Overview of the Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles
Forthmann House, 2014
National Historic Landmarks:South Los Angeles includes some of the city's most historic sites, including three National Historic Landmarks. The sites receiving this high designation are: (1) the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, built in 1923, and used as the principal site of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games;[2] (2) the Watts Towers (HCM #15), a collection of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet (30 m), built by Italian immigrant construction worker Simon Rodia in his spare time from 1921 to 1954; and (3) Baldwin Hills Village (HCM #174), an innovative planned community built in the 1930s with large open grassy areas and trees.
West Adams: A significant concentration of historic sites in the South Los Angeles region are in the West Adams district, which stretches "roughly from Figueroa Street on the east to West Boulevard on the west, and from Pico Boulevard on the north to Jefferson Boulevard on the south."[3]. The West Adams district was one of the city's most affluent areas from the 1890s through the 1920s. Many of the area's mansions, Victorian homes, and American Craftsman bungalows have been preserved. The area's 70 Historic-Cultural Monuments include some of the city's most renowned landmarks, such as the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (HCM #28) operated by UCLA and the Frederick Hastings Rindge House (HCM #95) built by a Bostonian who owned all of Malibu.
Vermont Square, Watts and South L.A.: This area includes the city's oldest library building, the Vermont Square Branch (HCM #264), built in 1913 in the Vermont Square neighborhood. It is an Italian Renaissance style building with Prairie style proportions built with a grant from Andrew Carnegie. The Watts Station was designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM #36) shortly after the Watts Riots in 1965. The old wooden railway station, built in 1904, was the only building along Watts' main thoroughfare (which became known as "Charcoal Alley") to survive the riots. The station became a symbol of continuity, hope and renewal for the Watts community. Also in South Los Angeles is the Ralph J. Bunche House (HCM #159). The boyhood home of Ralph J. Bunche, the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, it has been preserved as a museum.
African-American Music History: The area also includes sites that have played an important role in the city's musical history. The Ray Charles Worldwide Offices and Studios were designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM #776) in 2004, and the Dunbar Hotel (HCM #70) was at the center of the thriving Central Avenue jazz scene in the 1930s and 1940s. After hosting the first national convention of the NAACP to be held in the western United States, the Dunbar hosted Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Lena Horne and other jazz legends. Former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson also ran a nightclub at the Dunbar in the 1930s. And the Lincoln Theatre (HCM #744), built in 1927, was once the crown jewel of Central Avenue, referred to by some as the West Coast's version of New York City's Apollo Theater.
Large mansion built by the Hancock family at Wilshire Blvd. and Vermont Ave., circa 1900; razed in 1938, though four rooms were moved in their entirety to the USC campus
Urban housing project completed in 1942 featuring extensive grassy areas and open spaces, which was designed by Reginald D. Johnson, Wilson and Merril, Robert E. Alexander. AIA 1972 award.
Richardsonian Romanesque mansion; built in 1891; originally home of lumber and banking millionaire; survived a dynamite attack by a blackmailer in 1896; later occupied by a brewer, a fraternity house, student housing and a convent
Built in 1893, it has housed an experimental kindergarten, a prep school for girls, the headquarters of the Dianetics Foundation, and the Sunshine Shelter for homeless women; also known as Casa de Rosas
Oldest branch library in Los Angeles; built in 1913 as a Carnegie library; designed by Hunt & Burns in Beaux Arts style with Italian Renaissance influence
Italian Renaissance style branch library built in 1930, designed by Henry F. Withey (Ed. note: List of RHPs in L.A. states this built in 1920, here states 1930, which is it?)
Beaux Arts – Italian Renaissance style mansion, designed by Hudson & Munsell; purchased in 1936 by Busby Berkeley; now operated as the "Peace Awareness Labyrinth Gardens"
Headquarters of one of the city's most successful African American-owned businesses starting in 1927; now a child development center. Architects: James Garrott and Louis Blodgett.
Two-story Beaux Arts style 1912 building designed by architect B. Cooper Corbett for Louise Denker, widow of hotel and real estate tycoon Andrew Denker.
Built 1944, only realized church by R. M. Schindler, has de Stijl style layers. "Rare example of Modernist architecture that crossed L.A.'s economic and racial boundaries."[8]
Spanish Colonial Revival/Romanesque style; brightly colored stained glass windows and an original 1928 Skinner Opus 737 organ. Architects: Williams, Garrott & Young.
