Save the Deodars! - Los Feliz Improvement Association

Winter 2014
By Faith Ford
The delayed $50-million Glendale Hyperion Bridge Improvement
Viaduct Project, once again back on the drawing boards, is scheduled
to begin the summer of 2016 and be completed the last day of 2019.
This complicated three-year project involves six historic bridges
(Hyperion Avenue,
Glendale
Boulevard
and
Waverly Drive)
built in the early
1930s and intertwined over the
Los Angeles River and I-5. The
bridges are Los
Angeles HistoricCultural Monuments and listed
The historic bridge soon after completion.
on the State Historic Register.
Due to the aging factor, city officials say the bridges don’t meet
seismic codes, but that the retrofitting and restoring will maintain
their historic integrity. For instance, new railing will match the original design. In addition, they say, “We hope to improve the traffic
safety, traffic operations, pedestrian safety, neighborhood connectivity and enhancement of the river environment.”
The project, utilizing federal highway funding, will realign the I-5
northbound off-ramp so vehicles going to Los Feliz and Silver Lake
will no longer have to go to Atwater Village to connect with the Hyperion Bridge. This has been a long-standing point of contention
with Atwater residents.
Sidewalks will also be widened for pedestrians, but at the same
time local bicyclists have been protesting at community meetings that
the project plans don’t allow for adequate bike lanes.
Officials say construction will be “difficult and long,” but that
the complex’s bridges will remain partially open to traffic at all times.
Information about construction updates and community involvement may be found on the project’s website: glendalehyperion.com.
As a centennial gift to
the community in honor of its upcoming
100th anniversary, the
LFIA has launched a
campaign to raise
funds for urgently
needed care of nearly
300 almost century-old
deodar cedars lining
The deodars in 1939 only five years after their
Los Feliz Boulevard.
The trees are a planting. The vertical street is Los Feliz Bouledeclared Los Angeles vard, and the horizontal street at bottom is
Riverside Drive.
Historic-Cultural Monument, and the LFIA
has taken responsibility
for their maintenance
since they were first
planted as in 1934.
Historically, the
city of Los Angeles
pruned and cared for
the trees every five
years, but this has not
been done due to
The deodar cedars on Los Feliz Blvd. today.
budget shortfalls for
over ten years. As a
result, the trees are in danger of dying, and the public may be subjected to
falling limbs. A recent evaluation by arborist Ron Lorenzen from the Los
Angeles Urban Forestry Division cites an urgent need to prune 272 deodar
and other tree varieties on the boulevard “in the near future.”
The cost to address the most necessary needs for so many trees will
reach as much as $100,000. The LFIA has agreed to raise this large sum
through community events and appeals over the next three years in commemoration of the LFIA’s 100th anniversary in 2016. One of the first
being planned will be a fundraiser dinner in Spring 2014.
“This will be a significant gift to the residents of Los Feliz, and we
urge everyone in the community to participate in future fund-raising appeals,” said LFIA President Chris Laib.
Inside the
OBSERVER
page 3
President’s Column
pages 6-7
page 13
page 4
Why I Joined LFIA
The beginning of the LFIA
LFIA Committee
Reports
Community Night Out
La Pyrenees Apartment
Pages 8-9
LFIA Legacy: Roads in
Griffith Park
page 14
Observer Notebook
Thanks to our Sponsors
page 15
Pages 11
Movie Night 3 Applauded
Childhood Memories
page 5
Membership Chair Letter
Donald Seligman
Los Angeles Public Library
By Lynne T. Jewell
Michael Miller
Glendale Hyperion Viaduct Improvement Save the Deodars!
Project To Begin Summer of 2016
Centennial LFIA Campaign Launched
Advertisement
PAGE 2
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
Winter 2014
P R E S I D E N T ‘ S
The Los Feliz Observer is published by
The Los Feliz Improvement Association.
Editor Donald A. Seligman
Asst. Editor Lynne T. Jewell
Communications Committee:
Nyla Arslanian, Laura Balverde, Marian Dodge,
Michael Locke, Randy Myer, Patti Ruben, Debbie
Simons, Demian Wyma.
LFIA Purpose
The Los Feliz Improvement Association
was formed in 1916 to further the
interests of the Los Feliz district of Los
Angeles, its residents and property owners,
and to undertake any activity that in the
opinion of the Board of Directors will be
beneficial to the district, its residents or
property owners.
LFIA Board of Directors
Chris Laib, President
Demian Wyma, 1st Vice President
Marta Alcumbrac, 2nd Vice President
Debbie Simons, Recording Secretary
Donald Seligman,* Coordinating Secretary
Donna Kolb, Treasurer
Marta Alcumbrac
Nyla Arslanian
Laura Balverde
Marilyn Bush*
Mica Campbell
Dennis Chew
Jean Daly
Marian Dodge*
Barbara Ferris
Faith Ford
Monique Frese
Philip Gasteier
Rafik Ghazarian
Lynne T. Jewell
Michael Locke
Rob Menz
Randy Myer
David Roberti
Joel Rochlin
Patricia Ruben
Paul Schiada
Mary Beth Sorensen
Angela Stewart
Mark Stong
June Teal
Ron Valdez
Valerie Vanaman
Denise Weintraub
Gail Zaritsky
*Past Presidents
……………………………………………………………
Los Feliz Improvement Association
Post Office Box 29395
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Telephone & Fax 323-660-1914
website: www.LFIA.org
The Los Feliz Observer is one of
the benefits of membership in the
Los Feliz Improvement Association (LFIA),
a non-profit corporation that is
tax-exempt under 501(C)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
Membership dues are $35.00 annually.
