Neon Signs May Become Landmarks

Neon and incandescent signs have dotted the urban landscape along Wilshire Boulevard since this city’s raw, sultry days were made famous in the novels of Raymond Chandler: flickering--red, blue, yellow and white--from the rooftops of lavish apartment buildings and hotels.

Turned off during World War II in case of air raids, most of the signs had remained unlit until this summer after years of restoration by the city’s Cultural Affairs Department.

On Wednesday, the city’s cultural affairs commissioners recommended that three more signs--two neon and one incandescent--be classified as cultural-historical landmarks so that they cannot be torn down.

The signs that have been earmarked for landmark status are those atop the Brynmoor Apartments at 432 to 436 S. New Hampshire Avenue, the Embassy at 702 to 708 S. Mariposa Avenue, and the Superba Apartments at 335 S. Berendo Street. All are just west of MacArthur Park.

“What happens when something is officially designated [as a landmark] is supposedly that they cannot be torn,” said Catherine Rice, director of development for the city’s Cultural Affairs Department. “That’s why the commission does this, to preserve historic things so they don’t get wantonly destroyed or torn down.”

Rice said that although individual buildings have been designated as landmarks in the Wilshire corridor, the corridor itself has not been officially recognized as a historical or cultural landmark. Therefore, each neon and incandescent sign must be considered separately, she said.

“The antique signs are truly historic things for Los Angeles and the United States. . . . These signs, many of them have the original fixtures. They are about 70 years old and it’s been 50 years since they were all turned off following the attack on Pearl Harbor.”

The commission’s recommendations are slated to be considered by members of the City Council’s Arts and Humanities Committee and by the full council, officials said.