February 2017

February 2017 | ISSUE NUMBER 328 Lost Adams Oxford Square West Adams www.westadamsheritage.org A West adams affair to remember West Adams in the news Preservation Matters Stan Poe tells the story of his grandparents and how they met in West Adams. 16 14 President's Message Fireside Soup Supper, a visit to the Academy Award exhibit at FIDM and more. 22 18 The West Adams newsletter is a publication of West Adams Heritage Association. Members and supporters of WAHA are invited to submit articles by contacting news@westadamsheritage.org. Letters and articles will be subject to space restraints and may be cut for length. Articles will be published subject to the editors. Advertising is subject to the approval of the publishers. Although WAHA appreciates its advertisers, the Association does not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Services and products are not tested and the appearance of advertising does not imply, nor does it constitute, endorsement by the West Adams Heritage Association. Copyright 2017. All rights for graphic and written material appearing in the newsletter are reserved. Contact the publisher for permission to reprint. 18 A special reprint of an article by Martin Weil. 11 Stucco Do you know this house? 25 Newsletter Staff WAHA membership includes:  * 10 issues of the West Adams newsletter  * Invitations to all WAHA programs, parties, Evening Strolls,   and other activities, mostly free  * Discount on WAHA tours and advance notice of tours  * Membership Directory  * Special publications  * Membership card for discounts on services and products. Join online at http://www.memberwaha.org/amember/signup/index 10 Save trees! Opt for digital delivery only by emailing news@westadamsheritage.org It looks like it may be in West Adams. Become a member (or renew) Golden State Murals Join at any level: • Individual/Household $50 • Student/Senior $25 • Preservation Circle $100 • Heritage Circle $250 • Patron Circle $500 • Benefactor $1000 To pay by check, send the following information (Name(s), Address, Phone, and email along with your level of choice) with your check to: WAHA 2263 S. Harvard Boulevard Historic West Adams Los Angeles, CA 90018 4 Buster and Earl Airplane bungalows A West Adams Affair to remember Where's A.J.'s Hat? John Patterson, Communications Chair Reggie Jones,  Publisher & Editor Suzanne Cooper,  Layout & Design Don Lynch,  Writer Upcoming Events 21 Albert Eugene Goudron. A west adams affair to remember In 1907 a native Californian, Miss Nellie Baker, embarked on an adventure that most girls at the turn of the century only dreamed of. During that year she enrolled in the School of Music at the University of Southern California. An inheritance from her maternal grandfather, John Kelly of Santa Ana, specified that the funds be used for a college education. This was at a time when very few women were educated beyond the twelfth grade, even if that. Nellie was the youngest of seven children from a stalwart and esteemed family with an ancestor, Mary Chilton, who had come on the Mayflower. She came from a long line of doctors who valued education above all, even for women. Besides her auspicious beginning at USC, Nellie was to meet a very likeable gentleman from Paris whose family had moved to Montreal, Canada. That gentleman was Albert Eugene Goudron, described by the newspaper as a “bon vivant” who was on a world tour. Actually a college educated mechanic from Montreal, Albert was a licensed chauffeur who drove for different wealthy automobile owners who needed a mechanic as well as a driver due to the lack of repair facilities. After driving for Renault in New York, Albert found employment with a Mr. Zobelein of Los Angeles who at 24 years had immigrated from Bavaria and by 1882 had partnered with Joseph Maier, a German immigrant, to start what would become the largest brewery in Southern California. Mr. Zobelein owned a large estate at 38th Street and Figueroa. Mr. Goudron often noticed Nellie Baker as she walked to school from her boarding house, but was apprehensive about speaking to her. One rainy day in January, cupid unleashed his arrow as Albert notice that Nellie was afraid to cross the muddy debris filled street. Being a proper Frenchman, he proffered assistance by carrying her across the torrent. Thus began a romance which culminated in marriage following Nell’s graduation. They were married on July 13 at the home of her aunt in Bay City, California, now known as Seal Beach. That particular date was the birthdate of both the bride and groom. After the wedding luncheon, the couple boarded the Pacific Electric railroad car to Los Angeles where their new home at 1189 West Adams Street was waiting. As chance would have it, Albert had a musical education, so it was a perfect marriage of their talents. As the old saying goes, “They made beautiful music together.” After settling into the West Adams home, my grandmother gave piano lessons and created hats for Hamburger’s famous department store which later became May Co. Since her brother-in-law, Calixte, was the store manager, he had sway as to who might get their hats on the shelves. My grandfather continued working for the Zobelein family. They had one daughter, Ellen, who was the pride and joy of the family. Unfortunately during a visit to see the Goudron family in Montreal, she contracted typhoid from swimming in the St. Lawrence River. My devastated grandparents returned to West Adams. The following year my grandfather had an opportunity to work on the machinery in Bisbee, Arizona, and my grandmother found she was expecting another child. They bought a large open car, took two engineers, and headed across the wooden plank road to Bisbee. In places the planks were missing and everyone had to leap out of