A Wider Victory

A welcome consensus has developed on the future of a critically important segment of Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo that spares important structures from demolition and assures the preservation of buildings important both architecturally and culturally.

There are still some questions to be resolved, but the momentum inspired by the preservation plans should be enough to protect the city from more destruction.

Central to the consensus is agreement now to preserve the old buildings on the north side of 1st Street between San Pedro Street and Central Avenue. One can only shudder at the fact that some planners had until recently predicated their concept for the future of the city on destroying these buildings. Chopping things down can be habit-forming. This is an encouraging indication that the habit can be broken.

Two buildings of particular importance will be among those to be restored and revitalized. The Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple at the northwest corner of 1st and Central, constructed in 1925 but vacant in recent years, would become a Japanese-American museum. The Union Church, on the east side of San Pedro just north of 1st, built in 1923, would be restored--a possible home for the East West Players. Those would be splendid contributions to the revitalization of the downtown area.

Implicit in the plan is the preservation of the Temporary Contemporary, the present site of the Museum of Contemporary Art. This would be a welcome annex to the museum’s new gallery space now under construction on Bunker Hill.

The consensus still requires formal approvals from officials. The museum plan now has the approval of Mayor Tom Bradley and the City Council, sponsors report. The mayor has also approved the theater use of the Union Church building, but the council has not yet acted. Gov. George Deukmejian has not made a final decision on state support of the museum project. The city Traffic Department has made support of the plan conditional on a controversial widening of 1st Street by two feet on the north side, squeezing the sidewalk to provide standard-width traffic lanes. But a move to destroy buildings at the northeast corner of 1st and San Pedro to provide a turn lane seems, fortunately, to have perished.

Agreement on the preservation plan is a victory for leaders of the Japanese-American community. Their tenacity has rescued an important city block from demolition. Their victory is the city’s victory.