Gentle Author, I just lost the first part of my comment. Not sure if it reached you or not. Bottom line, unless Esotouric Tours and its competitors sign on to work for the preservationist to generate funding for all of these historical landmarks, there is no way to monetarily support the care and keeping of all of these potentially "saved" properties. The agendas behind the knock them down/keep them pros and cons, need to be thoroughly scrutinized for true purpose and best use for the communities. There is plenty of corruption to be used by both sides, so an independent uncorrupted commission needs to be installed for the purpose of qualifying those properties that are truly unique and hold all of the necessities for sustainability and future educational purposes. Otherwise, when the current need of space and property is of the utmost need in these communities, these properties have had their day and it is time to take from them the artifacts, photos and documentation to be preserved for future personal interests and let their real time presence go. I understand that Esotouric has built and maintained a long running relationship to keep landmarks in place for the good of all, but also for the good of the tours you provide and the way you generate your income. Thank you for your work, information education and entertainment. But not all of Los Angeles is sacred for its past. Pick and choose the battles for the best of them. Continue to reveal the corruptions involved with the whole demolition/rebuild process. But your own business could evolve into video tours and and pod casts meant to be archived for the sake of memories and education. You could provide lectures within these architectural museums to preserve the photos, artifacts and documents to mix with your personal onsite knowledge, experience, and stories of these by gone places, to keep them alive--without the "on the spot coverage". Time marches on and so do the places of our past which will be turned into new places for someone else's past one day. And so it goes. It just needs to go forward honestly and cause no blight either way--new or old. Gentle Reader-D. Wilson
Thanks for your thoughts. Much of our preservation advocacy has nothing to do with our tour business, which is largely focused around the Downtown district that is protected under National and sometimes local designation. We're especially concerned about unlawful displacement of renters from historic housing, demolition by neglect and retail spaces that nobody can rent. The city is a safety deposit box for offshore interests, and this is ruining our home. Preservation advocacy is a way to help get the city back on the path of being a place people can live, trade, create and grow again.
The continued tragedy of Los Angeles to destroy its past for the sake of commercial profit. Decades ago memorable and iconic locations were replaced with endless strip malls that pepper with their ugliness.
The "buyer" must pay to move the home, which usually involves lifting it off its current foundation and putting it on a trailer, which is driven slowly to another spot on the island. A 2,500-square-foot home can cost at least $100,000 to move, Cohen said. The bigger the house, the higher the price to move it. It is much cheaper, however, to move a "free" house onto a property than to construct an entirely new dwelling. Cohen said it costs around $800 a square foot to build a home on Nantucket, making that same 2,500-square-foot home cost about $2 million to build from scratch.
So I see that the Pig 'n Whistle is under attack--what is next Musso & Frank's??? But as I have commented before, unless there is funding made available to preserve and maintain all of the old buildings you are championing to be saved, there is no way to save them all. I understand your brave demands for transparency, proper/legal processing for building demolitions in LA--a worthy cause but you know what they say about going up against City Hall.
I would think, after my viewing of the map showing all those L A landmark demolitions sites, it is time to pick and choose specific sites to zero in on rather than try to save them all. Set your own criteria for "landmark" qualifications and then fight for those. Not everything is landmark worthy--especially when preserving and maintaining them calls for funding which is the main issue. It is just like all of the cities that go crazy creating parks---but they can't afford the upkeep. So there sit all of the derelict parks. So why spend the money to create them in the first place? Same formula with "landmarks".
Some sites are historically worthy and can be designated as official landmarks. For those places that just represent "the good old times", those that are in the rear view mirror as time marches on--it is time to let them go. It would be great if these old buildings could be used to house the homeless, but making them code compliant would cost too much, therefore they don't help solve that problem either.
I am not missing your point that bad persons in L A's officialdom need to be called out for their greed and convoluted collusions--what a vipers nest all of that is! But winning the battle for 2 or three sites is better than losing the battle for all of them. Just a humble opinion from a Gentle Reader (Dolores Wilson (former L A resident)
How sad that these beautifully built buildings are being destroyed by corrupt politicians and builders looking for profits.
People who are not corrupt should get behind ways to protect are valuable historical artifacts.