the car, roll in the sand, and run to catch the car so that it didn’t get mired in the sand. They eventually arrived in Bisbee without further mishap, and my grandfather began work at the Copper Queen Mine. A few months later my uncle Eugene was born. Within the year they returned to West Adams and took up residence on 27th Street in a California Bungalow just west of Arlington. My mother, Yvonne Goudron, was born in 1924. As my uncle and mother showed some musical talents with piano and violin, grandma would plan elaborate stage productions. During the Depression my uncle organized a small orchestra that performed all over the West Coast. He eventually played with all the big bands after a stint in the Army Air Force. At this point he played saxophone and most of the woodwinds. He married his singer, and they had one daughter, Sharon, who later became a night club soloist. My mother would still perform on stage playing the violin and mandolin. She played at the Orpheum when it still had vaudeville. She was waylaid by marriage while living on Montclair which produced little Stanley, me. Throughout life’s vagaries West Adams was always homeport. Eventually my mother and uncle enrolled my cousin, Sharon, and me in the Leona Smith School for Talented Kiddies. My cousin benefited from the experience and became a singer. I benefited by being able to speak in front of large audiences. I eventually was tutored in piano by my grandmother and have played my entire life. Sharon had two boys and one girl. One of her sons has been a recorded singer, musician and writer. My son, Adam, writes music, sings and plays piano, bass, and guitar, as well as other instruments. My grandparents inspired a musical tradition which still continues with my family today. As a side note I taught Special Education for 37 yrs. and rewarded my students' work by teaching them to play the piano which gave them confidence to learn “Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.” They could then do something special that others might not be able to do. My son also teaches history and music at a continuation high school. The great-grandparents of West Adams would surely be proud. Albert as chauffeur for Mr. Zobelein. Nell. Nell's brother, Glenn, sent her a picture he had taken of her with her pets inscribed to "My sister and her damn foxes," a play on words because a female fox could be called a dam. All photos courtesy of Stan Poe. The wedding in Seal Beach. Stan Poe is a well-known architectural historian based in Long Beach. He and his wife, Maureen, attend most WAHA events. All of the women women of USC in 1907. Nell is the blonde in the back row. The fourplex where Nell lived in college. The house where Nell lived when she met her husband. Back of 27th Street with the Guasti mansion in the background. West adams in the news This year's Holiday Tour Committee would love to hear your feedback about the 2016 Holiday Tour. We want to know what you loved and what you think should be improved next time. If you have anything you'd like to share, please email Don Lynch at Don_Lynch@msn.com. NPR Features West Adams West Adams is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country right now. National Public Radio’s Take Two program discussed the area. Click here to listen. West Adams: One of the Most Competitive Home Buying Markets in the U.S. We’ve known all along that West Adams is the coolest place to be in L.A., but now it seems we’re one of the coolest places in the country too. Check out the link below and read through the Curbed LA article. Apparently, we’re so cool that it’s a real challenge to get into this neighborhood. This article confirms what our real estate agents have been telling us for some time; homes are selling almost as fast as Holiday Tour tickets. Check out the full article here. Natalie Neith in front of the Coopers' house (which is not for sale!) Photo: Leo Duran/KPCC. tOUR sPONSORS Airplane bungalows Do you know this house? Builder F. E. Ellis of Los Angeles stands in the doorway of this airplane bungalow under construction. Los Angeles Times February 22, 1925 Do you know this house? It definitely has a West Adams feel to it, accentuated by the palm tree in the front yard beside the two boys, and of course a comfortable hammock on the porch to enjoy the California weather while snoozing. The four-digit house number begins with 17. If you recognize this home, please email news@westadamsheritage.org. We'd love to know for our archives. Photos: Reggie Jones Neighborhood Spotlight Oxford Square Golden State Murals Photo: Reggie Jones A landmark building that tells the story of the African American experience in Los Angeles and the nation is located right here in the West Adams District, at the corner of Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard. Designed in 1949 by architect Paul R. Williams, the Late Moderne-style Golden State Mutual Insurance Building – now designated as Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument (HCM) No. 1000 – was erected as the headquarters for one of the first companies to offer life insurance policies to African Americans in Southern California. By 1945, Golden State Mutual was the largest black-owned company in the West. A later company history called the building itself “a symbol of black enterprise and of loyal service to many thousands.” By 2009 the company, unfortunately, had become insolvent. The building eventually transferred to a new owner, the South Central Los Angeles Regional Center (SCLARC), a non-profit dedicated to serving the developmentally disabled. SCLARC embarked on an award-winning restoration effort, while also building its own new headquarters building next door, with a plaza dedicated to architect Williams linking the two structures. The