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Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board Collection
MS.570
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Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS.570
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear Feet
(7 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1962-1972
Abstract: Contains correspondence on the Cultural Heritage Board (now the Cultural Heritage Commission), municipal art patrons, lectures,
walking tours, and a fact sheet on houses from 1962-1972.
Language of Material:
English
.
Processed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Final processing and finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing
Archivist, 2012 October 8, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions
(NHPRC).
- Information about Angels Flight, Los Encinos, Leonis Adobe
- Announcements and solicitations for membership
- Annual Report 1963
- Clippings that mention the Cultural Heritage Board (1966-1967)
- Fact Sheets on Historic Cultural Monuments of Los Angeles and area
- Letters and news releases
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Landmarks (2 copies illustrated booklet)
Contains correspondence on the Cultural Heritage Board (now the Cultural Heritage Commission), municipal art patrons, lectures,
walking tours, a fact sheet on houses, and other papers from 1962-1972.
Some materials donated by Carl Dentzel, 1968-1969.
Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board Collection, 1962-1972, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.570; [folder number] [folder
title][date].
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
In 1958, a small group of volunteers, as members of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects' (AIA)
Historic Building Committee, became alarmed by the destruction of historic landmarks created by the explosion of growth in
post-World War II Los Angeles. The AIA Committee and the City's Municipal Art Commission began working on an ordinance that
would create a citizens board to survey, identify and protect historic sites throughout the city.
This early work culminated in the passage of the City's Cultural Heritage Ordinance in 1962. Los Angeles' ordinance was one
of the earliest pieces of historic preservation legislation in a major urban center, predating by three years the 1965 passage
of New York City's renowned Landmarks Preservation Law. The Cultural Heritage Ordinance created a five-member Cultural Heritage
Board, giving the Board the responsibility to designate as Historic-Cultural Monuments any building, structure, or site important
to the development and preservation of the history of Los Angeles, the state, and the nation.
The first five Historic-Cultural Monuments declared were sites that were all considered threatened to some extent. The Leonis
Adobe, located on the border of Calabasas, was under immediate threat of demolition. Immediately upon the Board's designation,
a stop work order was issued to stay the demolition of this significant landmark. The Adobe was ultimately saved, and has
the honor of being designated as Historic-Cultural Monument #1. Bolton Hall in Tujunga, the Plaza Church at El Pueblo, Angels
Flight, and the "Salt Box" on Bunker Hill (later destroyed by fire) were also designated at the first meeting.
William Woolett, FAIA, was the first elected President of the Cultural Heritage Board. Carl Dentzel, longtime director of
the Southwest Museum, was an original Board member, later served as the Board President, and remained on the Board until 1980.
Prominent architectural historian and author Robert Winter also served on the Board, from 1972 to 1984.
Originally, the Cultural Heritage Board had the unilateral power to declare Historic-Cultural Monuments. In 1980, a code amendment
required that the City Council confirm the Board's action before a property becomes an Historic-Cultural Monument. In 1985,
the Cultural Heritage Board became a full-fledged City Commission. The five-member Cultural Heritage Commission is the mayoral-appointed
body that oversees the designation and protection of local landmarks.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Manuscripts
Walking tours
Lectures and lecturing
Correspondence
Historic buildings -- California
Art, Municipal
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- Sources
Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board
Cultural Heritage Commission