The Eastsider LA Home and History

Eastside Property Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Eastside Property Report: Echo Park and Silver Lake home prices (at least those in the 90026 Zip Code) posted the biggest increase in the area during October. But Eagle Rock and northern Silver Lake and Atwater Village were not far behind. Click on the link below to view an Eastside Home Price chart of the ups and (mostly) downs the median sales price took over the past year as compiled by DataQuick and the L.A. Times.

* The chart shows the change in the median sales price from October 2009 from October 2008. Only single-family homes are included. Click here to view all median sales price information for the rest of Southern California provided by DataQuick & the Los Angeles Times.

Photo by Nick Bastian/Flickr

Who is going to step up and buy this Echo Park home?

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:03:00 +0000

The sales listing for the Echo Park house at 2966 Landa Street includes all the basic facts and figures: a price of $699,000; 1,100-square-feet of space; two bedrooms and two baths. But one number is not mentioned: 87. That's the number of steps that must be climbed up from the bottom of the hill to reach the front door of this home located on a steep public stairway. That means everything - from guests to groceries - must travel up and down that stairway. "It's been a wonderful place to live," said architect and homeowner Chris King, who designed the house in collaboration with partner Barry Jacob. But after three years of stairway living, King and Jacob have put the house on the market as they search for another project and challenge.

Building what the pair call The StepHouse would seem challenging enough. The StepHouse was perhaps one of the first new homes built on a public stairway in Echo Park in decades. King and Jacob loved the setting and the charm of the stairways. But their interest in building a house with no direct street access, garage or off-street parking forced them into a year-long process of public hearings and meetings with planners to secure permission to build their glass-and-wood house on an empty lot. While the home and its hillside views are eye catching, most visitors can't help but ask about the difficulties of hauling bags of groceries and trash cans up and down the Landa Street stairway.

King said it has not been a big deal. What he's enjoyed is getting to know neighbors as he and Jacob make their daily trek up and down the stairs. "That's what I really enjoy about living on a stair-street," he said. Since moving in three years ago, other have also taken a greater interest in the Landa Street Stairway, including fitness buffs who like to exercise on its nearly 150 steps.

King and Jacob have not decided where they will live if they sell their Step House. Jacob said their home's location is certainly not for everyone. "It's going to appeal to a certain audience, and we are fine with that."

At least their house is located only half way up that stairway.

Top photo from EchoParkModern.com; Bottom photo from HistoricEchoPark.org

The million dollar neighbor next door

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:10:00 +0000

The hills surrounding the Silver Lake Reservoir feature some of the area's most stunning views - and real estate prices. Values remain far below their boom-year peaks, but nearly a dozen homes sold for a million dollars or more during a recent six month period in the 90039 Zip Code, with almost all of them in Silver Lake (Sorry, Atwater). The seven-figure sales prices might make other homeowners jealous but they often don't come easy.

Silver Lake's million dollar club ranges from a 1928 Spanish-Colonial style house on Armstrong Avenue that sold for $1.3 million; a $1.6 million Art Deco-inspired house on Micheltorena Street with a swooping stairway; and a classic mid-century with guest house on Hidalgo Avenue that fetched $1.015 million, according to a search on Redfin.

"I've seen things pick up in last couple of months at the million dollar range," said real estate agent Dan Ortega at Keller Williams. However, Ortega notes that half of those recent million dollar sales closed at below the asking price. Still, the discounts have not been as steep as in other neighborhoods and the 90039 section of Silver Lake, which includes Moreno Highlands and the Ivanhoe Elementary school district, commands some of the highest prices around.

Meanwhile, don't expect the million dollar property club to add many members in Echo Park, Mt. Washington or Eagle Rock. "I think were still a ways from the point where will see homes in that price point," Ortega said.

A new view of old windows

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:13:00 +0000

Ed Sanchez spent many years in the business of getting homeowners to rip out old double-hung and casement windows - beloved by old house fans - and replace them with (gasp!) aluminum sliders. It did not make him a popular man among preservationists. But on Monday night, Sanchez will be welcomed at a meeting of the Highland Park Heritage Trust as an expert on repairing and restoring the same old windows. How did this happen?

Sanchez, as it turns out, hates throwing things away. He also saw the growing interest, as well as profit, in the restoration of old windows. About a decade ago, he and his partners opened up Window Restoration & Repair. He now gets a kick fixing windows that have been stuck for decades. "When [customers] are able to operate windows freely with just one hand ... they can't believe it," Sanchez said. "They are always fighting their windows."