Golden State Mutual building is home to two murals that are important cultural heritage landmarks. The interior lobby of the building was designed to incorporate two integrated murals, one for each sidewall. These large Social Realist style murals, The Negro in California History--Exploration and Colonization by artist Charles Alston and The Negro in California History--Settlement and Development by artist Hale Woodruff, are together a panoramic depiction of African-American history in California from 1527 through 1949. The Golden State Mutual Building draws on a rich history of integrated murals in buildings. Whether the mural is painted directly onto the wall surfaces or onto canvas that is then affixed to a specifically designed space, the result is a building with integrated artwork that serves to enhance both the architectural setting and the public experience. The murals at Golden State Mutual, which are painted on canvas, are part of the building’s original design as conceived by architect Paul Williams and remain in good condition with high integrity. They represent a significant interior element of the building, with their depictions of African American history in California. The mural dedication ceremony on August 19, 1949, served as the official opening of the building and commenced a series of events that ended with the dedication of the building on August 23rd of the same year. Artists Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff were each commissioned to create expansive murals depicting African American heritage in Los Angeles that would become integral components of the lobby of Golden State Mutual’s new building. Both Alston and Woodruff, and the subject matter of their murals, were selected by three-person committee that included building architect Paul Williams. Charles Alston (1907-1977), a noted African American artist who worked in the mediums of painting and sculpting and served as an art educator, was known for “fusing modern art styles with non-Western influences to create a new and distinctive African-American idiom.” Alston was influenced by the largescale works of the Mexican muralists, including Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. One of Alston’s early works of this form was a large pair of murals for New York’s Harlem Hospital entitled Magic and Medicine and Modern Medicine, which were funded by the Works Progress Administration and celebrated African American heritage in the field of medicine. Hale Woodruff (1900-1980) had a distinguished career as an artist and art educator. His first mural was created in 1934 in collaboration with artist Wilmer Jennings as a Public Works Project and celebrated African American contributions to wide ranging aspects of America’s cultural traditions. The four-panel mural was titled The Negro in Modern American Life, Literature, Music, Agriculture, Rural Life, and Art. Like Alston, Woodruff had an interest in the mural painting traditions of Mexico. He studied directly with Mexican muralist Diego Rivera in 1936 and “noted the parallels between Mexican art and that of African Americans.” Miriam Matthews, a librarian and historian, was hired in 1947 by architect Williams and Golden State Mutual to research the history to be depicted on the headquarters building murals. She is best known as California’s first African American credentialed librarian. Matthews was a pioneer who became an expert on preserving and describing black history. She had a multi-faceted career as a librarian, an historian of African American and California history, a community activist, an active member of the California Library Association’s Committee on Intellectual Freedom, and as an archivist who collected documents, books, photographs and art -- most relating to the African American experience. After graduating from UCLA and earning a certificate in librarianship, Matthews was hired as a librarian by the Los Angeles Public Library in 1927. She helped organize “Negro History Week” (now Black History Month) in Los Angeles, in 1929. She was also the first librarian to present black writers like Langston Hughes at library programs. Matthews became well known for encouraging local Black artists. In 1950, she co-founded the Associated Artists Gallery. She also actively defended intellectual freedom and advocated against censorship at all levels. Matthews assembled an extensive collection of historical materials about African Americans, beginning with those who were California’s explorers and pioneers. She documented the presence of 26 persons of African ancestry among the 44 persons who founded the Pueblo de Los Angeles in 1791. In 1977, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the California Heritage Preservation Commission and the California Historical Records Advisory Board. She died in 2003 and is interred at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in West Adams. Laura Meyers is a longtime journalist and historian, specializing in house genealogy and local history. She is a member of the WAHA Board and coordinates WAHA’s annual Living History Tour at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. The Flyover’s Back A Bad Idea That Won’t Go Away Jean Frost is the current Preservation Committee Chair. Contact her at preservation@westadamsheritage.org. Caltrans Last month it was a pleasure to announce good news for 1342 West Adams Boulevard and the historic properties adaptive reuse as a Charter School. This month the bad news is that the Flyover is nowhere near any kind of resolution in spite of several years of research, comments, consulting, hearings and meetings. The Flyover is a fifty foot high, two lane, arching cement transitway, adjacent to St. John’s Cathedral that will send HOT traffic exiting at Adams Boulevard