Gentle Author, I just lost the first part of my comment. Not sure if it reached you or not. Bottom line, unless Esotouric Tours and its competitors sign on to work for the preservationist to generate funding for all of these historical landmarks, there is no way to monetarily support the care and keeping of all of these potentially "saved" properties. The agendas behind the knock them down/keep them pros and cons, need to be thoroughly scrutinized for true purpose and best use for the communities. There is plenty of corruption to be used by both sides, so an independent uncorrupted commission needs to be installed for the purpose of qualifying those properties that are truly unique and hold all of the necessities for sustainability and future educational purposes. Otherwise, when the current need of space and property is of the utmost need in these communities, these properties have had their day and it is time to take from them the artifacts, photos and documentation to be preserved for future personal interests and let their real time presence go. I understand that Esotouric has built and maintained a long running relationship to keep landmarks in place for the good of all, but also for the good of the tours you provide and the way you generate your income. Thank you for your work, information education and entertainment. But not all of Los Angeles is sacred for its past. Pick and choose the battles for the best of them. Continue to reveal the corruptions involved with the whole demolition/rebuild process. But your own business could evolve into video tours and and pod casts meant to be archived for the sake of memories and education. You could provide lectures within these architectural museums to preserve the photos, artifacts and documents to mix with your personal onsite knowledge, experience, and stories of these by gone places, to keep them alive--without the "on the spot coverage". Time marches on and so do the places of our past which will be turned into new places for someone else's past one day. And so it goes. It just needs to go forward honestly and cause no blight either way--new or old. Gentle Reader-D. Wilson
Thanks for your thoughts. Much of our preservation advocacy has nothing to do with our tour business, which is largely focused around the Downtown district that is protected under National and sometimes local designation. We're especially concerned about unlawful displacement of renters from historic housing, demolition by neglect and retail spaces that nobody can rent. The city is a safety deposit box for offshore interests, and this is ruining our home. Preservation advocacy is a way to help get the city back on the path of being a place people can live, trade, create and grow again.
The continued tragedy of Los Angeles to destroy its past for the sake of commercial profit. Decades ago memorable and iconic locations were replaced with endless strip malls that pepper with their ugliness.
It would be nice if these architectural treasures could be given to good homes instead of being trashed.
Here is an interesting article about what they are doing in Nantucket:
Why People on Nantucket Keep Giving Away Houses for Free
https://www.businessinsider.com/nantucket-homes-give-away-free-move-houses-cost-reason-2024-4
The "buyer" must pay to move the home, which usually involves lifting it off its current foundation and putting it on a trailer, which is driven slowly to another spot on the island. A 2,500-square-foot home can cost at least $100,000 to move, Cohen said. The bigger the house, the higher the price to move it. It is much cheaper, however, to move a "free" house onto a property than to construct an entirely new dwelling. Cohen said it costs around $800 a square foot to build a home on Nantucket, making that same 2,500-square-foot home cost about $2 million to build from scratch.
So I see that the Pig 'n Whistle is under attack--what is next Musso & Frank's??? But as I have commented before, unless there is funding made available to preserve and maintain all of the old buildings you are championing to be saved, there is no way to save them all. I understand your brave demands for transparency, proper/legal processing for building demolitions in LA--a worthy cause but you know what they say about going up against City Hall.
I would think, after my viewing of the map showing all those L A landmark demolitions sites, it is time to pick and choose specific sites to zero in on rather than try to save them all. Set your own criteria for "landmark" qualifications and then fight for those. Not everything is landmark worthy--especially when preserving and maintaining them calls for funding which is the main issue. It is just like all of the cities that go crazy creating parks---but they can't afford the upkeep. So there sit all of the derelict parks. So why spend the money to create them in the first place? Same formula with "landmarks".
Some sites are historically worthy and can be designated as official landmarks. For those places that just represent "the good old times", those that are in the rear view mirror as time marches on--it is time to let them go. It would be great if these old buildings could be used to house the homeless, but making them code compliant would cost too much, therefore they don't help solve that problem either.
I am not missing your point that bad persons in L A's officialdom need to be called out for their greed and convoluted collusions--what a vipers nest all of that is! But winning the battle for 2 or three sites is better than losing the battle for all of them. Just a humble opinion from a Gentle Reader (Dolores Wilson (former L A resident)