At Monday night's meeting, Sanchez will talk about the maintenance and repair of old wood as well metal wood windows. Keeping and repairing those old windows can turn out to be cheaper than replacing them with new metal and vinyl when you take into account the labor to patch and repair the surrounding wall, he said.

Many customers are interested in repairing and preserving double-hung wood windows made from Douglas fir or crank-operated metal casement windows. In a few years, Sanchez said it would not surprise him if preservationists became nostalgic for those aluminum sliders from the 1950s and 1960s.

"Some day, people are going to look at aluminum windows and they say, 'Hey those look cool. I can't believe I took them out of my house.'"

Photo by MG Shelton/Flickr

An early price chop for new Echo Park condos

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:21:00 +0000

The Sunset Five condo project has been on the market for only about three weeks but the owners of the Echo Park project have already taken a $20,000 whack at the price of one unit. The price of the Unit A - two-bedrooms and 1,184 square feet - was reduced to $579,000, according to Trulia.com Units in the newly completed project on Sunset Boulevard at Portia Street range from $495,000 to $645,000, according to the listing agent.

Rolls of carpet replace reels of film in an old Highland Park movie house

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:02:00 +0000

It's been a long time since anyone has watched a film at the Franklin Theatre in Highland Park. The former Figueroa Street movie house near Avenue 55 closed decades ago and the building it once occupied is now home to MP Carpet Service. While the seats and projectors have been ripped out and the auditorium gutted and carved into separate spaces, faded wall murals and even a strip of the stage curtain still hover over giant rolls and scraps of carpet.

Highland Park historian Charles Fisher provided some history on the Franklin in a comment posted on Cinema Treasures:

"The Franklin Theater building is a product of over 80 years of adaptive reuse. It was originally built in 1922 for Fred Stillwell as an automobile sales agency and garage. By 1929, it was operated by the local Chevrolet dealer. In 1934, new owner, E. H. Rose converted the building to a market. The facade was redesigned in [concrete] by architect, W. L. Schmolle. The theater conversion occurred in 1936, when Rose hired architect Lyle N. Barcume, engineer Harold P. King and contractor G. S. Griffith to convert the existing structure into a theater. The marquee, which was engineered by Blaine Noice (who engineer many of the buildings at the old Walt Disney Studios on Hyperion Avenue) and designed and built by QRS Neon Corporation, LTD, was installed in September of that year and the the venue opened as the "Hughes Theatre". The name was later changed to the "Franklin Theatre", under which it operated until 1952, when it closed and was converted to DeWitt Storage."

One MP Carpet customer told the owners of the days she saw movies at the Franklin when she was girl. Members of the family who own the business, which has been located in the building since the early 1990s, said the murals are in a fragile state, with paint flaking off the walls even during a light cleaning. So, they are left untouched and forgotten.

It's the end of the line for Taylor Yard

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:18:00 +0000

The last remaining major repair shops and sheds at Taylor Yard, the once bustling freight train yard that sprawled along the Los Angeles River near Cypress Park, have been turned into piles of rusting metal scrap. In the last few months, nearby residents - and those farther away in the hills of Mt. Washington and Silver Lake, have watched crews demolish and dismantle the large maintenance sheds at the historic rail facility. But Union Pacific did not consider any of the buildings at Taylor Yards historic.

Railroad spokeswoman Lupe Valdez said the buildings at Taylor Yard, which has not been used in many years, were torn down to lessen the need for 24-hour security at the 42-acre property. City and state officials have talked for years about buying the former Southern Pacific yard for parkland - the new Rio de Los Angeles State Park was once railroad property - but budget problems have stalled that proposal. "We would love to sell it," Valdez said of the property. "That's what our hope is."

Angelino Heights resident and railroad enthusiast Kevin Kuzma has been watching and photographing the demolition of one of the reminders of the city's industrial past. He has written a story about the yard's history and significance:

By Kevin Kuzma

Demolition is nearly complete on a pair of Elysian Valley’s largest landmarks. Crews are making quick work of the massive metal buildings built to service the locomotives that once assembled and led Southern Pacific freight trains in and out of Taylor Yard.

The taller Back Shop building is the older of the two. Built in the early 1930s (along with the long-gone Taylor roundhouse), this building once housed a full service repair shop where heavy repairs could be performed on the era’s steam locomotives, including Southern Pacific’s distinctive - cab-forward - locomotives designed to haul trains over the steep grades of Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The more sprawling diesel shop complex was built in 1949 and was considered the finest such facility in the world at the time.