Williams bought the home in 1921 and used it as his principal residence until he moved to Lafayette Park in 1952 [10][11]
Non-HCM sites also recognized
The Historic-Cultural Monuments listed above include many of the most important historic sites in South Los Angeles. In addition, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a U.S. National Historic Landmark in the region. Some other sites and historic districts within the South Los Angeles region have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places or designated as California Historical Landmarks, but were not also listed as HCMs. These are:
Gothic Revival church of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); founded in 1932 as a white congregation; integrated and became a multi-racial congregation in the mid-1950s
West Adams is a historic neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. The area is known for its large number of historic buildings, structures and notable houses and mansions. It contains several Historic Preservation Overlay Zones as well as designated historic districts.
Crenshaw, or the Crenshaw District, is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.
Jefferson Park is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of the City of Los Angeles, California. There are fourteen Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the neighborhood, and in 1987, the 1923 Spanish Colonial Revival Jefferson Branch Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A portion of the neighborhood is a designated Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).
Wilshire Park is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California.
Second Church of Christ, Scientist is a historic former Christian Science church building located at 948 West Adams Boulevard, in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, California. It is now the Art of Living Center Los Angeles.
Alvarado Terrace Historic District is a designated historic district in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, California. It is located southwest of Downtown Los Angeles, along Alvarado Terrace between Pico Boulevard and Alvarado Street.
Susana Machado Bernard House and Barn is an elaborate 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) Art Nouveau Gothic Revival style mansion and carriage house located in the Pico Union section of Los Angeles, California. Built in 1901, the house was designed by architect John B. Parkinson (1861–1935). Parkinson also designed the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Union Station and Los Angeles City Hall. Noted for its Gothic style with soaring spaces, the house has vaulted ceilings and curved walls. In 1979, it was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The property was purchased in 1996 by the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law. Since 2002, the house has been operated as the Casa Libre/Freedom House, a fourteen-bed shelter for homeless minors. In May 2003, the Los Angeles Times profiled the shelter, noting the following: "Casa Libre/Freedom House occupies a newly renovated mansion near MacArthur Park. Registered as a state, county and federal historic site, the home's gothic facade rises elegantly from the corner of South Lake Street and James M. Wood Boulevard. The shelter arranges for schooling, counseling, and medical care for undocumented and unaccompanied immigrant children, mainly from Latin America.
The North University Park Historic District is a historic district in the North University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The district is bounded by West Adams Boulevard on the north, Magnolia Avenue on the west, Hoover Street on the east, and 28th Street on the south. The district contains numerous well-preserved Victorian houses dating back as far as 1880. In 2004, the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.
Birthplace of Adlai E. Stevenson II is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The site was the birthplace of two-time US presidential candidate Adlai E. Stevenson II, who was born there on February 5, 1900. The house was designed by C.W. Wedgewood and built in approximately 1894. When Stevenson died in 1965, the site was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument.
West Adams Terrace is a neighborhood in the West Adams area of Los Angeles. Dating back to 1905, it contains seven Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, one property on the National Register of Historic Places and one Green Book property. In 2003, the neighborhood was designated a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone.
↑ Lynch, Don; Cooper, Suzanne Tarbell; John, Kurtz (2008). "Introduction". Images of America - West Adams. Arcadia Publishing. p.7. ISBN978-0-7385-5920-9. Retrieved 24 December 2023. West Adams , an area roughly bounded by Figueroa Street, Jefferson Boulevard, Pico Boulevard and West Street.
↑ Numbers in 1-999 series are L.A. Historic-Cultural Monuments; CHL numbers are state-designated California Historical Landmark sites; 2000 series denote LAHCM assigned numbers for federally designated sites. Blue colors represent higher designations as National Historic Landmarks and/or listing on the National Register of Historic Places; yellow represents sites that are L.A. Historic-Cultural Monuments without a higher designation. No color represents information is unavailable or the monument has been delisted. To resort on this column, refresh your browser.
↑ "PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT"(PDF). LACity.org. Retrieved 16 February 2023. APPROVE the recommendation of the CHC relative to the inclusion of the Hauerwaas-Kusayanagi Residence located at 37 41 West 27th Street in the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments.
↑ Numbers in 1000 series denote LAHCM assigned numbers for state-designated sites; 2000 series denote LAHCM assigned numbers for federally designated sites. Blue colors represent higher designations as National Historic Landmarks and/or listing on the National Register of Historic Places. No color represents information is unavailable or the monument has been delisted. To resort on this column, refresh your browser.
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