j.h. irvin apartments

104 Pages·2017·15.34 MB·English

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J. H. IRVIN APARTMENTS
105-105 1/2 S. Kings Road; 8360-8366 W. 1st Street
CHC-2018-792-HCM
ENV-2018-793-CE
Agenda packet includes:
1. Final Determination Staff Recommendation Report
2. Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos—April 5, 2018
3. Under Consideration Staff Recommendation Report
4. Historic-Cultural Monument Application
5. Amendment to Application, Submitted April 23, 2018
6. Materials from Owner’s Representative, Submitted April 5, 2018
Please click on each document to be directly taken to the corresponding page of the PDF.
Los Angeles Department of City Planning
RECOMMENDATION REPORT

CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION CASE NO.: CHC-2018-792-HCM

ENV-2018-793-CE

HEARING DATE: May 3, 2018 Location: 105-105 1/2 S. Kings Road; 8360-8366 W.
TIME: 10:00 AM 1st Street
PLACE: City Hall, Room 1010 Council District: 5 - Koretz
200 N. Spring Street Community Plan Area: Wilshire
Los Angeles, CA 90012 Area Planning Commission: Central
Neighborhood Council: Mid City West
EXPIRATION DATE: May 15, 2018 Legal Description: Tract TR 10389, Lot 42

PROJECT: Historic-Cultural Monument Application for the
J. H. IRVIN APARTMENTS
REQUEST: Declare the property a Historic-Cultural Monument
OWNER: Shirley C. Shapiro, Trustee
Shapiro Family Trust B
8364 W. 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
APPLICANT: Steven Luftman
1212 S. Orlando Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90035
PREPARERS: Katie Horak and Mary Ringhoff
Architectural Resources Group
8 Mills Place, Ste. 300
Pasadena, CA 91105
RECOMMENDATION That the Cultural Heritage Commission:
1. Not declare the property a Historic-Cultural Monument per Los Angeles Administrative
Code Chapter 9, Division 22, Article 1, Section 22.171.7
2. Adopt the staff report and findings.
VINCENT P. BERTONI, AICP
Director of Planning
[SIGNED ORIGINAL IN FILE] [SIGNED ORIGINAL IN FILE]
Ken Bernstein, AICP, Manager Lambert M. Giessinger, Preservation Architect
Office of Historic Resources Office of Historic Resources
[SIGNED ORIGINAL IN FILE]
Melissa Jones, Planning Assistant
Office of Historic Resources
Attachments: Historic-Cultural Monument Application
Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos—April 5, 2018
CHC-2018-792-HCM
105-105 1/2 S. Kings Road; 8360-8366 W. 1st Street
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FINDINGS

• The J. H. Irvin Apartments does not meet any of the four criteria of the Cultural Heritage
Ordinance and therefore is ineligible for designation as a Historic-Cultural Monument.

CRITERIA

The criterion is the Cultural Heritage Ordinance which defines a historical or cultural monument
as any site (including significant trees or other plant life located thereon) building or structure of
particular historic or cultural significance to the City of Los Angeles, such as historic structures
or sites in which the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, State or community
is reflected or exemplified, or which are identified with historic personages or with important
events in the main currents of national, State or local history or which embody the distinguishing
characteristics of an architectural type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style
or method of construction, or a notable work of a master builder, designer or architect whose
individual genius influenced his age.

SUMMARY

The J.H. Irvin Apartments is a three-story, four-unit multi-family residential building with a
detached garage located at the southwest corner of South Kings Road and West 1st Street in
the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles. Constructed in 1936, the subject property was
designed by noted Los Angeles architect Milton J. Black (1905-1970) in the Streamline Moderne
architectural style.
L-shaped in plan, the subject property rises three stories in height from east to west and exhibits
stepped, rectilinear massing. The building features a concrete foundation, wood-frame
construction, and smooth stucco cladding. The roof is flat and has parapet with articulated
coping. The primary, north-facing elevation is asymmetrically configured into three volumes.
Fenestration consists of single, paired, and grouped steel, fixed windows and aluminum sliding
window; some are arranged into corner window configurations. The building features three
primary entrances at the ground floor leading to individual units and a continuous canopy that
wraps around the north-, east-, and south-facing elevations at the ground floor. The ground and
second floors include broad roof decks bounded by horizontal metal railings. The west-facing
façade features a large, uninterrupted expanse of stucco wall as well as an exterior staircase
leading to a second floor patio.
Milton J. Black was born in California in 1905 and graduated from a Los Angeles high school. At
the beginning of his career, he partnered with architect J. Ross Castendyck. Together, Black
and Castendyck constructed homes in the Holmby Hills and in Hollywood, including the 1928
Dolores Del Río House. In 1930, Black was granted a certificate to practice architecture in
California, and from that point he worked primarily as a sole practitioner. Throughout his career,
Black designed properties in styles including Spanish Colonial Revival, French Revival,
Chateauesque, Mediterranean Revival, and Tudor Revival; however, he is best known for his
Streamline Moderne residential designs. Black’s works include the 654 Burnside Apartments
(1933, HCM #426), the Mauretania Apartments on Rossmore Avenue (1934), the El Cadiz
Apartments (1937, HCM #775), and the Richardson Apartments (1940, HCM #847). Black
passed away in 1970 at the age of 65.
The subject property has experienced multiple alterations over the years that include the
enlargement of a dining room in one of the units in 1966; the replacement of original steel
windows with aluminum fixed and sliding windows; the addition of security bars on the windows;
CHC-2018-792-HCM
105-105 1/2 S. Kings Road; 8360-8366 W. 1st Street
Page 3 of 4

