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It
was good to see Fred Seibert from Hanna-Barbera stating that historic
and interesting architecture
is worth preserving (Commentary, Dec. 26). Unfortunately, it is a
sensibility completely out of tune with ever-evolving Los Angeles. Los
Angeles, it seems, is a city that cannot acknowledge its past. I
encourage Seibert to see what is happening in the Hollywood historic
district as a guide to what will happen to prized examples of Googie
architecture.
Famous and beautiful buildings in this district nearing their centennial
are being demolished at an alarming frequency.
That demolition permits are allowed within a designated historic
district, where all the buildings are contributory, is mind-boggling.
Googie architecture will only be one more style that eats the dust. The
Vine Street Brown Derby, a building specifically listed in the National
Register of Historic Places, has now been gone for nearly two years.
The most beautiful Art Deco theater in America, the Pantages, is in
grave danger of losing its ornamentation. The Northridge earthquake
damaged it and there are insufficient funds and grants to restore and
preserve this gem of a theater. Bill Hanna, a founder of Seibert's
company, worked on its construction when he was a young man starting out
to find a career.
If historic Hollywood is on its way to extinction and city officials do
not encourage its survival, who will save architecture of the '50s and
'60s?
GREG WILLIAMS
Vice President, Preservation Issues, Hollywood Heritage
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