WELCOME TO THE HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE PRESERVATION RESOURCE CENTER
TOP NEWS
Hollywood Heritage joined other preservation organizations to oppose the demolition of Marilyn Monroe's 1929 Spanish Revival home. The City Council voted to temporarily hold demolition. During a press conference before the City Council’s Friday, September 8 vote, Councilmember Traci Park expressed that she is a defender of the city’s rich history and heritage. Following is our letter illustrated with photos courtesy of Tinsel and Stars.
Councilmember Traci Park City Hall 200 N. Spring Street #410 Los Angeles CA 90012
September 6, 2023
RE: Proposed Demolition of 12305 5th Helena Drive; former home of Marilyn Monroe
Dear Councilmember Park: The Board of Directors of Hollywood Heritage and its Preservation Issues Committee urges you to take action to prevent the demolition of 12305 5th Helena Drive, the former and last home of Marilyn Monroe. The property was identified by SurveyLA as eligible for designation, thus making it a historic resource for the purposes of CEQA. Its destruction, a tragedy that it is in your power to prevent, would be an unacceptable loss to the architectural, historical, and cultural heritage of Los Angeles. Hollywood Heritage urges you to put a 180-day halt on demolition and a cessation of all pre-demolition activities while your office initiates an emergency Historic Cultural Monument nomination.
Few Hollywood stars have had the cultural power of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), whose career included nearly 30 films including All About Eve, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot, grossing nearly $2 billion in today’s dollars. She is the embodiment of the triumph and tragedy of Hollywood, number six on the American Film Institute’s list of screen legends and remains an international pop icon to this day.
Hollywood Heritage is ready to assist your office in any way we can to prevent the demolition of 12305 5th Helena Drive.
Sincerely, Brian Curran President, Hollywood Heritage
Read Part TWO of Mike Callahan’s series on City Planning. Our Preservation Committee member Mike Callahan is doing a great deep dive into all things planning. This installment begins a multi-part adventure into CEQA! We are thankful for Mike’s hours of work putting this all together.
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning is responsible for drafting Community Plans. Click the photo below of the John Parkinson designed City Hall to get inside the Planning Department. Or go directly to the Office of Historic Resources.
PROTECTING THE PAST FOR TOMORROW - For 40 years Hollywood Heritage has worked hard to protect the rich history of Hollywood. In 2018 Hollywood Heritage felt it beneficial to have a space centrally located in our National Register Historic District on Hollywood Boulevard, dedicated to the practice and art of preservation. Although preservation is core to the work of Hollywood Heritage, our work and presence isn’t locally visible as we work tirelessly for protection of local heritage. A key purpose of opening the Preservation Resource Center is to be increasingly visible and public, helping our wider community to understand the important role of preservation here, inviting all to join us in our vigilance and actions so the future development of Hollywood is built authentically from its past.
The Center began initially as a location to house an amazing 1930s “miniature” – a scale model of Hollywood Boulevard. In disrepair, the miniature spurred a restoration project that continues still today. The restoration in many ways mirrors the basic methods of conservation we use in preservation, and serves as an active and engaging example of the preservation activity going on around it in real life.
We encourage you to check out the site, explore our current projects, and look for upcoming events and programs. Bring your curiosity and passion for protecting this historic area!
EDUCATION
Central to our work at Hollywood Heritage’s Preservation Resource Center is sharing information. Preservation is generally understood as to build on collective professional wisdom: What buildings are important--both historic/culturally and architecturally? Which of their features are significant and define their character? And how do we restore, preserve, or rehabilitate to give them vibrant meaning and future life? The Preservation Resource Center will provide the answers-- “what, where, and how” of protecting and enlivening both homes, schools, churches, studios, and Hollywood’s whole rich variety of commercial buildings. A key focus of the Center is to develop educational programming to support understanding the critical balance between new buildings and the historic resources that they share space with.
HISTORY
Also key to the Center’s purpose is delving into the rich history of Hollywood Boulevard and its surroundings. It is hard to imagine that not that long ago Hollywood was considered the country, with homes and large fields bursting with oranges and other produce. Understanding the journey the area has taken helps us understand how to protect its future. By virtue of its association with the entertainment industry, Hollywood has a history unrivaled by most other suburban communities. If we are unable to understand this history, then it is hard to understand what to value and protect. Our hope at the Center is to serve the community in understanding the heritage of Hollywood.
ADVOCACY
The third aspect of the Preservation Resource Center is making change through advocacy. Against a backdrop of great preservation successes by private property owners in Hollywood, and great municipal successes in many neighboring small cities, we see lagging and detrimental actions for the long term sustainability of this world-renowned place. Taking action is essential-- understanding local laws, local economy, local politics, and local stakeholders. The best advocacy is served through knowledge and passion, by integrating the two into action. We look forward to having you work with us as a powerful advocate for Hollywood and the history it holds.
“…part of what we’re preserving here is also history. It’s also understanding that places that look ordinary are nothing but extraordinary. The places you live are extraordinary, which means you can be extraordinary.” — Barack Obama
LEARN MORE AT THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Contact Us!
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
support@hhprc.org
Phone
(323) 645-7106