directly to Figueroa and 23rd Street where the traffic will be dumped. It will hover over our historic community, cost 43 million dollars and move traffic two blocks. Once the traffic gets to Figueroa there is no alleviation of its impacts to that already challenging intersection. In spite of overwhelming lack of support, Caltrans is continuing its efforts to pursue this Transitway. Most recently, on January 10, Caltrans summoned the “consulting parties” to a meeting with the State Office of Historic Preservation to discuss the proposed mitigations. A consulting party is one that has been officially recognized by Caltrans as having a particular stake in the project. This action is part of the Section 106 process, the required review of preservation impacts when federal funds are used. The 7 million dollar environmental study, over and above the 43 million construction cost, is funded by federal money. The Los Angeles Conservancy, West Adams Heritage Association, the California Preservation Foundation and St. John’s Cathedral have been accepted as “consulting parties.” We were all asked to meet regarding a draft Memorandum of Agreement between Caltrans and the State Office of Historic Preservation and asked to sign it as a consulting party. None of the consulting parties agreed to do so. The Flyover construction itself is not yet funded. The Metro Board needs to bless this undertaking and if they do, there are many ways to fund the project. Metro can issue a bond against future revenues from the HOT tolls. It is important that the Mayor and our elected representatives weigh in with the Metro Board and stop this folly. (Councilmember Cedillo and Councilmember Price have voiced their opposition.) The Memorandum of Agreement is designed to provide mitigations to the negative impacts of a project. Caltrans thinks that by providing a grassy surface and decorative elements underneath the massive structure, the impacts to our historic community, and in particular to St. John‘s, will be mitigated. The meaning of mitigate is: to cause to become less harsh or hostile: mollify; to make less severe or painful: alleviate. How do you mitigate something that is fifty four feet in the air and adjacent to precious historic buildings? Evidence against their belief that a landscape scheme can alleviate the impacts is strongly demonstrated when one views previous Caltrans landscape mitigations: the barren triangle at Figueroa Way and 23rd Street, and the park by Orthopaedic hospital at Flower and Adams. Caltrans has an obligation to mitigate adverse impacts to a level of less than severe and it has not done so. They repeatedly ask for our suggestions for possible mitigations yet ignore them. Mitigations must be real and address the actual impacts. For Caltrans to make an official finding of adverse impacts yet offer only superficial mitigations is a surreal exercise. You cannot mitigate severe and irreparable harm by streetscape improvements or by preparing a preservation plan for the Church, as they have suggested. And to continue this undertaking to what purpose? To move traffic two blocks? To cut seconds off cars turning at the Adams Boulevard HOT exit? We have offered, as a mitigation, support of the no build alternative and examination of a surface street solution that improves traffic flow without the impacts of a concrete flyover. Suggestions include a garden “cap” over the existing freeway creating a park over the existing historic in-cut known as “the Doheny ditch.” We have urged Caltrans to continue with the 4f process (further review of impacts under Section 106) to explore alternatives; begin an EIR process to make fact based decisions and gain more information and knowledge regarding the environmental impacts. We find the offered alternatives (build or no build) grossly inadequate. Caltrans has refused to do a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and believes their Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), a lower level of review, is adequate. We disagree. Caltrans should follow their own adopted goals of “Sustainability, Livability and Economy: Make long-lasting, smart mobility decisions that improve the environment, support a vibrant economy, and build communities, not sprawl. (Caltrans website.)” Be “A performance-driven, transparent and accountable organization that values its people, resources and partners, and meets new challenges through leadership, innovation and teamwork. (Caltrans Vision Statement.)” Find a “context sensitive solution” pursuant to Caltrans Director’s Policy DPP-22. Caltrans needs to embrace their earlier 1990 decision that where the exit ramp exits now is indeed a preferable alternative to an exit that reaches to 23rd street and the historic neighborhood. A proposal that was dismissed in 1990 is now being pursued for no apparent legitimate reason. And at each examination of this “undertaking” we continue to ask “Why?” Preservation Matters UPCOMING waha EVENTS Several issues ago Suzanne Cooper wrote about the Log Cabin home on Adams Boulevard which appeared in innumerable postcards in the early 20th Century. But just across Normandie, or Rosedale as the street was then known, was a large home at 1691 West Adams. Once again, no building permit remains in existence for the home. It first appears in the newspapers in February of 1898 when, as the Herald reported, “Mrs. William F. West entertained the As You Like It club Friday afternoon at her new residence on West Adams street.” The Times, reporting the same event, stated the address as 1691 West Adams, “corner of Rosedale.” In May of 1899 the publication, “Land of Sunshine,” ran an advertisement for a new housing development called “West Acres,” and featured a photograph of the house, with the infamous Log Cabin in