Many of its early work force were ex-Navy veterans of World War II who applied their knowledge of diesel ship engines to the rapidly expanding fleet of Southern Pacific diesel locomotives. During its heyday of the 1920s through the 1960s, more goods came into Los Angeles through Taylor Yard than trucks and ships combined. Trains were noisily assembled and disassembled 24 hours a day using Taylor’s innovative - hump - yard, a myriad of sorting tracks featuring a small hill which freight cars were pushed over to coast onto the appropriate track. Such humps were to became a standard feature at most modern rail yards.

Taylor Yard was a major employer in Northeast Los Angeles, with some historians estimating that 75% of Cypress Park families had someone working at Taylor Yard in its heyday. In 1973, Southern Pacific opened its new West Colton Yard in San Bernardino County. Over the next 10 years, much of Taylor Yard’s freight work was shifted there, while most locomotive repair work remained at Taylor Yard’s shops. In 1996, Southern Pacific was absorbed by Union Pacific and in 2003, the Union Pacific ceased using the old shop complex entirely.

Today, the land where the shops are located is known as Parcel G-2 in Taylor Yard planning documents. With the demolition of the Taylor Yard shop complex, the only surviving piece from Taylor’s glory days is the 1932 Dayton Tower, moved about a mile from its former site, just north of where the 5 Freeway crosses over the Metrolink yard. Much of the rest of the yard has already been redeveloped into the Rio do Los Angeles State Park, Metrolink’s service facility, warehouses and a LAUSD high school at the yard’s north end.

A slice of the former Taylor Yard is favored as a route for California’s proposed High Speed Rail. There have been some recent rumblings from a few area residents who are concerned about the possible noise that such a train might generate, though the high-speed electric trains are certain to generate far less noise than the clanging freight trains of old. Who knows? After a trip to China as scrap, the old railroad shop buildings might return as tracks for the new high-speed line, becoming part of a new chapter of Los Angeles railroading at Taylor Yards.

Related sites:
*Taylor Yard Map
*Taylor Yard parkland

Eagle Rock history in pictures

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:42:00 +0000

If you got a question about Eagle Rock history, Eric Warren, president of the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society, is the person who probably has the answer or can help track it down. Warren has turned his interest in the neighborhood into a pictorial history of Eagle Rock, which will be available for sale at the end of November at local stores. The book features more than 200 photographs and maps. Warren will be available to sign the book at events at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts on Nov. 29, Read books in Eagle Rock on December 5 and other locations.

Photo from Arcadia Press

Eastside Property: September home sales & agents debate the first-time buyer credit

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:40:00 +0000

The northern part of Silver Lake and the Mt. Washington area were some of the few communities across Southern California to show an increase in the median sales price* in September, DataQuick and the LA Times*. What's going to happen to the market if that first-time home buyer tax credit expires?

***

Here's what Cheryl Johnson and other agents at Bob Taylor Properties say on the matter:

Cheryl Johnson: "Right now, our office is busy with several buyers, but I think it is a convergence of several factors: Home prices have finally moved down into a more affordable range for more people; interest rates are low (even though the loan qualifications are tighter!); and the media has stirred up a lot of interest in bank-owned foreclosed homes as "hot deals". The first time home buyer tax credit has been an added inventive on top of all that, but in most cases I don't think the tax credit alone is the driving factor."

Griff Lares (works with a lot of first time buyers): "Well, every buyer I'm working with wants that credit. Those who know they won't qualify in time are now holding off from doing anything, not even looking at homes. Others are petitioning their Senators to try and pressure the President to extend the credit."

Dan Jordinelli: "Personally I think there are many first time buyers out there who have been completely unaware of the tax credit. The new buyers I'm working with are more interested in finding the right home and less interested in the credit for closing by the end of November. It will probably shuffle itself back once the time frame has ended and the buyers will still be out there looking for that perfect deal."

Joe Elizondo: "Given the low interest rates, I am not certain losing the credit will have a negative effect. If the Fed is concerned about the deficit or inflation and starts raising rates that will affect the market. If congress increases the credit to everyone not just first time buyers, we will see a boom."

Patricia Barr: "The first time buyers credit is an extra bonus - there is an article in today's NYTimes about folks who are filing and not qualified - the congressional hearing was Wed to extend. Just think we could buy a house in Detroit that costs $6,000 and make $2,000 from the credit. Honestly it's not the sole motivation - in our area most buyers are at or above the 75,000 income limit just to qualify."

