Highland Park Estate Declared Historic-Cultural Monument

The Los Angeles City Council has voted to declare the 94-year old Albert H. Judson estate in Highland Park a historic-cultural monument, curtailing demolition efforts by its owner, a wealthy real estate broker.

The historic monument designation prevents owner Donna Harnsberger from demolishing or altering the 15-room mansion for a year. After that, Harnsberger can apply for a demolition permit, but the permit would have to be issued by the City Council.

The decision was seen as a victory by preservationists. They lobbied hard for monument status after Harnsberger surprised them by announcing at a Christmas party last year that she intended to tear down the house to build three apartment buildings.

Harnsberger’s decision was seen as ironic by the preservationists. They watched in helpless dismay as the longtime Highland Park resident, who has been active in battles to save several historic homes in the area, removed molding from around doors and windows and uprooted two old palm trees on the estate’s extensive, overgrown grounds.

The estate, at 4911 Pasadena Avenue Terrace, was once the home of Judson, an attorney who in the 1880s subdivided and named Highland Park. The home was designed in 1895 by George Wyman, the architect who designed the historic Bradbury building in downtown Los Angeles.

Harnsberger has vowed to do everything in her power to tear down the house. She says that she doesn’t believe that the house is historic and that she did weeks of research and compiled hundreds of documents to prove it. But when she brought her work to a Cultural Affairs Commission meeting earlier this month, commissioners said her research only bolstered the preservationists’ case.

Harnsberger has not returned repeated phone calls since the council vote. It is unclear whether she will seek a permit to demolish the house or eventually seek to sell it.

“We would like her to restore the house,” said Charles Fisher of the Highland Park Heritage Trust. “She lived there for years, and she has said she loved it. If she doesn’t want to restore it, we want her to sell it to someone who will.”