the addition of security doors; the addition of metal awnings over some windows; and the
addition of a metal canopy over the southwest patio, all at unknown dates. In addition, based on
historic photos submitted by the owner’s representative and observations during the site visit,
there have been several more significant alterations to the property that consist of the partial
enclosure of a patio and the addition of a canopy on the second floor on the primary façade; the
replacement of an original window with a sliding glass door; and the addition of a patio cover
and wood deck at the rear of the property, blocking the original vehicular entrance.
The citywide historic resources survey, SurveyLA, identified the subject property as individually
eligible for designation at the national, state, and local levels as an excellent example of a
Streamline Moderne apartment house, designed by notable local architect Milton J. Black.

DISCUSSION

The applicant argues that the J. H. Irvin Apartments is eligible under two criteria of the Cultural
Heritage Ordinance. First, that it “embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural-
type specimen, inherently valuable for study of a period, style, or method of construction” as an
excellent example of the Streamline Moderne architectural style applied to a multi-family
residential property. Second, that the subject property is “a notable work of a master builder,
designer, or architect whose individual genius influenced his or her age” as an important work of
master architect Milton J. Black.

Staff finds that the J. H. Irvin Apartments does not appear to meet any of the Cultural Heritage
Ordinance criteria. The subject property does not individually reflect the broad cultural,
economic, or social history of the nation, state, or community. The new neighborhoods of the
Beverly-Fairfax area of the Wilshire neighborhood were heavily marketed as discrete
subdivisions and developed mostly from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s. They included a high
number of multi-family residences, including numerous two-story duplexes and fourplexes in a
variety of Period Revival and Modern styles like the subject property. The subject property
exhibits a common typology for this time period and there is a plethora of 1930s multi-family
residences extant in the Wilshire neighborhood and across the city.

The subject property is not identified with any historic personages or important historical events.

Furthermore, the subject property is not an architectural-type specimen inherently valuable for
study of a period, style, or method of construction and is not a notable work of master architect
Milton J. Black. While the subject property does retain original elements typical of the
Streamline Moderne style, such as a flat roof, corner windows, porthole windows, and rounded
corners, due to a significant number of alterations it does not retain a sufficient level of historic
integrity. In addition, the partial enclosure of the patio and the addition of a canopy on the
second floor on the primary façade, the replacement of an original window with a sliding glass
door, the replacement of most original windows with aluminum fixed and sliding windows, the
addition of security bars, the addition of security doors over all entrances, and the addition of
metal awnings over some windows all compromise Black’s original design intent. Other multi-
family properties in the Streamline Moderne style that are more intact and are already locally
designated include the 844 South Plymouth Apartments (1936, HCM #970); Jacobsen Duplex
(1938, HCM #796); the Richardson Apartments (1940, HCM #847); and the Hannah Schwartz
Apartments (1947, HCM #1002).

Staff finds that the property does not appear to rise to the level of historic significance to be
individually eligible for designation as a Los Angeles City Historic-Cultural Monument.
CHC-2018-792-HCM
105-105 1/2 S. Kings Road; 8360-8366 W. 1st Street
Page 4 of 4

BACKGROUND

On March 1, 2018, the Cultural Heritage Commission voted to take the property under
consideration. On April 5, 2018, a subcommittee of the Commission consisting of
Commissioners Kanner and Kennard visited the property, accompanied by staff from the Office
of Historic Resources.
Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--April 5, 2018
Page 1 of 13
Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--April 5, 2018
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Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--April 5, 2018
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Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--April 5, 2018
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Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--April 5, 2018
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