* The chart shows the change in the median sales price from September 2009 from September 2008. Only single-family homes are included.

An Eagle Rock home that rises above the rest

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Hill Drive has long reigned as Eagle Rock's premier residential street, with giant homes sprawling over gently rolling lots. But one home has long loomed over the others: the Bekins-Lane mansion. The home, built in 1927 by the founder of the Bekins moving company, sits atop 3-1/2 acres of gardens and is said to be Eagle Rock's largest home. Many residents who may have wondered what it's like behind the estate gates will get a chance to find out tonight when the current owners will present the story and photos of the French Chateau-style home during a meeting of the Eagle Rock Historical Valley Society .

***

Martin Bekins built the house to spend his retirement years with his wife, said historical society president Eric Warren. But Bekins lived in the house only a few years before passing away in 1933. The house was then sold to oil industry executive Willfred "Bill" Lane. In 1965, Emanuel and Maria Kvassay, immigrants from Eastern Europe, purchased the property, and the house remains in their family. One of the Kvassays' sons, Robert, began restoring the property in recent years, including some large green houses and other buildings on the estate he has named "Chateau Emanuel." "He's done a tremendous job," said Warren.

Warren, who grew up a few blocks from the estate, said the home has remained a mystery to many residents. But he recalls childhood visits to the house during Halloween, when the previous owners would offer up ice cream to neighborhood kids. "We would head there as the climax of our trick-or-treeting experience," Warren said. "It was a pretty good deal."

Tonight's free presentation will be held at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts at 7 pm.

Photo by A.H. Varble/Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society

They left their mark on Echo Park & Silver Lake

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:46:00 +0000

Contractors, like artists, like to sign their work. That's what photographer Roy Randall discovered on his walks through Echo Park and Silver Lake, where concrete streets, sidewalks, stairways and curbs are littered with the stamps of contractors who helped build the city decades ago.

The stamps can be found across the city but it seems as if the practice is not followed as much by today's contractors. Randall, who goes by the Flickr alias Roy Ubu not only took pictures of many of the stamps - pictured here in a gallery -from the 1920s and 1930s - but also located them on a map, along with photos of stairways and other sites. He also included some images of more recent and personal imprints left by residents. Randall explains his interest:

"I do a lot of walking about Silver Lake, Echo Park and adjacent. If you look down as you walk, you'll see these imprints all over the sidewalks and streets. I assume they mostly date from the original paving of these areas. They date these areas as being developed in the twenties and thirties which jives with what little I know about the neighborhoods. I just decided to spend a day shooting things under my feet.

I only shot ones that have dates on them, but there are hundreds more without dates. Most of them have the contractor's logo facing both directions and also many "Inspected by" and some City Inspector's name. There are also more recent stamps on patches done by Southern California Gas and PacBell."

Photo by Roy Randall/Flickr

Echo Park condo living comes to busy Sunset Boulevard

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:28:00 +0000

There's a bus stop outside the front door. The back entrance is not that inviting either, with a narrow alley running past abandoned furniture and abandoned-looking houses. But in the middle of this noisy and somewhat chaotic section of Echo Park rises a serene and orderly cluster of buildings clad in carefully selected designer colors, corrugated metal and concrete block: The Sunset Five. It's Echo Park's newest condo project that recently went on the market. How much will it cost you to live on Sunset Boulevard with views of the Hollywood sign in the distance and Little Joy Jr. across the street?

***

Prices in the five-unit complex at Sunset Boulevard and Portia Street range from $495,000 to $645,000, according to the listing. The project, designed by Chasen Architecture of Santa Monica, features open plan units with up to 1,700-square feet of space on as many as three levels.

The Sunset Five along with a loft-style apartment building a few blocks east near Sunset and Alvarado will test the demand for high-priced housing on Echo Park's busy main streets.

A new vision for Alvarado & Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:52:00 +0000

If you are looking for a peaceful and tranquil place to live, then the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street in Echo Park is probably not the place for you. Developer Clyde Wood readily concedes that anyone seeking suburban peace and quiet should probably head for Calabasas and not the 20-unit apartment complex he is building steps away from the intersection. Still, who is going to pay $1,400 a month to live in a studio apartment near what one blogger described as "an intersection of drugs, homelessness, and 24-hour despair"?