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER·
WINTER 2014
C O L U M N
Crack of the Bat
I am writing this column shortly after the November
public meeting at the zoo regarding the two proposed
youth baseball fields in Griffith Park. I left that meeting
very troubled. These baseball fields have brought out
regrettable angst in our community. I observed wellChris Laib
intended neighbors accusing each other of elitism, antichild perspectives or reckless park stewardship.
We know both sides of this issue well. In recent years, our board has
struggled mightily with new project proposals in ecologically sensitive Griffith
Park. But we hold to our ongoing position regarding new initiatives in
Griffith Park. America’s largest urban park deserves a strategic Master Plan
for the entire park to complement those already in place for many of the
individual park venues.
We all agree that Los Angeles is often a case study in lack of planning. Griffith Park is certainly no exception. A lack of planning in the park
has resulted in many projects that have inflicted serious and ongoing damage.
For example, the municipal dump at Toyon Canyon is a scar so substantial it
is said to be used by jets navigating their landing at LAX. Now a Federal
clean-up site, Toyon Canyon is a poster child for reckless lack of planning by
former park custodians. And then there is the I-5 freeway that sliced and
isolated the eastern arm off the park in 1953. In addition, there are municipal
laydown yards throughout the park, abandoned water tanks and a long
neglected city nursery.
Youth baseball fields are perfectly appropriate to the park, as are picnic
tables, golf courses, and horse and hiking trails. The question is, just how
much densification can Griffith Park handle and still be the urban wilderness
Griffith J. Griffith intended with his gift 120 years ago? Can we insert every
good project put forth by well-intended groups in the 4,300 acre park and still
maintain the open space and wilderness that defines Griffith Park’s urban
wilderness status? Can we continue to satisfy a requirement in the original gift
that the park be a site accessible to all Angelenos?
Your residents association supports additional youth baseball fields in
Griffith Park. We also support the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) process, which is currently underway. Now, let's build the fields in
the least impacted area.
Let's also demand that the city adopt a real Master Plan, setting in place
universally acknowledged best practices and guiding protocols for large
municipal parks. Let's stop the bickering and find solutions together to some
of our genuine neighborhood problems, like the forecast doubling of
homelessness in our district during the next 5 years, the traffic gridlock and
dying deodar trees on Los Feliz Boulevard, and the push for big-box
development because we appreciate our village atmosphere.
After all, most of us came here and remain because we reject the
densification typical of the Westside in our quaint village and historic
neighborhood. We have to find solutions to these issues working together!
Happy New Year’s wishes from the Los Feliz Improvement Association.
PAGE 3
Commentary:
Why I Joined the LFIA
By Randy Myer
In 1981, as my husband and I approached 30, we decided to take
our chances and move from Philadelphia, where we grew up, to Los
Angeles, where we had never been. Like so many others, we hoped
that the entertainment industry would make us rich, and that Los
Angeles would fulfill our dreams.
We arrived for our first look at LA in January 1982. Not knowing our way around, we drove from the airport up the 405 and got
off at Wilshire Boulevard. Making our way east toward the Wilshire
Dunes Inn, we saw a city like no other we had ever visited. Unlike
the density of New York, the grunginess of Philadelphia, or the flat,
ordinary look of New Jersey, LA, though shut down much earlier
than we were used to, seemed glamorous. The road was wide, especially compared to the streets of Philadelphia made for horse-drawn
carriages. The palm trees were glorious. And the weather seemed
perfect.
For the next three days it rained. And the weather was much
colder than the summer temperatures we’d expected. But we went
touring, and wherever we went, the city seemed exciting. Except
that one area stood out. When we went to visit a friend we knew
from Philadelphia, we drove up Vine Street, turned right onto
Franklin, a left onto Western and, a block later, a right curve and...a
beautiful, wide, tree-lined street. Not palms, but huge, powerful,
drooping trees, making a welcome, red carpet as we drove down the
street. An amazing feeling of beauty and grandeur, welcoming us.
We chose to make our life in Los Feliz, a community that
seemed unlike any other in Los Angeles: simpatico, diverse, a bit
urban, and friendly. It was not until many years later that I really
understood what made Los Feliz so special. I understood the specialness of it, but I did not appreciate the people that made it happen. The protectors of Los Feliz. The folks on the Board of the Los
Feliz Improvement Association.
When I was asked to serve on the board a few years ago, I really did not appreciate the purpose, and the value, of LFIA--as a
Board and as a membership organization.
• Without LFIA, those beautiful Deodar trees I saw when
I first drove down Los Feliz Boulevard would not have
existed;
• Without LFIA, my charming village would have billboards, and chain stores, and nightlife like Hollywood;
• Without LFIA, the sense of community I felt would not
be fostered and nurtured by people who intervene to keep
harmony.