the background. The name of the housing tract was clearly a play on words as W. F. West was the owner of the property being advertised. The house in the photograph was labeled as being his. It’s possible that the house was designed by the firm of Eisen and Hunt as in January of 1899 the Los Angeles Herald reported that West had hired them to design a house on 25th Street. It is entirely possible he was using the same firm that he had used to design his own home. A 1900 article in the Los Angeles Herald reported that a shed on the property had caught fire. The owner was listed as A. O. Perkins, but this is apparently in error. There is no A. O. Perkins in the city directory. There was an Albert H. Perkins living at a different address who was listed as a reporter, so it’s possible that he was the one who wrote the story and somehow his own name got associated with the property. William Fitzherbert West was born in Pennsylvania in February of 1865. His parents, who were English, went by the last name of Fitzherbert-West, but their son dropped the hyphen. His mother lived with him and his family until her death in 1904, after which the family moved out, eventually to Pasadena. West left the real estate business and went into oil instead. In 1905 the house sat empty according to the city directory for that year. The 1907 directory lists a family named Stelje living there, and it was during that year that West sold the thirteen-room house to Joseph Dederichs. Which owner rented it to the Stelje family is unclear, but the following year it was occupied by Dr. James H. Seymour, who was to be the final owner of the home. Dr. Seymour was educated at Columbia University in New York, and was extremely prominent in his profession once he had settled in Los Angeles. A charter member of the American College of Surgeons, he was a founder of Los Angeles County Hospital, and was the founder of the department of surgery and obstetrics for USC’s School of Medicine. Dr. and Mrs. Seymour had two daughters, Dorothy and Marguerite. Tragically, Dorothy, a graduate of Marlborough School, died of pneumonia in the home in January of 1919 at the age of twenty-two. Her sister, Marguerite, however, was married in “the rear end of the drawing room” of the house in November of 1911 to Harrison McDonald, a statistician. The McDonalds may not have lived in the house, yet the newspapers regularly reported them having entertainments there, so Marguerite’s parents must have allowed them the use of their large home. Unlike her sister, Marguerite lived a long life, passing away in 1989 just a few months shy of her 102nd birthday. In August of 1934 Dr. Seymour, himself a surgeon, did not survive a surgery for an intestinal ailment and passed away at California Hospital. Emma Seymour did not keep the house after her husband’s death. In April of the following year the new owners, the Acme Wrecking Company, took out a permit to demolish the house. It was promptly replaced with a filling station, and in the decades since, in one form or another, that type of business has been operated on the property. The most recent gas station remains unfinished on the site, and has been for several years. Classified Ads Wanted: Garage space to rent to store a small antique car. Call Bruce at 213-760-5609. —————————————————————————————————————————— To have your classified ad placed in this newsletter, please send your proposed ad to news@westadamsheritage.org no later than the first of the month prior to the month of publication of the ad.. May 1899 LosT Adams 1691 West Adams Boulevard February Soup Supper by the Fireside February 17, 2017 6:30-9:00 p.m. Sally Turner's house 2280 West 21st, Los Angeles, CA 90018 Come spend a cozy evening with fellow Wahonians. Please bring bread or desserts to share. WAHA will provide soup and drinks. We could use some music and stories--perhaps someone will bring a guitar and Don Lynch may be persuaded to tell a few tales of the Titanic? Please RSVP to events@westadamsheritage. Academy Awards Costume Exhibit Tour March 11, 2017 2:00 p.m. 919 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90015 Join WAHA for our annual trip to the museum at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) where Rory Cunningham will regale us with stories of his adventures in costuming. Annual 4th of July Barbecue July 4, 2017 We are seeking a location with a good-sized yard. Please email Suzie at events@westadamsheritage.org with suggestions for a suitable location. Please email Suzie at events@westadamsheritage.org if you are interested in hosting any sort of event at your home or if you have an idea for an event you would like us to plan. We’ll do all the work if you just open your home! Where's AJ's Hat? So if you think you know where AJ’s hat is in the picture AND you are a WAHA member and want a chance to get your hand on the prize, email your answer to me at news@westadamsheritage.org before February 15th. Only one entry per member allowed. And sorry WAHA Board members - you’re not eligible to win the prize. Buster and Earl Eat Out BIRD’S NEST CAFÉ During a neighborhood excursion, a brand new café was discovered! Well, at least it was brand new the first time we visited there during the summer months. The places recommend and reviewed are always given several dining ventures prior to being presented here in this column. The Bird’s Nest Café sits at the Southwest corner of 24th and Vermont. It’s clean, new, and as the name suggests, freshly decked out with an avian theme through the use of a huge feathered creature mural, birdie napkin holders, and other similarly chosen decorations. The mural even has USC worked into it, which conveniently accompanies their offer of a 10% discount to USC students. The café has an upscale coffee shop