***

Wood, one of the partners in Rock Ridge Investment Group, said that tenants interested in the yet-to-be-named project at 1030 Alvarado are not going to be afraid of urban living. The two-building complex, which is scheduled to open in the Spring of next year, is the first along Alvarado in Echo Park to take advantage of zoning laws that allow for bigger and more dense development that combine a mix of housing and commercial uses along busy streets. In this case, the Rock Ridge project includes ground floor stores under 20 apartments that can also be used as office or other types of commercial space.

"We wanted a more dense, more urban project," said Wood. "We think it's more appropriate for the site."

Wood assumes that many of the larger, two-story units - some measuring as much 2,000-square-feet - in the front building along Alvarado will be partly used as office space. The smaller studio apartments located in the back building away from traffic noise will be more conducive for residential living, he said.

Apartment rents have not been determined (the project website is still under construction). But Wood said monthly rents for the smaller, studio apartments - which measure about 500 square feet - should range from $1,200 to $1,400.

If the tenants need a break from the harsh surroundings, they can head for a rooftop deck with fire pit, barbecue and outdoor seating. It will be a safe place to view the intersection of despair - from a distance.

Top image from Rock Ridge Investment Group

The changing of the guard at the Libby House

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Back in May, The Eastsider published a story about longtime Angelino Heights resident and community leader Peggy Levine, who lost the landmark Victorian home she spent 30 years restoring as part of a foreclosure. On Thursday night, the new owner of Levine's former home, known as the Libby House, met many of her new neighbors for the first time. Retired teacher Roberta Kirkhart appeared before a meeting of the board that oversees the Angelino Heights historic district. Kirkhart, who came with samples of the shingles and copper gutter she wants to install on the 122-year-old home, lives a few blocks away in Echo Park on Grafton Street. "I was just thrilled," she said of her purchase of the East Edgeware Road house. "These homes don't turn over very much."

Levine remains a member of the Angelino Heights preservation board, but she did not attend Thursday night's meeting. So, the past and current owner of the Libby house did not meet. But, Kirkhart asked the board members to pass along a message to Levine: "She will always be welcomed."

Will the home of Billy's Gangplank become Echo Park's next historic landmark?

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:16:00 +0000

The city's Cultural Heritage Commission voted today to consider declaring the home of art dealer Billy Shire a historic cultural landmark. Shire's hard to miss home -which he once described as having "a tiki-nautical thing going on" - is already an unofficial neighborhood landmark in the Elysian Heights section of Echo Park. The front of the attention getting home is entered through a front-porch structure, dubbed "Billy's Gangplank," that was created and built by his brother and neighbor, sculptor Peter Shire. The Shires consider Billy's Gangplank a work of art but city inspectors have expressed a different view on the matter.

***

The city's Building & Safety Department has viewed the porch as an illegally permitted structure, according to a story The Eastsider published in March. In addition to Billy Shire's home on Vista Gordo, the Cultural Heritage Commission also agreed to consider a landmark nomination for the mid-century home designed by their father, Henry Shire, on nearby Princeton Street.

The commission also agreed to review an monument application for a third Echo Park area home (this one, however, was not connected by the Shires) on Mayberry Street.

The Highland Park house of your dreams just sold for $50,000 over its asking price

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Many Highland Park residents, including the blogger at 90042, have watched the transformation of a worn out bungalow at the corner of Avenue 61 and Piedmont Avenue into a "Highland Park Dream Home." After 3-1/2 month renovation, the owners of the 1921 bungalow put the house on the market for $399,000 in a real estate flip (The house sold for $175,000 in June, according to Trulia.) Five bids were submitted by the end of Monday for the three-bedroom house. By Wednesday, the owners had accepted an offer of more than $450,000, said real estate agent and Highland Park resident Rob Hanson, who advised the owners on the renovation as an unpaid "flip consultant."

There is a solid back up offer in the wings, said Hanson. "I'm stilll getting several phone calls a day on it."

Photo from Rob Hanson

Such a deal? Eastside homes for less than $100,000

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:07:00 +0000

The real estate market is said to be showing signs of life (at least that's what many home sellers hope.) So, now may be one of those rare times when you can jump into the Eastside housing market for less than $100,000. Of course, you may jump and fall through a rotted wood floor in a Boyle Heights bungalow. But, at this price, you can't be too picky. A recent tour of MLS.com found these trio of homes priced at less than $100K:

Location: Highland Park
Rooms: 1 bedroom, one bath
Price: $99,900
There are water stains on the ceiling and the balcony appears to be big enough for perhaps two chairs. But the seller of this condo at 5036 Echo Street (second photo from the top) is already looking for back up offers.