But that is what LFIA does.
• Almost one hundred years ago, LFIA planted the Deodars that now welcome all to Los Feliz.
• For almost 100 years LFIA has been fighting to ensure
that billboards which line so many streets of Los Angeles,
never appear in Los Feliz.
• For almost 100 years LFIA has been working to protect
the “mom and pop shops” that populate Los Feliz and
keep out the chain stores.
• For almost 100 years LFIA has been working to help
residents get a good night’s sleep, while restaurants and
“clubs” stay in Hollywood.
So here we are. One hundred years in. And now I realize what I
owe to the Los Feliz Improvement Association. My life in LA feels
real. I am part of a community—a village. And it takes a village to
make a village.
I ask you to please join and support the Los Feliz Improvement
Association. Donate to the Fund to Maintain the Deodar Trees.
We need to raise $100,000. Come to our great, free, member/
community meetings three times a year--you’ll learn, maybe laugh,
and definitely feel part of a cool community.
Los Feliz is the best of Los Angeles. And that is no accident.
The Beginnings of the LFIA
By Donald Seligman
About 1915, a movement began in Los Angeles to organize “neighborhood improvement” associations. One of those who spearheaded the
concept was William Meade, the owner of most of the land north of Los Feliz Boulevard between Western Avenue and Riverside Drive.
Since Mead promoted the formation of organizations for the betterment of their immediate districts, he gathered the few homeowners
who lived near his palatial Vermont Canyon estate to establish the Vermont Canyon Improvement Club. Others involved included newspaper tycoon Harry Chandler who lived nearby at the head of Hillhurst Avenue, and prominent businessman John Luckenbach, then Mayor
Rose’s “closest advisor” according to the Los Angeles Times, whose home at the intersection of Cromwell and Vermont was one of the
earliest to be built in the Los Feliz hills.
Soon after the homeowners’ initial organization, the United States was embroiled in World War I. As a sign of patriotic duty in line
with other neighborhood organizations in Los Angeles, the club temporarily went into “a period of adjournment of three years,” according
to the minutes of the first meeting called to resume activities on July 7, 1922.
One of the first concerns addressed was renaming the assembly the “Los Feliz Improvement Association” on August 4, 1922, with
William Mead as its first chairman. There were fifteen members specifically mentioned in the minutes, and their residences ranged throughout the entire developed area between Vermont and Hillhurst. Six initial committees were formed: 1) Constitution and By-Laws; 2) Transportation to the Greek and Park, and Railway Zones; 3) Location of the Zoo and other Park Improvements; 4) Storm Drains and Sewers; 5)
Permanent Organization; 6) Cooperation with Other Improvement Associations on Matters of Interest to the Entire Hollywood Section.
Dues were fixed at $2 per year, “payable in advance, this payment to include both husband and wife…” The first meeting was
dominated by a discussion over whether public transportation into the park via Vermont Avenue should be in the form of a street car or a
bus line. In the end, the association favored buses, “as they did not cut up the streets, and were noiseless…” Nevertheless, successful regular mass transit into the park is still an elusive goal today.
PAGE 4
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
Nyla Arslanian, Membership Chair
January, 2014
Dear LFIA Members and Neighbors,
Happy New Year! We are so excited to share our recent neighborhood projects and get to work in 2014. Your
valued membership in our neighborhood association helps to bring all of these efforts to fruition and we look
forward to your continued participation!
We support your community by:
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Preserving and planting Deodar trees along Los Feliz Boulevard
Supporting local schools with grants and scholarships
Sponsoring community clean-up days to remove trash and graffiti
Working closely with LAPD to keep our community safe and informed
Encouraging appropriate uses of Griffith Park and supporting its historic landmark status
Conducting historic-architectural walking tours
Adding to our historic photographic archive & maintaining our historic residential survey (both
available on our website: www.lfia.org)
Maintaining the Observer newsletter, our Neighborhood E-News, website, and Facebook page
Holding three annual informative and entertaining membership meetings including supper
Representing you at greater Los Angeles civic meetings and hearings
Presenting local candidate forums
Encouraging the restoration of the Mulholland Fountain
Removing “For Sale” cars along Los Feliz Boulevard
We know you love Los Feliz and for nearly 100 years, the Los Feliz Improvement Association has been
instrumental in keeping Los Feliz one of the most beautiful and desirable communities in Los Angeles. So
don’t wait! Take a moment right now to send in your 2014 membership and invest in your neighborhood.
We look forward to seeing you at our membership meetings (held three times per year and always entertaining
and informative!) and hope that you continue to enjoy this beautiful community that we call home!
Sincerely,
Nyla Arslanian, Membership Chair
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
PAGE 5
The Annual LFIA Committee Reports
(Anyone interested in joining a committee should contact the chair through our website: www.lfia.org)
Beautification
The committee continues
its frequent clean ups, in
which committee members sweep, trim and
shovel-clean Los Feliz
village
streets
and
sidewalks,
trash-ridden
Faith Ford and Chris Laib, co-chairs
areas around the schools,
the Western curve and
Los Feliz Library. One of the reasons our neighborhood
is so pretty is that we regularly remove illegal signs from
city parkways, light posts and telephone poles. We
continue our historic stewardship of the deodar cedars on
Los Feliz Boulevard and the Moreton Bay fig trees on
upper Vermont. This committee's contributions continue
to be one of the most visible and all volunteers are
welcome to our cleanups, which are announced at
www.LFIA.org and in our e-mail newsletter. You can
contact the committee at: [email protected].
