‘The demolition contracts are in place. Once the units are vacant, we’ll proceed.’ : Time Running Out for Historic House

There are about 30 days left to save Los Angeles Historic Landmark 167.

And the prospects are not very bright.

City officials said Friday that the once-lavish Edward Strong residence--a reminder of downtown Los Angeles’ Victorian past--is facing demolition as work proceeds to clear a 40-acre parcel of land south of Pico Boulevard for the $390-million expansion of the Convention Center.

“It’s such a shame because it has remarkable street presence,” said Jay Rounds, executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, a preservationist group.

The 101-year-old house at 633 W. 15th St. was declared a city historic landmark in 1976 because it is a “unique example of Queen Anne architecture in the Caribbean style.” It is one of two major Victorian structures remaining in the downtown area, city officials said.

The home is named after Strong, a salesman, who was the initial occupant when the house was built in 1887. It was typical of the well-to-do homes that were in the area between downtown and the fledging USC campus at the turn of the century.

The building’s historical landmark status does not guarantee that it is forever protected from demolition, however.

The historical designation outlines an appeal process through the Cultural Heritage Commission that could leave the home untouched at its current location for up to a year.

But even the chances of that seem slim, said staffers at the commission, who would consider the CRA’s request to demolish the building.

The Community Redevelopment Agency is in the process of relocating residents of the home--now a 27-unit apartment building--and other inhabitants of the area to pave the way for demolition and the subsequent expansion work.

CRA project manager Barbara Kaiser said the home should be empty of residents by the middle of next month. After that, an application to demolish will be submitted to the city.

“The demolition contracts are in place,” she said. “Once the units are vacant, we’ll proceed.”

Meanwhile, Kaiser said the CRA has been working with the Los Angeles Conservancy and the city Heritage Cultural Commission to try to save the building by finding a buyer who would relocate the house to a new site. It cannot remain where it is, she said.

In fact, the CRA, which owns the house, is willing to sell it for a dollar--provided the buyer has the necessary permits for a new site and the money to move it.

But there have been few takers.

City officials reported that one buyer, a nonprofit foundation that they declined to identify, backed out because of estimates that it might cost as much as $1.4 million to move and refurbish the house.

And some preservationist groups contacted about the building don’t have the financial resources to take it on.

Demolition Probable

CRA officials and staffers at the Cultural Heritage Commission have been fretting over the house’s future since plans for the expansion were announced. An environmental impact report on the project mentioned the home, but noted that its demolition was probable because of the costly expense of relocation.

A well-known German restaurant next door to the home, the Hofbrauhaus, faces a similar fate, the report concluded. But the owner, Peter Teichmann, is fighting to save it.

One problem complicating relocation of the Edward Strong residence is the need to cut the structure into smaller portions in order to move it. The largely industrial area around West 15th Street has several low-height freeway overpasses, making moving the three-story structure out the immediate area next to impossible, Kaiser said.

She said the top floor would probably have to be cut off before relocation could take place.