos here.

Check it out — but be warned, you may wind up spending hours looking at the shots.

Here We Go Again: The Century Plaza Hotel in Trouble

(Flickr pic by GurhanKara.)

Built in 1966, the Century Plaza Hotel — located on land formerly inhabited by 20th Century Fox, which earlier had to sell off most of its lot to resolve a financial crisis — might not live to see its 50th birthday.

As the L.A. Times reports, new owner Michael Rosenfeld would like to demolish the hotel and replace it with two high rises. Mayor Villaraigosa supports the plan, but some Westside residents, not so much.

The Century Plaza Hotel pretty much replaced the Ambassador Hotel as one of the prime go-to venue for events, banquets, etc.

The paper writes:

The 726-room Century Plaza has played host to U.S. presidents, rock stars and business moguls, and served as the location for countless galas and social functions since it was completed in 1966 as the centerpiece of an office, retail and residential development carved out of the former back lot of the 20th Century Fox film studio.

For many years the Century Plaza’s doormen wore red Beefeater costumes. The hotel’s ballrooms welcomed high-profile events, including an opening charity gala in 1966 emceed by Bob Hope, who with singer Andy Williams entertained the likes of Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Walt and Lillian Disney.

President Nixon hosted a state dinner there in 1969 for the Apollo 11 astronauts after their successful journey to the moon. In 1995, Hollywood studio head and notorious embezzler David Begelman committed suicide in a room at the hotel.

The architect was Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed New York’s World Trade Center towers.

The proposal by Los Angeles developer Michael Rosenfeld, who bought the property for $366.5 million in May, calls for razing the 19-story arc-shaped hotel on Avenue of the Stars and erecting two 50-story towers in its place. At 600 feet, they would be the tallest buildings in Century City and among the tallest in the region, with 293 condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, 106,000 square feet of retail space and a 240-room luxury hotel.

Is it too soon to start a “Save the Century Plaza Hotel” campaign?

Celebrating Hancock Park’s Crazy David Statue Guy

LA Citybeat is throwing a party to celebrate Norwood Young, who recently appeared on the cover of the free weekly’s best of L.A. issue.

Wait, so who’s Norwood Young? He’s an R&B singer. But more importantly, he’s the owner of this home:

(Flickr pic by Santos.)

Yep, Young owns the crazy Hancock Park home (at 3rd and Muirfield) with all of those David statues. He calls it “Youngwood Court.” The paper writes:

LA City Beat Magazine named Young as the “Best Thing in Hancock Park” because his home is “an architectural tribute to beauty, art, glamour, fantasy, flamboyance, and living out loud.” The publication also praises Young for “a refusal to stay silent, to hide one’s talents or one’s love of Michelangelo. A disdain for blending in, for conforming … .” Young was featured on the cover of the September 25, 2008 issue (Volume 6/Number 39) of LA City Beat Magazine.

And after 13 years of rumor, controversy and lawsuits, change is in the air. The dust has settled. And Young and his digs, Youngwood Court, are finally embraced by the neighbors.

“During this exciting climate of political change and tolerance, I deem the induction of ‘King of Hancock Park’ a personal victory; not only for me, but for other individuals who’ve been ostracized and criticized because they would not compromise,” said Young. “This is the most rewarding experience of my life,” he added. “I painfully fought for 13 years to stand for something, and because of this recognition by LA City Beat Magazine and their readers, I no longer feel my fight was in vain.”

Young’s home has been the subject of rumor, controversy and lawsuits, due to the neighbors feeling that Young’s personal taste was not suitable for the neighborhood and that he was a rock and roll intruder, making headline news in the media. The late, great attorney Johnny Cochran defended his right to live in the neighborhood and decorate his house, according to “his taste.” Young reigned victoriously, and the case was thrown out of court.

Still, that didn’t stop the bullying, nor the bullets (yes, there have been bullets shot at his home) and media headlines, weighing in on his decorative taste as “Art or Eyesore?” The neighbors made suck a ruckus, the story actually made national headlines across the country! This was a humiliating intrusion of Young’s right to privacy.

Determined, Young fought a good fight and won. Today, “Youngwood Court” is part of LA’s pop culture. It’s even included as part of Hollywood’s tours of famous homes.

LA Citybeat is throwing an event on Nov. 2 to crown Young as “King of Hancock Park.”

Ambassador Cam, #39: The Skeleton Rises

As the LAUSD prepares to break ground on a new, tiny pocket park and Bobby Kennedy memorial at the Ambassador site (see Curbed LA for full details), construction has already begun on what appears to be the high school portion of the site’s three-school complex.

Curbed L.A. had more details last month:

The scope of the project includes a K-3 School, a 4-8 Middle School, and a High School, for a total of 4,624 students. The 92,000-square-foot K-3 building will accommodate 1,150 seats within 46 classrooms on three floors. The school will be located on the Ambassador Hotel site. The 4-8/High School building will accommodate 3,474 seats within 130 classrooms on six floors. The area is 382,000 square feet, and the rehabilitated Cocoanut Grove building is an additional 48,410 square feet of enclosed and covered areas.

The proposed subterranean parking structure will accommodate a total of 442 parking spaces on two levels for faculty and administrative staff. Playfields for the proposed 4-8/HS will be constructed above the parking structure. The scope also includes construction of a gymnasium building. This structure will accommodate the gymnasium court for grades 6-8 and Central Plant equipment on the first floor, and a gymnasium court for grades 9-12 on the upper level. This is one of the first LAUSD schools with an extensive public art program.