Communications
The Communications Committee
manages media outreach to our
membership and the community. Our
LFIA newsletter, The Observer, is
published three times annually, and
includes topics of interest to Los Feliz.
The LFIA website—www.lfia.org—
offers the membership and all other Donald Seligman, chair
interested parties the latest information
about the association and the neighborhood. Our major
online publication, the Neighborhood News, is
periodically sent to those of our membership with e-mail
addresses and includes timely announcements and
information about events, concerns and happenings in
Los Feliz. Our Facebook page reaches out to LFIA
“friends” with timely information and conversations.
The Communications Committee works hard to keep you
all fully informed and we continue to look for new ways
to do this.
You can contact the committee at:
[email protected].
PAGE 6
Finance
LFIA’s Finance Committee develops an
annual budget to fund each committee's
unique needs and reviews additional
funding requests as they come up. We
keep LFIA's reserves at a healthy level
and in place for unanticipated need.
Donna Kolb, chair
History
LFIA’s
History
Committee publishes
books, collects old
photos, continually
updates the residential
survey and conducts
oral histories for the
purpose of recording Marian Dodge, and Lynne T. Jewell, co-chairs
and preserving the rich history of the Los Feliz
community. Visit the website, www.lfia.org, to purchase
the history books, view some of the more than 1600
images in the Photo Archive or to research the history of
your house in the Historic Survey of residential
homes. LFIA’s most recently published books, “Los Feliz
and the Silent Film Era: The Heart of Los Angeles
Cinema 1908 to 1930” and “Los Feliz: An Illustrated
Early History” are also available at local stores. The
History Committee can be reached at: [email protected].
Hospitality
The Hospitality Committee
orchestrates the theme and decor of
the general meetings and works closely
with local restaurants and retailers to
provide refreshments. The committee
encourages attendees to arrive prior to
the start of the formal program and
Rafik Ghazarian, chair
enjoy refreshments served by the
committee which include hot and cold beverages, salads,
hearty meal selections and delicious desserts. This allows
our members, neighbors and guests to get acquainted and
also enables people who work to come directly from work
without eating beforehand.
The committee can be
contacted at: [email protected].
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
Parks
The Parks Committee
attends to a host of new
and continuing issues that
affect Griffith Park. We
work to support the City’s
effort to bring the Park
Ranger Division back to Chris Laib and Barbara Ferris, co-chairs
optimal personnel levels and are participating in CD 4
efforts to deal with the recent influx of Hollywood Sign
tourism by working to prevent the steering of tourism to
the east, into Griffith Park. Other concerns are park
maintenance and restoration; the 30-year Toyon Canyon
restoration; enhanced way-finding park style signs; the LA
River revitalization; the proposed youth baseball fields in
Griffith Park; a permanent stage in the Old Zoo; and new
bridges. The new paid parking program at the LA Zoo is
also of concern because of the precedent it establishes for
charging for parking in our city parks. We continue with
financial support of the Wildlife Survey and the
restoration of Fern Dell. You can reach this committee
through [email protected].
Program
The Program Committee organizes our
General Meetings.
Usually open
to the public, these programs are
instrumental in strengthening our sense
of community in Los Feliz. Some of
our best attended programs have
Patti Ruben, chair
been candidate
forums
in
hotly
contested city elections, programs regarding public safety
issues, and our well acclaimed Los-Feliz-inFilms events. Our local historian and past president, Don
Seligman, recently presented programs about the storied
history of Los Feliz. At our next lively and informative
public program on Monday, February 10, at the Autry,
state and local officials will discuss and field questions
regarding the future of Los Feliz. Email suggestions for
programs or speakers should be sent to the
committee: [email protected].
Public Safety and Transportation
The Public Safety and Transportation Committee works
with Los Feliz residents, business people, elected officials,
private security companies, the Los Angeles Police
Department and Los Angeles Fire Department, as well as
other neighborhood organizations, to identify and act
upon matters of concern in the community. The
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
committee coordinates
its work with LAPD
Senior Lead Officers
for Los Feliz to
establish
Neighborhood Watch programs
and see that important
Demian Wyma and Mark Stong, co-chairs
information is shared
through our website
and Facebook page, our newsletter, and periodic email
blasts. We are committed to finding pragmatic solutions
to the problems that affect our community and welcome
your input. Contact the committee at: [email protected].
Schools and Library
The Schools and Library Committee
supports incentives that promote good
citizenship and attendance, learning
technology, noise reduction within the
classroom, early college goals, arts and
film exploration as well as specialized
academic opportunities and field trip
experiences. The committee liaises
Marilyn Bush, chair
with administrators and
elected officials regarding safety issues
and traffic around the school neighborhoods as well as
concerns over the large education budget reductions that
affect our school programs. The committee joined with
the Los Feliz Library to distribute thousands of
bookmarks to students in all Los Feliz schools. Contact
the committee at: [email protected].
