Conservancy Honors Five Preservations : Converted L. A. Fire Station, Old Hotel Among Winners

Five historic buildings, ranging from an 83-year-old firehouse to one of Los Angeles’ oldest hotels, have won the Los Angeles Conservancy’s annual preservation awards.

“These projects represent the best and highest achievements in restoration, rehabilitation and adaptive re-use,” said Ruthann Lehrer, the Conservancy’s executive director, at an awards ceremony Wednesday at the newly refurbished Biltmore. The event highlighted National Preservation Week, which ends today.

Perhaps the most ambitious renovation project honored by the Conservancy was the conversion of Fire Engine House No. 18 into a training center for minority students interested in graphic and visual arts.

Designed Coliseum

The structure, at 2616 S. Hobart Blvd. in the West Adams district, was designed by John Parkinson, one of the city’s most prolific and important architects from the early 1900s to the mid-’30s. It was Parkinson’s first major commission of a public building, but it certainly wouldn’t be his last; he would eventually go on to design the Los Angeles Coliseum and also help in the design of City Hall.

Among other improvements, the Community Redevelopment Agency, which owns the building, restored the exterior walls of the Mission Revival structure to its original brick-and-stucco condition. It repaired and replaced interior ceilings and floors, brought the building up to compliance with the city’s seismic code and installed a solar-energy system.

Apartment for Director

The CRA converted the equipment room and garage on the first floor into a training center, and the former kitchen became a darkroom for film processing. The second floor, originally quarters for the chief and firemen who manned the horse-drawn fire wagons, was converted into an apartment for the resident director and space for exhibitions and seminars.

The project was directed by Bill Brown of the CRA, in collaboration with Los Angeles-based architects Woodford Parkinson Wynn & Partners.

The CRA picked up another preservation award for the renovation of the 74-year-old Stillwell Hotel, 838 S. Grand Ave., at the northern edge of the burgeoning South Park area of downtown.

Many of the Stillwell’s problems stemmed from a “modernization” the building had undergone in the 1950s. Previous owners had removed all the ornamentation from the 10-story structure’s ground-floor facade, and plain metal panels were slapped onto the building’s stripped exterior.

Small Compartments

Inside, the high, coffered ceiling was covered up by acoustic tile, the intricately decorated hexagon ceramic tile floor was covered with brick-shaped vinyl floor coverings, and wood paneling was used to cover the marble and imitation-marble balustrades, counters and stairs. The hotel’s spacious lobby was divided into several small compartments.

The CRA, led by architect Allyne Winderman, restored the structure it to its original elegance. New plumbing and electrical systems were also installed, and the hotel’s 250 guest rooms were upgraded with new carpeting and modernized bathrooms.

The renovation was funded, in part, by a low-interest loan of nearly $2 million the CRA made to the building’s owners, Telokjan and Harpal Gill. As part of the loan agreement, 20% of the rooms in the hotel will be rented out to low-income residents.

Conversion to Offices

A Pasadena structure that started out as a house in 1901, converted into apartments several years later, and since been turned into professional offices also received an award. Located at 569 S. Marengo Ave., the building was completely refinished in vintage style by S. Roy Kato Associates Inc., owner and developer, and architect William W. Ellinger III of Woodford Parkinson Wynn & Partners. The project was especially difficult because the building had been badly damaged by fire a few years ago.

The Los Angeles-based architectural firm of de Bretteville & Polyzoides picked up an award for its relocation and restoration of El Greco Courts, 817 N. Hayworth Ave., in the Fairfax District. The building, originally at 1028 Tiverton Ave., reflects the Spanish Revival style popular in many of the courtyard projects built in various parts of the city in the 1920s.

The El Greco was purchased by a developer about three years ago, and had been slated for demolition. But preservationists and tenants in the complex succeeded in getting the city to declare the building a cultural historic monument. The developer eventually donated the building--along with the funds to move it--to the Alternative Living for the Aging, a nonprofit group that provides housing for the elderly.

The building was cut into several pieces, moved, and reassembled on the new site. Any item attached to the structure that could possibly have been broken during the process--lights, fireplaces, even downspouts and gutters--were removed and later reinstalled. The relocated building was restored with funds from private donors, the CRA, the Community Development Department and the state Office of Historic Preservation.

Private Residences

Two private residences also won Conservancy awards. Hollywood Heritage Inc., a preservation group, was cited for its renovation of Janes House Square, 6541 Hollywood Blvd. The 84-year-old Victorian-era home was built and occupied by the Janes family and their descendants until the last one died in 1985. The building was restored and converted for commercial use in a project sponsored by owner-developers Parviz Ebrahimian and Savan Bamshad.

Restoration of the Kaufman/Edlund House, 234 Hilgard Ave. in Westwood, was also honored. The home, built in 1937, has been called one of architect Richard Neutra’s finest works.

The Bungalow Reader, a newsletter published by the Pasadena Urban Conservation Office, also won a Conservancy award for its efforts to inform residents about city programs related to the preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods. The newsletter, which made its debut last year, is mailed free of charge to anyone requesting a subscription. Circulation is estimated at 3,000.