Restoration Is Clip-Clopping Along : Slow Going at Heritage Square

Time seems to have stood still at Heritage Square, that architectural monument to Los Angeles’ Victorian past that conjures up images of horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping past expansive lawns and rose gardens, where ladies dressed in taffeta and lace, parasols in hand, take leisurely afternoon strolls.

But for those involved in the painstakingly detailed redevelopment of the architectural preserve along the banks of the Arroyo Seco just north of downtown, progress, at times, also seems to have stood still.

More than $1 million and 15 years of fund raising and restoration work later, Sharon L. Shaw, executive director of the Cultural Heritage Foundation, which administers Heritage Square, said the perennial question persists: “When will another building be opened for public viewing?”

So far, of the seven Victorian-era buildings that have found a safe haven from demolition, only one--the Hale House, opened in 1973--has been renovated for public viewing.

But by summer, Shaw said, restoration of one of the last surviving Victorian-era railroad depots in Los Angeles is scheduled for completion and will be opened to the public.

Known as “The Grasshopper Stop” when it was built in 1886, the station was renamed “The Palms” after the Southern Pacific took it over. The name was inherited by the Westside community that grew around it.

After the Red Car line was shut down in 1953, the station fell on hard times. Nearly 10 years ago, the abandoned and vandalized depot was moved to Heritage Square. Renovated and freshly painted, the depot has regained its former dignity. Only furniture is needed to replicate its original charm.

Another memento of Los Angeles’ Victorian heyday, one of two Angel’s Flight rail cars that made the 325-foot trek up and down Bunker Hill 400 times a day, also has been adopted by Heritage Square.

The two cars, Sinai and Olivet, have been sitting in a downtown warehouse since 1969, when the abbreviated rail line was dismantled to make way for redevelopment of Bunker Hill.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, Shaw said, has begun the bidding process for restoration of the cars, one of which will be housed at a proposed Angel’s Flight museum at Bunker Hill. The other is to be installed by summer’s end on a hillside at Heritage Square.

Heritage Square, established in 1969 as a refuge for the city’s vanishing Victorian-era architecture, became the focus of a remarkable collaborative effort to salvage and showcase an earlier time of a city renowned for bulldozing its past and scarcely looking back.

Noting the quality of building materials, intricate design and craftsmanship that went into the Victorian homes, Shaw said “they were made to last forever.”

“That’s the sadness of it, that they are being bulldozed after 70 or 100 years,” she added.

Hundreds of volunteers, including architects, historians and skilled artisans, have donated thousands of hours of labor over the years to restore the original wood carvings and other trademarks of the era’s delicate craftsmanship that lay buried under many layers of paint, wallpaper, even stucco, not to mention a century of neglect.

The checkered past of the Mount Pleasant House, whose white columns and lavishly carved eaves give it the appearance of a layered wedding cake, is typical of the homes’ colorful history.

Built in 1876, the stately residence was initially home to civic leaders, including Judge Stephen C. Hubbell, a banker and founder USC. Later it served as a home for unwed mothers, a girls school and, during the 1930s, as a flop house. By the time it reached Heritage Square, its wood carved exterior had been covered over by four inches of stucco, which took two years of careful chiseling to remove, Shaw said.

The years were no kinder to the Hale House. Soon after it was moved to the the square in 1970, it served as a movie set for a scene depicting a house bombed in a war, Shaw said. Today, however, after more than $300,000 worth of restoration work, the 11-room home, which was originally built for less than $4,000, stands as an impeccable example of Victorian craftsmanship and design, replete with ornate brick chimneys, stained-glass windows, extensive exterior wood carvings and 22 shades of red and green carefully chosen to replicate its original exterior color scheme.

The historical park’s interest in preserving a bit of the city’s past has fostered awareness throughout the city, Shaw said. Now, for instance, when a city demolition permit is sought for what might be a historically significant building, the Cultural Heritage Foundation is alerted to determine whether the structure warrants a place at Heritage Square.

Victorian-era cobblestones unearthed by city street maintenance crews during road work on Alameda Street were donated to the square and will be used to pave the street that runs the length of the square, Shaw said.

The park, set on a 10-acre site next to the Pasadena Freeway at Avenue 43, is open to the public on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.