Zoning
The Zoning Committee monitors issues
within the community
to maximize quality of
life for all residents in
Los Feliz. Issues such
as traffic, parking,
noise, and views are
Randy Myer and Dennis Chew, co-chairs
always
considered
when requests are reviewed for zoning variances, including
those related to new commercial developments, private
properties,
parking
variations,
and
structural
variances. This committee works closely with the City
Council offices and makes recommendations based on the
these concerns. The Zoning Committee can be reached
at: [email protected].
PAGE 7
THE LEGACY OF THE LOS FELIZ IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
Road System in Griffith Park Little Changed in 80 Years
Limited Encroachment into Natural Wilderness Another LFIA Legacy
By Donald Seligman
Vintage Postcard
TODAY, GRIFFITH PARK’S URBAN WILDERNESS BOASTS
TWICE AS MANY MILES OF HIKING TRAILS in its rugged hills
as it does automobile-traveled roads. This is the result of the
efforts made by the LFIA and other community groups to
prevent one of the country's largest municipal parks from
becoming a network of highways.
When the park first opened in 1896, the hillsides, like
most of Los Feliz, were without any road system. Aside
from trails along gullies or a few carriage paths at the base of
the mountains—Los Feliz Boulevard was one of those paths
— nearly all the park was open wilderness.
Ten years after the park opened, the need for a road
system to serve the increasing number of park visitors was
apparent. Motorized transport was becoming ever more
popular, especially after the Ford Motor Company introduced the popular Model T in 1909.
A 1915 postcard showing the scenic roadway opened in 1914 that
spanned the perimeter of the park in an arc stretching north from
Fern Dell and then east and south to Riverside Drive.
The first road construction began in 1910, and by 1914
a 20 foot-wide motorway was opened. It curved around
nearly three-quarters of the park boundaries in an arc
stretching from Western Avenue to Riverside Drive. The
highway became famous as a scenic byway, and postcards
featured its winding course through the mountains. Today,
the historic route includes Western Canyon Road in Fern
Dell, Mt. Hollywood Drive (currently closed to traffic), and
Griffith Park Drive.
When the Vermont Canyon Improvement Association
changed its name to the Los Feliz Improvement Association
in 1922, the organization supported additional development
of the park’s road network. Within a year, four new roads in
the park were under construction, complete with ornamental
lighting to enable night driving.
PAGE 8
In 1925, the Bronson Canyon/Brush Canyon road into the
park along Canyon Drive—the first of the new streets--was
opened. The following year the second artery was inaugurated,
connecting the new main park entrance at the northern end of
Griffith Park Boulevard through the Los Feliz Hills to Griffith
Park Drive near today’s Tregnan Golf Academy site.
A new scenic “South Drive” from Commonwealth Avenue
past the Griffith Park nursery and Roosevelt golf links to the
Vermont Avenue entrance opened in 1926. It continued up to
the ridge above Vermont Canyon, newly enhanced with picnic
grounds. Over the next year, this new roadway was connected
with the Western Canyon Road through a 325-foot-long tunnel.
The fourth highway, an extension of Riverside Drive on the
east linking Los Feliz with the Victory Boulevard bridge on the
north, was the last to open. Traversing through the Wilson golf
links, its initial 40-foot width would eventually be expanded to 76
feet. The $160,000 cost was funded by a $5 million Street Traffic Plan bond fund. Surveys were completed and construction
began in 1927. One year later, the 3.5 mile road (Crystal Springs
Drive/Western Heritage Way/Zoo Drive) was finished. As an
important connecting route between the central city and the San
Fernando Valley, it was kept open 24 hours a day and trucks
were prohibited. With its completion, there were now 25 miles
of highway in the park.
While additional new highways were proposed, it wasn’t until
the 1930s that any further expansion occurred when federal assistance became available. The construction of several improvements to the road system began in 1933, utilizing 20,000 Reconstruction Finance Corporation laborers working in rotation on a
three-month schedule. “Griffith Park Mountain Drive” (Mt.
Hollywood Drive today) connecting Fern Dell to Victory Boulevard in Burbank was widened to 36 feet throughout its 20-mile
loop, which was lengthened by five miles of new roadway. At
$48,600 per mile, the near $1 million cost was primarily for paying workers who earned 40 cents an hour. The workers were
picked from a pool of unemployed men who had lived in California for at least three years, one year of which had to have been in
Los Angeles County. About 1,800 of the workers were county
welfare recipients who were required to work in exchange for the
aid their families received.
Also in 1933, the first construction phase for an entirely new
mountain highway began. “Winding gracefully in and out along
rugged heights and above sheer canyon depths,” Vista del Valle
became one of the southwest’s most spectacular drives, mused
the Los Angeles Times. Four miles in length from Commonwealth Avenue to Mulholland Highway, the 36 foot-wide road
rose to 1,350 feet in elevation. “It commands a view encompassLOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
1935 map of Griffith Park enhanced by Donald Seligman
1
through three separate units
of twin bore tunnels through
the mountains. Vermont
was to be first connected to
Western Canyon in Fern
Dell by a 1,200 foot tunnel
and then linked to Brush
Canyon through a second
1,800 foot tunnel. From
there a 6,580 foot tunnel was
to span northward from
Brush to Sennett Canyon
and the San Fernando Valley.
