Where to start? I could point out that five years ago the corner of Hollywood and
Highland was hardly vacant; the giant project that dominates this corner was about
to open to the public. But instead I think I should describe my own preservation
experience at the
Celebrity
Center in the early 1990's. At the time I was the Principal Architect of the
Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) which oversaw
and still oversees today the
Hollywood Redevelopment Project. This project area includes many of the properties
that the Scientologists own in Hollywood.
I was invited to the Celebrity
Center to try and negotiate a solution to an historic preservation problem; mainly
that the Scientologists had repeatedly ignored demands by the City of Los Angeles
to stop work and cease non-permitted illegal demolitions within their historic buildings;
most particularly the 1923 Guaranty Building that is featured in the illustrations
in this post and on the
Scientology
web page.
The Scientologists knew what they wanted to do in the Guaranty
Building and it did not include getting permits much less following the
Secretary
of the Interiors Standards for Historic Preservation. They most certainly at
the time were not interested in maintaining the remaining historic fabric in the
bank lobby, maintaining the intact office corridors from the 1920's, keeping the
historic windows nor resolving numerous other preservation and building code violations
that I vividly remember. Historic preservationist who had fought hard in the 1980's
to designate landmarks in Hollywood were up in arms, the Scientologists were the
enemy, and I was the unfortunate point person who was designated to go break bread
and figure out a truce and a solution.
Perhaps the Scientologists were interested
in preservation but only on their terms. They stated this loud and clear in both
private and public situations. I recall being denounced by a Scientology representative
at an annual public meeting of the Redevelopment Agency in Hollywood who claimed
that I was personally depriving Scientology of their property rights. Actually that
was not true, I just refused to sign their permits for months until they agreed
to minimally meet preservation standards.
But let's get back to the lunch.
No doubt Scientology's culinary standards have improved in the fifteen years since
this repast took place but I recall that lunch to be unfortunate. After the requisite
tour of the facility and breathless references to Scientology stars (in those days
they were most excited by John Travolta). I was ushered into an ornate private dining
room. I was seated at one head of a long table formally set with cloth table. At
the other head was one of the Los Angeles' most powerful business lobbyists, Maureen
Kindell, who had been hired to represent the interests of the Church. She seemed
as embarrassed to be there as I was, and kept winking at me as the Scientology functionaries
seated in between us worked to convince me that they were ready to reform. Towards
the end of the meal the Scientologists, Kindell, and I agreed that from now on the
Church would be most cooperative. Kindell winked one last time and asked if they
could they please now get their permit. Mostly, I still recall the leathery chicken,
soft overcooked asparagus, heavy cream sauce that tasted like flour, and glad relief
when I was finally released from this environment - my only obligation to sign off
their permit when and if they followed the preservation rules - which to their credit
they subsequently did. I am not sure I would call this the lunch that spurred Hollywood's
preservation renaissance. I remind myself of these details because throughout the
meal the Scientologists spent a lot of time describing the world class standards
of their cookery as I tried to choke down their food. Their simultaneous assurances
that their preservation experts had the future of the Guaranty Building well in
hand did not inspire confidence. I for one will remain ever vigilant.
While
I am writing all this from memory, suffice it to say that the Scientologists may
have spent millions of hours restoring their landmarks but I can well demonstrate
that lowly government officials were forced to spend hundreds if not thousands of
hours monitoring this group's then intransigent attitude towards preservation. This
last point is critical given the tenor of the post.
There are many preservation
heroes in Hollywood and while Scientology should be commended for their eventual
cooperation on several buildings this hardly qualifies them as heroes of preservation
and Hollywood revitalization history. Unfortunately they can only be heroes to the
misinformed who don't bother to do their homework and have clearly not spent much
time learning about preservation and redevelopment issues in Los Angeles. I was
a minor player in the dramas that "saved" Hollywood: it's worthwhile here
to mention a few far more important individuals and groups. For decades both the
Los Angeles Conservancy
(who by the way fought continuously and very publicly for a decade to save the Ambassador
Hotel - hardly an example of a resource evaporating with little remorse) and
Hollywood Heritage
have struggled to both document and save Hollywood's and Los Angeles' architectural
resources. They provided critical support when I was working on the Guaranty Building.
Local activists and government leaders have also been committed participants at
each phase of Hollywood's redevelopment. Christy Johnson McAvoy has worked tirelessly
on preservation issues in this corner of Los Angeles and willingly walked the halls
of the Guaranty Building when the Scientologists were engaged in wanton destruction.
Other heroes include Fran Offenhauser, Bill Roschen, Barton Myers, Michael Woo,
Jackie Goldberg, Hillary Gittelman, and Robert Nudelman. Nudelman, a Hollywood gadfly,
was a pain in many a government officials backside (and probably still is) but being
on the street everyday he figured out who was not doing the right thing with regard
to preservation (including the Scientologists) as well as numerous other issues
usually sooner than anybody else. One could go on and on.
Suffice it to
say that when the history of Hollywood redevelopment is written the Scientologists
will be noted as major Hollywood property owners who initially had to be brow beaten
by public and private interests into becoming preservationists. The real heroes
of Hollywood revitalization and preservation are hardly unknown or blasé. They certainly
have never been dispassionate about saving this community's legacy and fostering
better development. Unfortunately they and their efforts, both the good, the bad
and the ugly, were not the subject of this post - a post, however well intentioned,
nevertheless written from the point of view of a fictional (perhaps Thetan?) design
universe that I do not live in.