Location: Angelino Heights
Rooms: 2 bedrooms, one bath
Price: $99,000
The blurb on this probate sale at 1143 Laveta Terrace (top photo) does not mince words: "Major fixer. Won't qualify for financing. Cash buyers only." The photos of ripped up walls are not for the faint of heart.

Location: El Sereno
Rooms: Three bedrooms, one bath
Price: $89,000
This bank-owned, hillside home at 4442 Verdemour Avenue (second photo from the top) is being promoted as "Probably the lowest priced home with a panoramic view like this." The photos don't show that panorama. Instead, you get a big picture of an empty room with scuffed up walls and ceramic tile floors.

Location: Boyle Heights
Rooms: One bedroom, one bath
Price: $85,000
A sad little house at 706 Cornwell St. (bottom photo) near Soto Street and the 10 Freeway does not get any prettier when you take a look at the pathetic pictures. "Property needs major rehab. Property sold for land value only."

Photos from MLS.com

A mid Century Echo Park classic is up for landmark status *

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:53:00 +0000

Echo Park, unlike neighboring Silver Lake, has very few examples of mid-century Modern architecture. So, that's why the Ross House, a mass of white cubes and ribbons of glass, stands out among the Spanish-Colonial apartments and bungalows of Valentine Street in the Elysian Heights section of Echo Park. Today, more than 70 years after the home was built, the city council Planning & Land Use Management Committee will consider declaring the Ross House, home to the family of restaurateur Gareth Kantner, a city cultural historic monument.

The 1938 house, designed by Raphael Soriano, one of Los Angeles' most well regarded mid-century architects, is modest in size but remains a well preserved example of the cutting edge architecture of its day.

The house has had only three owners. The house was originally built for the Ross family. About a decade later, the house was purchased by Albert Nozaki, a former USC classmate of Soriano, who had been imprisoned in an internment camp during part of World War II. Nozaki, an Oscar nominated art director, and his family lived in the house for more than 60 years before it was purchased by the Kantners.

* Update: The Planning & Land Use Management Committee voted to support the landmark nomination, which now goes before the full City Council for a final vote.

Photo from OK Los Angeles

An Eagle Rock man who explored Los Angeles one step at a time

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Growing up in Silver Lake, Bob Inman frequently climbed up and down the public stairways near his Waverly Drive neighborhood. But, outside the stairs leading down to Fletcher and Riverside drives, Inman was never aware of the many other stairways that crossed the hills of Silver Lake, Echo Park and other older neighborhoods.As an adult, however, Inman has joined the growing ranks of L.A. stairway fans who huff-and-puff up and down these stairs on their own or as part of a group. Inman's interest in stairways has lead him to explore neighborhoods across the city and even help reopen a stairway blocked by residents. Now, the 59-year-old Eagle Rock resident has poured his passion into a book, A Guide to the Public Stairways of Los Angeles. The book - filled with maps, routes, photos and facts - has lead another stairway aficionado to hail Inman as a "Stairway God."

Here's a Q & A with Inman:

Q: How did you get interested in stairways?

A: I have always walked and hiked and been drawn to those places where cars cannot go. I bought Bakalinsky and Gordon’s “Stairway Walks in Los Angeles” but it probably sat on my bookshelf for a decade before I got into it. In 2004, I elected to take a year off work to catch up with some personal interests. One of those was to paint in many of my personal blank pages about LA neighborhoods and that Stairway Walks book became the perfect venue. I did every walk in the book.

Q: When did you start working on the book? What was the hardest part?

A: In 06-07 my mind raced with different ideas of how to put my LA neighborhood discoveries down on paper. It was not until 2008 that I firmed up the idea of doing a well illustrated, exhaustive list of all the stairways. Creating the maps was the biggest challenge but the whole effort was a lot of fun. Perhaps the “hardest” part was that for 6 months, my walks often became short data collection forays rather than the longer free form ramblings that I prefer

Q: What kind of reactions are you getting from people?

A: Pretty enthusiastic. Stairways are an esoteric niche of the whole LA physical scene but the interest is there, even among folks who are not really going to explore cross town neighborhoods. Look at what Dan Koeppel has achieved with The Big Parade and at people drawn to Historic Echo Parks stairway tour. Look at the throngs of fitness buffs who have made the two Adelaide stairs out of Rustic Canyon such a Mecca. There is something about the stairways that connects to people.

