Getty House

* Re “A Destitute City Rolls Out the Red Carpet,” Commentary, Dec. 4:

I would like to offer my own perspective on the restoration of Getty House, the official residence of the mayor of Los Angeles. For the past two years, I have watched as 19 designers, over 300 volunteer committee members, hundreds of local business people, tradespeople and interested citizens donated their time, talent and considerable resources to restore Getty House. I watched while over 30,000 Angelenos took pride in touring the refurbished residence during the recent free open house. People came for a variety of reasons, but all had the opportunity to experience the beauty of the house, to view the art on loan from local museums and to study the collection of historic photographs of people and places in Los Angeles.

To undermine the generosity of the citizens who made this project possible is a disservice not only to them but to this city as well. The civic-minded people who participated in the restoration of Getty House felt an obligation to contribute to the long-term growth of Los Angeles and they did so to the benefit of us all.

Perhaps the greatest lesson was offered by a teacher touring the house with her young students. In response to her students’ comments that the house was so beautiful she replied, “You can live in this house, it belongs to the city--if you work hard and take an interest in Los Angeles, you can be elected mayor and live in Getty House.”

POLLY WILLIAMS KROEGER

Executive Director

Getty House Restoration Foundation