Survey LA: One Building at a Time

FOR THOSE OF you interested in going even deeper, the City of Los Angeles has embarked on an expansive project to ensure that Los Angeles' built history is properly counted and cataloged.

Survey L.A., a project launched by the city's Office of Historical Resources, is an expansive, multi-layered endeavor that christens the city's first comprehensive preservation program.

Eighty-five percent of Los Angeles's structures have not been cataloged. Unlike most big cities, Los Angeles hasn't had an organized and systemized way of keeping track of what's on the ground. Survey L.A. is training and paring teams of architects, historians, students and volunteers to traverse the city and catalog each and every structure. The idea behind this effort is to begin to understand Los Angeles's history through the various structures (and the various uses of those structures over time) Ken Bernstein, head of the Office of Historical Resources told me during an interview for an L.A. Times story I was working on that one of the primary impetus of this program was the constant "11th hour fights" to save historically significant buildings from being torn down under the cover of night. Once a building is counted and cataloged in the database it will be easier to find out more about what its historical relevance is without scrambling at the last minute.

Moreover, Bernstein hopes, is that we begin to understand our city's history through its neighborhoods, subdivisions, industries and distinct melange of architecture. For those of you who might like to participate in learning about your city literally from the ground up click here .

Below is part-one of a series of three videos that will tell you a little more about the project.

-- L.G.

Harry Chandler's Employee Paper

AMONG Ourselves, a paper for the Times employees and affiliates first printed in 1924 and is still published today. Despite Chandler, and his father-in-law's, firm stance against unions, the executives provided a warm environment for their employees. One of the new additions to the Times building on Spring and Second in Downtown was a cafeteria, among the many revolutionary additions to the workplace. This front page depicts Harry Chandler and hangs in the Times cafeteria beside many more issues. Though the LA Times functions with a very different sense of ethical responsibility, Chandler's legacy remains a respected cornerstone across the country and around the world.

--Sarah Kruberg

"What's New, Pussycat?"

I walk into “What’s New, Pussycat?” not really knowing the proper etiquette. My studio arts major roommate fervently begins to scribble detailed notes into her ultra-trendy notebook. Since I, for the life of me, cannot figure out how to turn the flash off my camera, I am stuck looking like one of those tourist oddballs that does not follow any social boundary. I may as well be wearing exposed black socks with sandals.

I have come to the Torrance Art Museum to see their exhibit “What’s New, Pussycat?” It’s supposed to be about how art in Los Angeles has developed, and the work spans from 1969 through 2010. However, the majority of the work comes from the 1990s and 2000s, which doesn’t make it as historical as I would have hoped.

I’m not an art critic, so I do not recognize any of the artists or the work, but my roommate tells me that many of the artists were really famous in the 1960s and 1970s. However, it isn’t the old work that’s on display, it’s a composition of work that was completed twenty years after the fact. I kind of start to feel like I’m watching VH1 and some washed up celebrity has a new series, an attempt to revitalize a fallen career. (Think Flava Flav) And now, in a different way, I’m watching these re-runs, but in art form. It’s not because I’m thoroughly enthralled, but because it’s just entertaining enough to where I feel content. Content, not excited.

Nothing about this exhibit really excites me, and for this I’m probably being too harsh. I don’t know a thing formally about art, besides the one art history course I took at LMU. I’m one of those girls who had a Van Gogh copy in their room in high school and thought it actually meant something.

Several pieces though, were actually interesting. While they were not breathtaking, I appreciated them because they offered some deviation from the status quo. One white and gold piece looked incredibly expensive, and when I read the materials used for its creation, I found that it was made with styrofoam and painted with the same kind of paint that is used on cars. It looked chic and modern, and was made with the same kind of material that pads my overstock.com deliveries.

The title of the piece is “Mercy.” Mercy for what or whom I ask? Initially I think it may be in reference to the environment; the artist is using recycled materials and therefore lessening his “footprint.” However, my sarcastic side soon emerges, and I chuckle to myself. What if he means to ask for mercy on the exhibit itself? Or specifically for this piece of art? Maybe he too knows that many of these artists are past their prime, and therefore I should have more compassion.

I can’t help but think these thoughts though. The exhibit is entitled, “What’s New, Pussycat?” Well, Pussycat, from the looks of things, not much.

--Hailey Hannan

The "Venice Sign"

THE iconic Venice sign in Windward Circle is (as of summer 2007) a grand exception to many who accuse Los Angeles of forgetting - of rebuilding and reinventing history to cover the blemishes left by the past.

Argue it’s cliché or iconic, it’s really a touch of both, but it this sign puts a bright white and glowing bow on my Venice experience – in the evenings and in the sunshine while grabbing a coffee at Café Collage.

The sign was an original (like 1905 original) Venice landmark. Then, sixty something years after the sign “disappeared” these fresh, and vaguely familiar (you’ve probably seen them on old postcards), letters again began glowing above Windward. Please note, the sign did not just “disappear” – rather I have found no source that can confirm what actually happened, but “it” happened the late 40’s or early 50’s.

In a meeting of the “Venice Arts Council” most participants affirmed the solar power initiative with the sign, and one contributor took this historic nostalgia to the next level and enthusiastically said, “Yes! Wonderful! Since you are using LEDs, why not make it with the bulbs that can change colors!”

I feel obliged to mention that anyone can “Adopt-A-Bulb” to support the historic restoration of the Venice Sign. Two hundred bucks makes you a sponsor for two years. Hopefully it doesn’t make a habit of these disappearing acts.

--Sarah Kruberg

What Used To Be...

DID you know that Santa Anita race track was where Seabiscuit, the famous horse that won many awards, raced? This race track was also a part of history during World War II. In correlation to our class discussions about the making of Los Angeles and its history, Santa Anita race track was similar to that of the Dodger's stadium. It once used to be a Japanese Internment Camp during World War II. Once the camp was shut down after the war ended, the race track was eventually reopened to the public. Santa Anita race track is located next to the mall in Arcadia. I always wondered if the Japanese Internment Camp had anything to do with why Arcadia is predominantly made up of the Asian population...
-- Stephanie Park

Caption: Santa Anita Race Track

Credit: Dave Cooper, flickr creative commons