kelton
Historical Preservation
The Cultural Heritage
Commission Review Process
After you submit the application, the Commission will contact
you. They will tell you when they are holding the meeting to
consider your application. They also post their agenda the Friday
before the meeting date on their web site.
The Cultural Heritage Commission considers the applications sent
in at their meetings, which occur Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. every
two weeks at 433 South Spring Street, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA
90013, near 4th Street. Some of this review process is described
in further detail at http://www.culturela.org/heritage/property.htm They consider the application to determine if it is
worthy of a site visit. After the site visit, they meet again to
approve the site for historic monument status. After submitting
your application, you will be contacted. You can go down to the
meeting to give additional details. Going down to the meeting is
very helpful. Try and get as many people to go as possible, and
be organized in your presentation. Discuss pertinent details of
your application, including especially significant architectural
details, why the site is historically significant, why it's rare,
why it's socially and culturally significant, and why it should
be considered. Be succinct.
In particular, you will want to show that the proposed monument
is "of particular historic or cultural significance to the
City of Los Angeles..." (Los Angeles Administrative Code
22.130). The Code specifies three ways in which it may have
particular significance: 1.) the building is a
"historic" structure which exemplifies the "broad
cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, State or
community"; 2.) the building is "identified
with historic personages or with important events" in
the "main currents" of history"; or 3.)
the building has particular architectural value, and "embody
the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type
specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or
method of construction, or (be) a notable work of a master
builder, designer, or architect whose individual genius
influenced his age."
In our case, we argued that the three buildings were particularly
significant culturally and socially because Kelton Avenue was the
first street built in Westwood Hills, according to Carolyn Haber
of the Westwood Historical Society and another historian. We
showed that development for Westwood Hills first began between
Santa Monica Blvd. and Pico Blvd., where the houses are located.
We demonstrated this through research. A map of Westwood Hills
provided by Katy Lain, a descendant of the Janss family, helped
illustrate this. We demonstrated its rarity by driving around
similarly zoned areas, looking for duplexes. We were saddened to
find that only a handful of the 200+ duplexes, triplexes,
fourplexes, etc. still existed, and that except for our street of
at least six properties in a row, our resaerch indicated that no
more than two such properties in a row existed in what was
formerly known as Westwood Hills. There were no other strips
available. That made our strip of houses the last remaining
example of what Westwood was intended to be by the Janss
Investment Co. We felt that this represented the cultural and
social history of 1920s Westwood Hills, being especially valuable
because they were still intact, still in a row.
We also made a strong case for architect Allen Siple by
researching him and his work. Very helpful in this was the aid of
Molly Siple, his daughter. Also helpful was the fact that an
associate professor at the School of Architecture at the
University of Texas was using slides of these homes to lecture to
her classes about scale, cohesiveness, architectural detail, and
Spanish/Mediterranean architecture. She, like Molly Siple, Katy
Lain (Janss descendant), Celeste Hong (Art Deco Society of Los
Angeles), Leslie Heumann (Johnson Heumann Research Associates),
Carolyn Haber, Paul Gleye (author of "The Architecture of
Los Angeles" and Department Chair at North Dakota State
University), Cristi Walden (Board Member and Chair of the Tile
Committee, Malibu Lagoon Museum), Barbara Broide (Westwood South
of Santa Monica Homeowners Association), Beverly Kenworthy from
the Council Member's office, and others submitted letters of
support, showed up at the meeting, or both. It's important to get
as many informed supporters as possible to lend credibility to
your argument. People at organizations such as the LA Conservancy
and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles often can put you in
touch with these people. There is also a wealth of information
available on the internet and, of course, at the public and
university libraries. We tried to leave no relevant stone
unturned in our research and support.
We also cited substantial community support. We had over 200
signatures, 170 coming from within one block of where the houses
are. We showed an old map of Westwood Hills, which clearly showed
the area that the Janss Investment Company developed. We showed a
picture of Kelton Ave. in 1922 with a billboard stating,
"Now open, Westwood, Janss Investment Co." (from Gernot
Kuehn's interesting "Views of Los Angeles" book).
The people on the Commission are generally quite supportive of
people making a case for historic preservation. That's why they
are there. They are interested in the history and the
architecture of Los Angeles. They like to hear from grassroots
efforts of neighbors in a community who are passionate about
saving a potential historic monument.
It is of course helpful to have the neighborhood council, who
advises the city council, and the district office itself (the 5th
District, in our case), to be supportive of your efforts. A
letter of support is helpful. A representative showing up for the
meeting is even better. If they haven't made a commitment but
haven't stated that they have turned you down either, you can at
least mention that you have been in constant contact with them
and that they know of the situation.
Application for Historic Monument Status
The Cultural Heritage Commission Review Process
Arguments that a Developer May Make Against Historical Preservation
Next Steps After Properties Have Been Designated Historical Monuments
How Can I Help Save The Historic Kelton Homes?
We Are Looking For Buyers For The Historic Kelton Homes
Email the Kelton Avenue Ad Hoc Committee
