Homes Among Preservation Award Winners

Restoration teams who refurbished historic Los Angeles landmarks, including a rundown Hollywood theater and a world-weary Wilshire apartment complex, will be recognized Thursday at the 20th annual Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Awards.

Several residential projects of note will receive accolades at the ceremony, including the Allen House, the Bryson Apartments, the Chemosphere and the John Entenza Residence. Among the winners are:

The Allen House: The First African Methodist Episcopal Church converted this 99-year-old home and gardens into a meeting hall for its congregation and the surrounding community. The restoration team, which faced a tight budget, will receive an award for the first phase of the project--renovating the home’s exterior. The home, formerly the George Ira Cochran residence, is across the street from the church.

Bryson Apartments: The Los Angeles Housing Partnership, a nonprofit developer, secured tax credits and other funding to purchase this early grand apartment building on Wilshire Boulevard. The 88-year-old structure had fallen into disrepair in the early ‘90s. Located on the edge of Lafayette Park, it now houses 81 units set aside for low-income families.

The Chemosphere: This space-age home, one of architect John Lautner’s most important works, suffered from neglect and insensitive alterations before it was purchased by German art and architecture book publishers, the Taschens, in 1998. The Taschens commissioned extensive restoration of this icon of mid-century Modernism, which is prominently perched on a single concrete column in the Hollywood Hills.

John Entenza Residence: Meticulous restoration of this 64-year-old home in Santa Monica Canyon highlights the work of architect Harwell Hamilton Harris. Entenza, former editor and publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine, commissioned Harris to build this 850-square-foot home, considered an essay in the International style with elements of the Streamline Moderne style.

Winners, which also included the Pantages Theatre and USC’s Doheny Memorial Library, were selected by a jury of architects, landscape architects, preservation experts and business executives. For more information and a complete list of award recipients, visit https://www.laconservancy.org.

The awards luncheon will be held at the Regal Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $85 and are available by calling (213) 623-2489.