feel. There is ample outdoor seating on the covered patio, and a good 25% of the menu board is coffee-related items. The dessert case is full of cupcakes, cakes and pastries which would all go well with a good cup of java. And of course the place is Wi-Fi enabled so one can sip & browse. At lunch on separate occasions Earl enjoyed a burger with pastrami, the Cobb Salad and a Beef Torta, accompanied by onion rings, a side salad, and truffle fries. The torta had perfectly prepared steak, with guacamole and lettuce, between two halves of…well…a torta! The fried side dishes are not greasy, nor are they left in the fryer too long. Buster ordered the “Ceasar” Salad with chicken but another time really devoured the Garden Burger which came not only topped with the expected lettuce and tomato but also with guacamole, black beans and caramelized onions. The food is individually prepared on an as-ordered basis. It’s fresh and tasty enough to make one want to go back repeatedly. There is a parking lot behind the restaurant although plenty of space can always be found on 24th Street. In speaking with the proprietor, however, he said that he was surprised at how much take-out business they had been doing since they opened. To accommodate such clientele they are now affiliated with the firm Grub Hub, through which delivery meals can be ordered on-line. In all, this was a very pleasant dining experience on each occasion. The food is excellent, the service friendly, many drinks refillable, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the decor contemporary and comfortable, a nice addition to restaurants in West Adams. Hope to see you there in the future. BIRD’S NEST CAFÉ 2403 S. Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90007 323-641-7986 WWW.BIRDSNESTLA.COM Before and after. Courtesy of Don Lynch. Stucco Avery Home, 347 N. Van Ness, Los Angeles , 1922. Courtesy of Don Lynch Photo: Reggie Jones Stucco Can Also Be Misused Stucco is great for some building styles but is far too frequently used to cover architectural details, turning a beautiful wood frame houses into a remuddled modern structure. Cement stucco and its earlier counterpart, mud plaster, have been used to clad the exterior of houses and other buildings in California since the late eighteenth century. While there have been brief periods when it was eclipsed by other materials, stucco has remained over the years an essential building material. The earliest use of plaster material to cover walls on California residences was the mud plaster that was applied to adobe walls to protect the mud brick from water damage. The mud plaster was applied annually due to fragility. Lime wash was then applied as the finish coat over the mud plaster. The introduction of Portland cement stucco at the turn of the century provided a plaster-like material that could be applied like plaster but was more impervious to water damage. Stucco was made of Portland cement, fine aggregate of clean coarse sand, hydrated lime, and hair or fiber. It was applied so that there were three coats of plaster: the scratch coat, brown coat, and finish coat. On wood frame buildings the plaster was applied to narrow wood strips called wood lath that was nailed to the studs that framed the walls. By the 1920s expanded metal lath was beginning to replace wood lath. At the turn of the century stucco was used on various types of residential buildings. The Mission Revival homes, courtyard housing, fourplexes, and apartment buildings generally had walls covered with stucco. The stucco was meant to recall the mud-plastered adobe walls of the early nineteenth century. Greene and Greene and other architects who designed Craftsman houses liked to use a special type of stucco called splatter-dash. This was a stucco that had an extremely course texture that was created by throwing cement-covered aggregate against the undercoat. Splatter-dash stucco can be seen on the lower wall of the Gamble House garage. It was also used on the foundations and garden walls of other Greene and Greene residences along the Arroyo Terrace. It was also used to give chimneys an interesting texture. A sand float stucco was used in the pediments of gable roofs and other special areas of transitional craftsmanesque houses. The sand float stucco was created by using a wood trowel to bring the sand to the surface of the stucco, giving it an appearance similar to rough sandpaper. In some houses small individual stones would be pressed into the moist stucco to provide added interest. This detail is usually found on more vernacular houses designed and built by development companies. Sand float stucco was also used in conjunction with the installation of wood strips that gave the pediment a half-timbered appearance. In 1915, Irving Gill was the first modernist architect in Southern California to use stucco for his avant-garde houses. The material suited the austere appearance of his residences which were stripped of architectural details except for the simple archesd reminiscent of the early missions. Frank Lloyd Wright employed stucco for all of the buildings he designed between 1917 and 1921 for Aline Barnsdall on Olive Hill in Hollywood, including Hollyhock House, Aline Barnsdall's residence. By the 1920s architects and builders begin to design houses, fourplexes and apartment buildings to look like Spanish farmhouses, Italian villas, English cottages and French chateaux. After the discovery of King Tut's tomb in the mid 1920s exotic details such as Egyptian temple motifs were used on courts, fourplexes and small apartment houses. The most popular material for the exterior walls of the wood frame buildings was cement stucco because it was inexpensive and could be manipulated to provide many different textures and colors. A Portland