Gentle reader,
This morning, we met Tom Carroll from the Los Angeles Times at the fire-damaged Pacific Dining Car to talk with him about what this cultural landmark means to Angelenos, the conflicting interests that have kept it shuttered since 2020, and what protections exist for a “protected” landmark that’s partially burned. (That video was published on 8/15/2024. For this and more updates on the status of this threatened landmark, scroll to the bottom of the original 8/4/2024 newsletter.)
To our dismay, we found the Dining Car in even worse shape than it had been on Sunday afternoon: the plywood has been pried off the main door, and a tagger has painted a stoned rat on the wood paneling and stained glass just inside.
It appears property owner Toby Idol has made no effort to secure the structure, even though she is obligated to maintain it in good condition under the provisions of the city’s preservation ordinance.
We’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she is out of town and unaware of the fire, or is overwhelmed and just doesn’t know what to do.
But the Pacific Dining Car is not going to last much longer if it is not properly secured. And the city has the resources to send a crew to do this work and that needs to happen right away.
If you love the Pacific Dining Car and still hold hope that it might one day be restored and revived, then please call or email Ken Bernstein of the Office of Historic resources and tell him you want the city to act swiftly to secure the landmark Pacific Dining Car at 1310 West 6th Street before it suffers any further demolition by neglect.
That’s Ken Bernstein • (213) 847-3652 • ken.bernstein@lacity.org
Oh Pacific Dining Car! We hope U know how loved UR!
Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
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Help Save the Pacific Dining Car Before It's Too Late