Very little additional
road construction occurred
RFC workers constructing the exafter 1933, and today’s net- panded road system with hand
work is little different from tools in 1933.
what was constructed then.
Instead, a number of highways have been removed from general use, so that the transportation system consists of even
fewer miles of accessible roadway today. The LFIA, in general, has consistently opposed further expansion into undeveloped natural areas, and the current limited road system remains another legacy of the association’s last 80 years.
(All information is from then contemporary articles in the Los Angeles Times).
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Streets and Traffic Achievements
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1922 – today: LFIA advises the city on location of new
signals and stop signs to improve traffic safety.
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1922: LFIA supports a park bus transportation system.
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1926: LFIA successfully advocates for expanded roads
in the park, in particular a connection between Riverside Drive/Los Feliz Blvd. and Victory Boulevard.
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1927: LFIA successfully supports a fourth park entrance
at the northern end of Griffith Park Boulevard
(subsequently closed).
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1946: LFIA champions repair of sidewalks damaged by
tree roots.
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1954: LFIA successfully counters a proposal to widen
Los Feliz Blvd. into a six-lane highway.
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2000: LFIA successfully stops the relocation of the Children’s Museum to the corner of Los Feliz Blvd. and
Riverside Drive to avoid additional traffic congestion.
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2010: LFIA successfully fights proposals to allow offroad vehicles in Griffith Park.
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2011: LFIA is successful in outlawing the sale of used
cars on Los Feliz Blvd. and Franklin Avenue.
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2011: LADWP Light Festival discontinued partly due to
LFIA concerns about traffic congestion.
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The expanding road system by 1933: 1) The 1914 peripheral road
connecting Fern Dell with Riverside Drivel further expanded in 1933;
2) The 1925 extension of Brush Canyon to Mulholland Highway; 3)
The 1927 Commonwealth to Vermont Canyon connector road; 4) The
1927 eastern link between Riverside Drive and the Victory Boulevard
bridge; 5) The 1933 Vista Del Valle Drive. Vermont Avenue to the
entrance of Griffith Park was in service by 1910, and the tunnel connecting Vermont Canyon with the Mount Hollywood road was opened
in 1928.
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
PAGE 9
USC Digital Archives
ing the entire metropolis…The night display of lights is brilliant in the extreme.” To build the road, three-quarters of a
million cubic yards of diversified material had to be moved, a
huge undertaking completed exclusively with hand tools.
The last project completed at this time was a four-mile
extension of Zoo Drive west along the northwest park
boundaries to Universal City, and is known as Forest Lawn
Drive today.
Along with the new roads, in 1933 the first driving laws
were enacted within the park. Speed limits were set at 20
mph except for Riverside Drive (45 mph). In addition, the
first stop signs were placed in the park: two at Riverside
Drive and Sonora Avenue, one at Riverside Drive and Victory Boulevard, and a fourth at Riverside Drive and Los Feliz
Boulevard.
One curious proposal was first introduced in 1925 and
was under discussion for the next decade but never realized.
To ease commuting to the San Fernando Valley without having to traverse the Cahuenga Pass road, there was interest in
connecting Vermont Avenue with the San Fernando Valley
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PAGE 10
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
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The Los Feliz Improvement Association
Acknowledges and Thanks
Albertson’s Market
The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Spitz
Costco Wholesale
Jasmine’s Garden
For their contribution and
support to make our October
Membership Forum
a success!
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
PAGE 11
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PAGE 12
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
Shirley Mims
Community Night Out
By Shirley Mims
On a beautiful night in August last summer, neighbors joined together for our
local National Night Out. The annual
event is an important way for the community to get together and learn about
police and fire services, community activities, and to share some good old fashioned social fun.
Organizers Andrea Iaderosa, Michael
and Amber Hain, and Charley and Shirley
Mims planned a walking route that started at the Vermont Triangle with stops
that informed participants about neighborhood watch, disaster preparedness,
community greening projects, and library
services. Walks were led by volunteers
who proceeded up Vermont, over to
Hillhurst, and back along Hollywood
Blvd.
Many community volunteers helped
to facilitate the event. At least 60 people
(L-R) Event co-chair Shirley Mims, Councilmember Tom LaBonge, LFIA’s Marian Dodge, and
event co-chair Amber Hain at Vermont Triangle.
attended. Contributors to the event’s
success include the Franklin Hills Residents Association, Los Feliz Branch
Public Library, Los Feliz Improvement
Association, Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Fire Station #35, LAPD North-
east Division, Skylight Books, Yuca’s on
Hollywood and Starbucks.
The organizers look forward to reprising the event again next summer with
LFIA’s continuing participation in years
to come.
Michael Locke
Las Pyrenees: ‘If These Walls Could Talk’
By Lynne T. Jewell
Los Feliz is home to quite a few elegant apartment buildings dating
back to the 1920s and ‘30s.