Cement publication printed in 1925 showed photographs of 24 different stucco textures. The color of cement stucco could be altered by using different types of colored aggregate or with the use of mineral pigments. The tints generally tended to be grays and buffs similar to the color of stone masonry. In some cases the stucco was actually modeled and treated to look like different types of cut stone. In the 1930s stucco was the only material suitable for the streamline moderne houses and apartments. No other material was plastic enough to give the rounded corners of the buildings a smooth, seamless appearance. White was the color associated with this style. Modernist architects such as Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra used stucco for most of their contemporary style houses. The smooth planes of the stucco juxtaposed to the window openings created an abstract design on the walls. Architect Paul Williams, who designed traditional style residences, turned to stucco to give a sleek appearance to the Regency/Modem style residences he created. After World War II stucco became the most popular material for the exterior walls of residential architecture. The courtyard apartment houses that were built in the 1950s and 1960s used stucco as the main material; however it alternated with panels of other materials such as fake or real stone veneer, metal grilles, ceramic tile and painted wood. Metal starburst medallions, abstract designs, oversized house numbers, and fanciful graphics served to embellish the stucco facade. The tract housing developments that appeared in the 1950s and 1960s also relied on stucco as an inexpensive wall covering. By the 1970s the use of stucco for residences was enhanced by the return to the Mediterranean revival style. The ubiquitous stucco walls and tile roofs have become the most enduring trademark for housing in Southern California, recalling the early Spanish and Mexican roots of the architectural tradition that was introduced into California in the eighteenth century. Examples of different styles of stucco can be found at the following house museums: Workman House (1870s) and La Casa Nueva (1922-27) Homestead Museum, City of Industry http://www.homesteadmuseum.org The Fenyes Mansion (1909)Pasadena Historical Society  http://pasadenahistory.org The Gamble House (1908), Pasadena http://gamblehouse.org Wrigley Mansion (1914), Pasadena http://www.wrigleymansion.com Lanterman House (1915), La Canada Flintridge http://www.lantermanfoundation.org William S. Hart Museum (1928), William S. Hart Ranch http://www.hartmuseum.org Continued on next page With the change of the year—and so many other changes in progress—I can’t help but wonder how Preservation will evolve in the coming years. A few issues seem critical: On a global level, the US seems to have disengaged from the most important international effort to identify and preserve historic sites. For the last four years the US Congress has withheld dues from UNESCO (U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), impairing its effectiveness at a moment when wars, vandalism and natural disasters imperil cultural heritage sites on every continent. I suspect more US citizens agree with the goals of the organization whose goal is “building peace in the minds of men and women through culture, education and science” than with the goals of this congressional action. Regardless of who is in office at the national or state level, it seems that funding for historic preservation will continue to be extremely limited. Funding for nationwide preservation grant-making programs such as Preserve America and Save America’s Treasures have been discontinued. Many individual state Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO)—California included—are facing budget cuts, causing staff and program cutbacks. At the city level there are also funding issues, limiting services and impacting Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments designations and the managing and designating Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs). Will the National Trust for Historic Preservation be able to provide additional services to help replace those lost at the federal level? And what about the LA City programs which are being reduced? How do we as community preservationists insure those programs are functioning the way they were designed to function? Can WAHA fill that gap? And is it in our charter to police functions of the city? Although many people may say benefits from preservation efforts are overrated, in my mind and certainly in my experience, I think our community, our nation and the world benefits from the programs to save some of our past for the future. I hope this is something we all believe in and will support in the future! Stucco (Continued) John Kurtz can be reached at president@westadamsheritage.org. Martin Weil was a highly regarded preservation architect who lived in West Adams. This article is reprinted. President's Message Future of Preservation Benefactor Circle Lore Hilburg and Reggie Jones Patron Circle Craig Bartelt & Nick Mercado Ellen Farwell John Kurtz Hilary & A.J. Lentini Hunter Ochs & Kim Michener Ivy Pochoda & Justin Nowell Maryanne Sawoski Ed Trosper & David Raposa Heritage Circle Edy & George Alva John H. Arnold & Curt Bouton Barbara Bestor & Tom Stern David Bottjer & Sarah Bottjer Jean Cade Robert Cresswell Lisa Ellzey & Jeff (Ulrik) Theer Friends of Hazy Moon Zen Center Blake McCormick Jim & Janice Robinson David Saffer Elvie Tuttle Transitioning from Paper to Digital As you know, one of our major goals this calendar year is to transition the WAHA Matters Newsletter from the printed document you’ve received in the mail to one you are able to read online. By now, most if not all of you have