Q: You mentioned you were able to get a stairway unblocked. Why is it important to keep these stairways open?

A: I have a nice stairway near my home in Eagle Rock that connects Linda Rosa to Holbrook. It is one of the few in town that climbs up from both ends to go over a ridge. 17 years ago, there suddenly appeared some cheesy chain link fencing on either end that was presumably the work of one of the 4 residential properties that border that stairway. I called the city and got referred to someone with streets department who said they would check it out. They actually called me back saying the fencing should not be there and that they were going to take action. Two weeks later, the stairs were open again and have remained so ever since. My book includes 10 stairways that are fenced off. I suspect that others faded away from access by similar unsanctioned acts. Others may have been closed by the city to address some specific neighborhood request related to crime; but was that closure meant to last into perpetuity? I know that there are many unsung heroes who have fought tooth and nail to keep the stairways accessible and clean.

Q: How are book sales going? Do you plan any other follow ups?

A: I did the book as a labor of love and a preservation tool. Sales are what you would expect given the low profile I have kept with it so far. I am proud of how it turned out and each copy purchased is a reason to celebrate. First goal as a follow up is work with people like Dan Koeppel on stairway oriented events and maybe synergize my efforts with any neighborhood groups that are touting their stairways. Maybe someday I would write and illustrate a turn by turn type of LA guidebook that is a little different from the good ones that are already out there.

Q: Got a favorite stairway?

A: Curran Street stairs (top photo) in Elysian Heights is my favorite, not just for the stairs themselves but the wonderful district that they are part of.

Q: Do you live near a stairway?

A: There are about eight stairways within ½ a mile of my home plus another seven I have only recently discovered in the San Rafael district of Pasadena. Just as I used to go to the trails in Griffith Park or Altadena to start a hike, now I am much more likely to park in hilly neighborhoods around town and walk them for a few hours including a few stairways on the way.

Q: What about you?

A: I am just turning 59. After Silverlake, I’ve lived in Highland Park and now in Eagle Rock for 21 years. I work for Sunkist Growers arranging transportation for fresh citrus.

Photos by Bob Inman

A look back at Silver Lake's Waverly District

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Diane Edwardson at the Corralitas Red Car Property blog is publishing some aerial photos and other images of Silver Lake taken during the 1950s by the late Clarence Inman, a Silver Lake resident who worked for the city's Recreation and Parks Department. Inman lived in the Waverly District on the north end of Silver Lake where the bluffs rise above the Los Angeles River and the 5 Freeway. Click on the 1954 photo above for a view of the Waverly District and the now demolished Monte Sarno hospital and Red Car Line substation, located near Waverly Drive and Glendale Boulevard. More photos on the Corralitas Red Car Property blog.

Photo from the Clarence Inman Collection/Corralitas Red Car Property

A forgotten Elysian Heights artist returns to the spotlight - at least for one month

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:19:00 +0000

The cover of the September issue of Westways magazine features the black-and-white print of a well known local landmark - the Glendale-Hyperion bridge - created by an artist far fewer residents will recognize: Paul Landacre . The legacy of the artist who lived in the Elysian Heights section of Echo Park - or, as Westways describes it, "east of Silver Lake" - has been mostly forgotten by the general public. But Landacre (1893-1963) was at one time regarded as one of the nation's top wood engravers, whose dramatic black-and-white prints were featured in Westways and other publications (the September Westways story is not yet online).

Landacre carved wood blocks by hand in his home and studio, a small cabin on a narrow, winding street called El Moran. He and his wife, Margaret, moved into the house in the early 1930s and lived their until they died more than 30 years later, according to the Echo Park Historical Society. The wooded hillsides provided Landacre not only refuge but inspiration for his environmental pieces. The house was declared a City of Los Angeles Cultural Historic Monument in 2006.

Related story:
* Engraver Paul Landacre profiled. LA Weekly

The photographer of modern Los Angeles living preferred a traditional home in Echo Park

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:38:00 +0000

The photographs of mid-century homes by Maynard Parker helped promote the reputation of Los Angeles as a city fascinated with the new. Thousands of his photos, which appeared in the pages of the Los Angeles Times and national home decor magazines, are being put online by the Huntington Library, according to the LA Times and Curbed LA. But while Parker was known for capturing images of trend-setting West Coast homes, he and his family lived in a traditional house - complete with shutters and a white picket fence - on Lemoyne Street in Echo Park. The house, with the exception of new paint and mature landscaping, looks pretty much the same today (bottom image) as it did about sixty years ago when it made appearances in national magazines (top image).