Just drive up picturesque N. Kenmore Avenue and you can see
great examples of old-style Los Feliz apartment architecture.
One from the bygone days is Las Pyrenees at 1939 N. Kenmore
Avenue, named most likely for its Spanish Mediterranean style.
Built in 1929, it was originally called “Apartment Hotel” because
that’s exactly what it was. It was designed by Theodore Starrett and
built by Jack Kinder, father of Silver Lake resident David Kinder.
The construction was somewhat of an engineering feat, according to Los Feliz photographer Michael J. Locke. The 18-suite stucco
structure was terraced in five stories on a street-to-street lot with the
rear units and parking garage cascading down the hill to nearby
Palmerston Place.
“Oh, if these walls could talk,” said J.J. Schmidt during an oral
history conducted by the LFIA’s History Committee. Schmidt
moved into the apartment building in 1974 as a resident and has
been the property manager for the past 15 years. He periodically
hosts reunions when many of the former tenants return to reminisce
about their days spent at Las Pyrenees.
During a tour of the building, Schmidt showed the Art Deco
influence in the units along with the old-fashioned light fixtures,
built-in wardrobes and hand-painted stencils on the ceilings.
“We like to say that we can see the ocean from one side and
snow-capped mountains on the other,” said Schmidt, proudly pointing out the various views from the top level of the building. Icons
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
like the Hollywood Sign can also be seen.
Over the years, the building went from being a hotel to an
apartment complex. In 1974, real estate developer Morton La
Kretz purchased the property that was badly in need of repair. During a major restoration project, he kept the authenticity of the structure intact while making major renovations and upgrading. (La
Kretz owns the landmark Cross Roads of the World on Sunset
Boulevard and recently donated $4 million to build a pedestrian
cable-suspension bridge connecting Atwater Village to Griffith
Park).
Some have said that Kenmore Avenue holds the title of
“Writers’ Row,” as many authors and screenwriters have apparently
lived in the apartments along the street. One young Las Pyrenees
resident, Nell Rutledge-Leverenz, just happens to be a writer. She
said she was happy to learn she lives on Writers’ Row.
PAGE 13
THE
LOS
FELIZ
OBSERVER
John Marshall High School’s outstanding
music program was recognized by the
Grammy Foundation when it received the
Grammy Signature Schools Enterprise
Award 2013 on May 4, 2013 at the Greek
Theatre. Marshall was one of only ten
high schools in the country and the only
school in the Los Angeles Unified School
District to be so honored.
The award selects public high schools
in the country that make the most outstanding commitment to music education
and its impact on the students’ lives. It
included a $5,000 grant to the Marshall
music faculty.
Your Los Feliz Improvement Association
once more participated at the 2013 Los
Feliz Street Fair on Saturday, September 7.
The LFIA booth was embellished by large
posters created by board member and
Treasurer Donna Kolb. The displays illustrated the Silent Film industry in Los Feliz
to complement the launch of the association’s latest book, “Los Feliz and the Silent Film Era.”
Donald Seligman
John Marshall High School
Where Have All The Postal
Boxes Gone?
The days of walking to the nearest corner
to mail a letter are pretty much gone. In
Los Feliz, there are currently only seven
locations where blue postal boxes remain,
all on the west side of Los Feliz. There
are none on the neighborhood’s eastside.
Numerous boxes can be found at the
Los Feliz Station. Other boxes are located
at 1514 & 2134 N. Vermont Ave., 4455
Los Feliz Blvd., 4500 Sunset Blvd., 1505
N. Edgemont St. and 5075 Hollywood
Blvd.
As one resident points out, there
should be boxes where there is a high concentration of people. Why not near grocery stores or around Rowena Reservoir,
just as there are ones around Silver Lake?
Lynne T. Jewell
PAGE 14
Standing in front of a poster highlighting
movie stars who lived in Los Feliz during
the Silent Film Era are (L to R): Jon Zimmermann, Marian Dodge, Tom LaBonge,
Carolyn Ramsey, Dan Halden, Don Seligman, and Lynne T. Jewell.
The booth was a popular destination
for the crowds on Hillhurst Avenue, reflecting a strong interest in the district’s
celebrity past. Quickly organizing the
effort was street fair chair, Nyla Arslanian,
who with LFIA president Chris Laib effectively responded to the notice of the
event by the Los Feliz Business Improvement District.
As in past years, the LFIA was an
effective representative of the residents of
Los Feliz.
Donald Seligman
Vermont Triangle – Act II
The community gathered recently to celebrate the refurbished Vermont Triangle.
Thanks to the efforts of Jeff Zarrinam, the
Hollywood Hotel, Tom LaBonge’s then
CD 4 deputy Mary Rodriguez, Kaiser Permanente, the Los Angeles/Hollywood
Beautification Team and a commitment by
the East Hollywood Business Improvement District to take care of ongoing
Councilmembers Tom LaBonge and Mitch
O’Farrell (center left and right), at ribbon
cutting for the newly refurbished pocket
park with LFIA’s Nyla Arslanian, an original
member of the design team, to the left of
Tom LaBonge.
maintenance, this important entrance into
the Vermont commercial area has a new
look. The gradual deterioration of the
Triangle was the result of the lack of a
clear plan for upkeep after the initial landscaping contract expired and vandalism
occurred to the irrigation system.