had a chance to review the digital version of the newsletter. This digital format is now the primary newsletter version and will be the source material for the printed version AND it includes FULL-COLOR photographs and many bonus features that the printed version will not have. The bonus content in the digital version includes: The ability to link directly to other online content such as photographs, articles and websites for more content, including the WAHA website. Click and enlarge FULL COLOR photographs for easy viewing or to see additional photographic content. Download the newsletter to any device and take it with you wherever you go. Allows printing of multiple copies of specific articles or the whole newsletter if you desire in FULL COLOR. An interactive document that will allow members to participate and share information, events and resources. This new digital format is much less expensive to produce and deliver to WAHA to members, both from a financial and manpower perspective. Every print copy of the newsletter costs roughly $1.70 to produce and about $1.50 to mail. Sending the newsletter in digital format saves the organization between $1,000 to $1,500 each month or approximately $13,000 per year. In terms of the total budget for the organization, printing the newsletter consumes approximately 70% or more of most members’ annual dues. In addition to the financial cost, a considerable amount of volunteer labor and time are required to prepare, label, seal, stamp and mail each newsletter to members. The financial and man-hour savings by not printing the newsletter can be reinvested in preservation efforts, additional web site improvements, tours or events. The Communications Committee is now consistently producing and sending the newsletter electronically to every member with an email address. If for some reason you’re not receiving the electronic format (Do we have your current correct email address?) or if you’d like to only receive the digital edition and opt out of receiving the paper edition, please contact me at news@westadamsheritage.org. As a reminder, you will receive the electronic format through a download email sent by the Communications Committee Chair, John Patterson via his email communications@westadamsheritage.org. Thanks Reggie Jones Preservation Circle Board of Directors Officers John Kurtz, President 323-732-2990 Jean Frost  Vice-President, Preservation Suzanne Henderson 323-731-3900  Vice-President, Events Jean Cade, Treasurer 323-737-5034 Paula Brynen, Secretary 323-936-7285 Board Members Regina Berry 323-333-0175 SeElcy Caldwell 323-292-8566 Jim Childs 213-747-2526 Lore Hilburg 323-934-4443 Janel Glover Laura Meyers 323-737-6146 John Patterson 213-216-0887 Roland Souza 323-804-6070 Jeff Theer 323-964-9999 Candy Wynne 323-735-3749  Advisor Harold Greenberg Legal Advisor 323-732-9536 James C. Alford Blaire Baron Larsen Seth & Linda Bass Barbara & Patty Britton Clare & Michael Chu Colleen & Shawn Crosby Maria & Felix Davila Adrian Scott Fine Susan Gans Gwen & Sasha Goldbloom Jacqueline & James Goodman Randi Katz Daniel Lockwood & Barrett Crake Patricia & Richard Mathias Gail & Joseph Mills Lawrence & Debra Poteet Vickilyn & Albert Reynolds Deborah Richman & Steven Kusunoki Yumi Ro & Wasima Khan Cheryl Stone & Warren Kawakami Judith Walton Harry Anderson & Terry Bible Audrey Arlington Albert Aubin Jeffrey & Patricia Baum Regina Berry Paula & Paul Brynen Odel Childress & Donald Weggeman Clare & Michael Chu Rory Cunningham & David Pacheco Art Curtis & Shelley Adler Suzanne Dickson & Steven Stautzenbach Andrea Dunlop & Max Miceli Nazelie Elmassian Sarah and Charles Evans Craig Fajnor Elizabeth Fenner & Brian Robinson Jean Frost & Jim Childs Sharon Hartmann Donald & Suzanne Henderson Sophie Jefferies Amanda & Tomas Jegeus Patricia Judice Patricia Karasick  & Christopher McKinnon Kevin Keller & Marc Choueiti Paul King & Paul Nielsen Adrienne & Blake Kuhre Sarah & Steve Lange Los Angeles Conservancy,  Linda Dishman Cassandra Malry & Thom Washington Joseph McManus  & Lara Elin Soderstrom JoAnn Meepos & Steven Edwards Marina Moevs & Steven Peckman Michael Nigosian Sharon Oxborough John Patterson & Jeff Valdez Gail D. Peterson Mary Power & Librada Hernandez Judy Reidel & Al Hamburger Becky Rhodes Walter Rivers, Jr. Donna Robertson & Mark Robertson, Sr. Amy Ronnebeck & Alan Hall Debbie & Stan Sanders Rebecca Sekulich Mary Shaifer & Chris Murphy Chris Taylor & Ansley Bell Willie Thomas Stephen Vincent & Jessica McCullagh Jeffrey Weiss & David Bailey Lindsay Wiggins Ned Wilson & Carrie Yutzy Candy Wynne Ashley Wysong & Robert Lobato New Members WAHA (and Friends) Calendar   February Soup Supper by the Fireside February 17, 2017 6:30-9:00 p.m. Sally Turner's house 2280 West 21st, Los Angeles, CA 90018 Come spend a cozy evening with fellow Wahonians. Please bring bread or desserts to share. WAHA will provide soup and drinks. We could use some music--perhaps someone will bring a guitar and Don Lynch may be persuaded to tell a few tales of the Titanic. Please RSVP to events@westadamsheritage. Academy Awards Costume Exhibit Tour March 11, 2017 2:00 p.m. 919 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90015 Join WAHA for our annual trip to the museum at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) where Rory Cunningham will regale us with stories of his adventures in costuming. WAHA Election Meeting April 9, 2017 Join us at the home of our president, John Kurtz for the election meeting. WAHA Board Retreat May 20, 2017 Annual 4th of July Barbecue July 4, 2017 We are seeking a location with a good-sized yard. Please email Suzie at events@westadamsheritage with suggestions for a suitable location. Ice cream Social August 20, 2017 2:00-5:00 p.m. Paul and Paula Brynen’s lovely garden.