***

He was obviously proud of the hilltop house on Lemoyne Street because it showed up in some of his published photos, including the cover of House Beautiful. Parker also used his family as well as neighbors in the shots, according to the Echo Park Historical Society:

"Maynard and his wife, Annie May Parker, moved to Echo Park in the late 1930s. They spent some time on Delta Street before building their lifelong home in 1939. That home, which stands at 2230 Lemoyne Street, soon showed up on the cover of home and garden magazines – along with Maynard's two daughters, who could be seen picking flowers or having a picnic. His daughter Ann showed up on a World War II era cover of House Beautiful. Eventually, his neighbors got into the act as well. Beverly Graham, who has lived in Echo Park since 1933, remembers posing for Parker as he shot various outdoor garden scenes. 'He loves his hill,' Beverly Graham recalled."

Top image from HistoricEchoPark.org

Pricey penthouse living coming to Angeleno Heights

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:56:00 +0000

A new Angeleno Heights condo project is going to test the health of the local real estate market with penthouse units in the renovated brick building topping the $1 million mark. But will buyers overlook the fact that the still-under-construction Brownstone Lofts overlook the 101 freeway right next door?

Not surprisingly, the agent for Brownstone Lofts said the proxmity of the 55-unit building to the freeway won't be an issue. A sound wall will help absorb the traffic noise, said Millie Radkovich, who said she once sold units next to the much nosier 405 Freeway. "With the sound wall ... it shouldn't be a problem," she said. There will also be a pool, spa, roof top decks and other amenities to attract buyers to the 1928 building.

The units, which are expected to start $399,000 for singles, are not on officially on the market yet as work - including a parking garage - continues on the former Bellevue Avenue apartment house in the eastern fringe of Angeleno Heights. But the owner is taking reservations on homes and a model unit is expected to be ready by next month, Radkovich said.

The prices might seem a bit steep in light of the fact that so many nearby downtown condo projects have gone into foreclosure or have been turned into rental housing. But Radkovich said the demand for new housing in neighborhoods just outside of downtown seems ready to pick up and there has been little in the way of new construction.

"I think the market is a little bit on an upswing."

Arroyo Seco Living circa 1909

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:07:00 +0000

It was 100 years ago when a group of artists, craftsman and architects living along the Arroyo Seco in Highland Park, Pasadena and other nearby communities published the first issue of the Arroyo Craftsman. The issue featured stories on the "Fundamental of Landscape Gardening" and "Collecting Indian Baskets." Unfortunately, the October 1909 was the only issue ever printed.

But current day Arroyo Seco residents can still buy reprints of the book, published by Highland Park's own Judson Studios, at the newly discount price of $10 via American Bungalow magazine. Here's a description:

"The Arroyo Guild of Fellow Craftsmen-a group of artists, architects and other craftsmen who flourished on the banks of the Arroyo Seco in the Pasadena/Los Angeles area-published one issue only of their magazine, the Arroyo Craftsman. Reprinted by The Judson Studios, a fourth and fifth generation stained-glass business and art gallery, the two-color, 84-page book has original 1909-era ads, essays and practical articles.

A great window into the movement's past, the Arroyo Craftsman is available exclusively through American Bungalow. Now is your chance to own a copy signed by David Judson, the great-great-grandson of group founder W.L. Judson."

Image from judsonstudios.com

What would you pay for Sister Aimee's "plant pot"

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:14:00 +0000

A Sunland resident in financial difficulties is selling what he claims is a cement planter box that belonged to legendary evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson when she lived in Echo Park next to her church, Angelus Temple. The planter is available to the highest bidder on Craigslist:

"This was given to me by a Angelus temple member about 10 years ago when I was a member, they knew of my great interest in Aimee. It measures 15" tall & 15 1/2" square. When I got it it had no paint left, I saw faint traces of paint & re-painted it in the colors I believed were original. It had a few surface cracks in it that didn't effect the integrity of the piece, but I filled them with epoxy glue to keep from getting bigger. The inside is marked as "USA" made, has a drain hole at the bottom. This is a very heavy piece, so I don't want to put it up on Ebay and have to mail it. Local pick-up only on this."

Will Sister Aimee's planter return to Echo Park or remain stuck in the Valley?

Photo from Craiglist. Thank to Kevin Kuzma for the tip.