According to Zarrinam, owner of the
Hollywood Hotel, the major funder of
the project, “When you’re born here you
have a sense of pride in the community.
People who care just have to step up.”
Council District 4
John Marshall High School students performing at “Bach, Rock and Shakespeare 10” at
the Greek Theater, May 4, 2013.
Council District 4
LFIA at the 2013
Los Feliz Street Fair
Lynne T. Jewell
Marshall’s Music Program
Recognized
NOTEBOOK
Attending the event were (L. to R.) LFIA
President Chris Laib, Los Feliz Neighborhood Council President Linda Demmers,
and Councilmember Tom LaBonge.
Additional funding was provided by
Kaiser Permanente. Their former Community Relations director, Gail Koretz,
whose office was nearby, brought Kaiser
into the project. Their involvement continues as, according to Zarrinam, the Triangle project has been a catalyst to help
find solutions and fund an initiative to
address the area’s homeless transient
problem.
Nyla Arslanian
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
“Movie Night 3” Applauded
By Patti Ruben
Childhood Memories of Los Feliz
Michael Locke
Michael Locke
Michael Locke
Membership Committee greeted attendees: L. to R.: Debbie Simons,
chair Nyla Arslanian, Mica Campbell.
LOS FELIZ OBSERVER · WINTER 2014
(Robert Granas was one of Los Feliz’s longest residents. He passed away
on September 19, 2013 at 88 years of
age. He was a Director on the LFIA
Board between 1994 and 2001. In
his honor, we are republishing this
story in its entirety that he wrote for
the Observer in 1988).
Robert and friend on Glencairn about
when the memories occurred.
PAGE 15
Robert Granas Family
History Committee co-chairs Marian Dodge and Lynne T. Jewell flank
Councilmember Tom LaBonge.
Just before I was born, my father asked
my mother where she would like to locate
their new home. She announced, “Build
me a castle on the hill.” So he did. I
have now returned to the house after
many years, the first built on Glencairn
Road in 1926.
I roamed the hills as a child,
“supervising” the construction of the
homes in the neighborhood, while collecting the quarter-sized slugs which had
been knocked from electrical junction
boxes. Occasional free rides could be
Robert Granas: 1925-2013
had on the Tuesday garbage truck or the
Thursday can truck. Local air pollution was the Los Angeles version
of leaf-burning on the east coast: backyard incinerators furiously fuming their smoke of mysterious composition.
At 8:00 a.m. weekdays, the factory whistle at Gladding-McBean
on Los Feliz Boulevard shrieked a shrill demand to their workforce
and everyone else within five miles. The day had started; get going!
Some mornings, our kindly Principal, Ernest Haycox, welcomed
the students to the old Los Feliz School. He survived the 1933 earthquake, which nearly destroyed his school, only to be felled by a heart
attack while walking the temporary tent-bungalow classrooms erected
just after.
The Los Feliz hills were a wonderful playground, especially in
1932 when contractors were dynamiting the top of the mountain to
build the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium. We were solemnly
warned never to go anywhere near the blasting site.
As I hike over the hills today, my thoughts easily range over the
now and then continuum. These days I am exercising; then it was
just for fun. As I walk up North Catalina Street, I silently call my
childhood friends as I pass their houses. “Hey—Tommy Manning,
Pete Busche, Hank Elder—c’mon out, let’s go over to the park and
climb the oak trees by the swings, or run around in the Greek Theatre
and get a Hires Root Beer and a Mars Bar at the refreshment stand
across the street.”
These days, I see many young people growing up, still enjoying a
quiet safe neighborhood with
good schools and friendly people, and nice homes maintained
with pride. I think that the past
and present is not too far apart.
I hope we can keep it this way
forever.
Robert Granas Family
An extraordinary evening was enjoyed by a
large crowd on October
14, as author and local
historian Don Seligman
entertained the crowd
with Los Feliz Movie
Night 3. The fascinating night was filled with
amazing details of how
the film industry “built
our neighborhood”
while it attracted inventive luminaries in
production and design.
Presenter Don Seligman with former Los Feliz
Movie clips from resident, Charlie Chaplin.
the silent period between 1911- 1926 were featured along with current photos of where
the talent lived in Los Feliz, such as Charlie Chaplin, Norma
Talmadge, Oliver Hardy and Walt Disney.
If you ever wondered WHY you chose to live in Los Feliz, pick
up a copy of “Los Feliz and the Silent Film Era.” All arrows point
to history, glamour and inventive new beginnings.
By Robert S. Granas
Waterandpower.org
Donald Seligman
Then
and
Now
In 1895, when the above image was taken, the southeast
corner of today’s Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue intersection was the site of the Charles Gustav Moll
farm. Los Feliz was an agrarian community in those years,
home to sheep and cattle ranches, and farmers tending
mainly avocado and citrus orchards. His wife, Mary Penman Moll, was 30 years old when she was photographed
on her front porch. Charles lived only until 1900, but
Mary was to witness enormous changes before she died in
1952. The corner where this house was located is home
today of the Western/Hollywood subway station.