Yes, you’ll notice that the main, high school building has been designed to emulate the old Ambassador. But it’s pretty much a token gesture.

Miracle Mile’s Lou Ehlers Cadillac Building, Nearly Gone

We’ve seen so much destruction on Wilshire in recent years — Perino’s, the old Mullen & Bluett building, and of course, the Ambassador Hotel, for starters.

Now, as we noted last month at the start of its destruction, the Lou Ehlers Cadillac building is pretty much gone. The building, built by Stiles O. Clements, is making way for Beverly Hills BMW.

The Chapman Market May Have Changed, But It’s Still Hopping 80 Years Later

(Flickr pic by fabooj.)

The Chapman Market, designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements and opened in 1929, is representative of the Spanish Revival architecture popular in that era. Designed as the first-ever drive-in market, the Chapman is now a Koreatown nighttime hotspot, as well as home to boutique eateries like Bosco Cake Salon, which we reviewed last month. The main building is at 6th and Alexandria, with an auxiliary building across the street.

Charles Chapman and his brothers were major land owners; besides opening Chapman Market, founded what’s now known as Chapman University and also published county almanacs and county histories under the name “Chapman Brothers.” Charles Chapman also scored the nickname “The Orange King of California.”

Back to the Chapman Market… eventually, of course, the building fell into disrepair. Enter developer Wayne Ratkovich, who took a shine to the property (as well as the Wiltern Theatre and other spots) and restored the center in 1989. The L.A. Times recently wrote about Ratkovich, here.

I’ve driven by Chapman Market for years, always intrigued by the architecture and the name. These days, there’s not much “market” to Chapman Market, but it’s still completely packed with tenants, ready to sell you a good cake, soju, karaoke, a cell phone or clothes. (Guess there still is a “market” to the Chapman.)

A few shots:

The drive-in tunnel that immediately made the Chapman Market a 1929 novelty. Look how narrow that tunnel is — fine for 1929 vehicles, not so much 2008.

A fountain adds even more character to the inside courtyard. I stood here a few weeks ago and imagined the days where you’d walk one way to get produce, and the other way to find baked goods.

The Chapman Market’s profile shot.

The Chapman Market May Have Changed, But It’s Still Hopping 80 Years Later

(Flickr pic by fabooj.)

The Chapman Market, designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements and opened in 1929, is representative of the Spanish Revival architecture popular in that era. Designed as the first-ever drive-in market, the Chapman is now a Koreatown nighttime hotspot, as well as home to boutique eateries like Bosco Cake Salon, which we reviewed last month. The main building is at 6th and Alexandria, with an auxiliary building across the street.

Charles Chapman and his brothers were major land owners; besides opening Chapman Market, founded what’s now known as Chapman University and also published county almanacs and county histories under the name “Chapman Brothers.” Charles Chapman also scored the nickname “The Orange King of California.”

Back to the Chapman Market… eventually, of course, the building fell into disrepair. Enter developer Wayne Ratkovich, who took a shine to the property (as well as the Wiltern Theatre and other spots) and restored the center in 1989. The L.A. Times recently wrote about Ratkovich, here.

I’ve driven by Chapman Market for years, always intrigued by the architecture and the name. These days, there’s not much “market” to Chapman Market, but it’s still completely packed with tenants, ready to sell you a good cake, soju, karaoke, a cell phone or clothes. (Guess there still is a “market” to the Chapman.)

A few shots:

The drive-in tunnel that immediately made the Chapman Market a 1929 novelty. Look how narrow that tunnel is — fine for 1929 vehicles, not so much 2008.

A fountain adds even more character to the inside courtyard. I stood here a few weeks ago and imagined the days where you’d walk one way to get produce, and the other way to find baked goods.

The Chapman Market’s profile shot.

More Destruction on Wilshire

(Old shot of the Bob's Big Boy on Wilshire via Chris Nichols at LottaLiving.)

As previously noted elsewhere (check out the Eater LA piece here and the Lotta Living message string here), Bob’s Big Boy and Lou Ehlers’ Cadillac on Wilshire both shut down recently. The land will eventually be the new home to Beverly Hills BMW, according to Eater LA (shouldn’t it be renamed “Miracle Mile BMW”?).

It’s sad to see how quickly the buildings have been shut down, with demolishment demolition already under way. Below, the boarded-up Bob’s Big Boy:

And the Lou Ehler’s (designed by Stiles O. Clements, according to Chris Nichols at Lotta Living) tear down:

More Destruction on Wilshire

(Old shot of the Bob's Big Boy on Wilshire via Chris Nichols at LottaLiving.)

As previously noted elsewhere (check out the Eater LA piece here and the Lotta Living message string here), Bob’s Big Boy and Lou Ehlers’ Cadillac on Wilshire both shut down recently. The land will eventually be the new home to Beverly Hills BMW, according to Eater LA (shouldn’t it be renamed “Miracle Mile BMW”?).

It’s sad to see how quickly the buildings have been shut down, with demolishment demolition already under way. Below, the boarded-up Bob’s Big Boy:

And the Lou Ehler’s (designed by Stiles O. Clements, according to Chris Nichols at Lotta Living) tear down: