What we lost in the fires — few areas are untouched by this tragedy

| January 23, 2025 | 0 Comments

As Los Angeles comes to grips with the losses, in lives, property and communities that were consumed in the catastrophic fires that broke out the second week of this year, it seems that few areas of our civic life have been left untouched by this terrible tragedy. This includes architectural heritage. At the time of writing, with the fires still raging, over 40 architecturally and culturally significant structures have been lost. A comprehensive list is being compiled by the Los Angeles Conservancy.

As we have seen with world-famous sites such as the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Windsor Castle and many others — outside of war — fire is one of the most destructive foes of built heritage. Closer to home, Hollywood’s Sunset Fire on the evening of Jan. 8, which engulfed Runyon Canyon, hovered above one of the most concentrated centers of historic buildings in the city, threatening the Wattles Mansion, Yamashiro, The Magic Castle and the historic districts of Hollywood Heights and Whitley Heights. Extinguished before a single home was burned, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) scored its first victory against the fires.

It is the Palisades and Eaton fires that have been the sources of the most destruction. News from the Palisades soon revealed that Will Rogers’ historic ranch house in Will Rogers State Park was lost, along with its connections to Hollywood’s Golden Age. Lost nearby was Camp Josepho, which had hosted Scouting groups and activities for 84 years. Modern masterpieces such as Richard Neutra’s Freedman House, 1948; the Robert Bridges’ House, 1974; and Ray Kappe’s Keeler House, 1991, as well as the mid-century Corpus Christi Catholic Church, were burned. As of press time, the Charles and Ray Eames House, 1949, miraculously survived. Along with thousands of houses, the Palisades lost its village center, including its historic Palisades Business Block, Theatre Palisades’ Pierson Playhouse and the 1929 Mortensen House, which was among the earliest homes in the community. While the Getty Villa managed to escape the destruction, much of the Pacific Coast Highway’s historic roadside architecture and eateries was lost. This included Cholada Thai, the Malibu Feed Bin, Moonshadows, the Reel Inn and the Topanga Ranch Motel, among many others.

MORTENSEN HOUSE overlooking the Pacific Ocean on Via de la Paz was among the earliest homes in Pacific Palisades and now is gone due to the fire.

To our east, the historic series of communities in the San Gabriel Valley — Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre — bore the brunt of the catastrophic Eaton Fire that caused incalculable losses of residential neighborhoods and buildings, many well over 100 years old. Gilded Age landmarks such as the Frederick Roehrig-designed Queen Anne-style Andrew McNally Estate, 1887, and the Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey-designed Zane Grey Estate, 1907, were both destroyed. Planned communities and developments such as the 1920s English-style Janes Village, and Gregory Ain and Garrett Eckbo’s 1948 postwar Modernist development, the Park Planned Houses, both suffered heavy losses. Houses of worship and religious sites were not spared, with the Altadena Community Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the Al Taqwa Mosque, the Pasadena Jewish Temple and the Theosophical Library all lost. Quirky and nature-related sites such as the beloved Bunny Museum, the 1946 artists’ colony Zorthian Ranch, the 1934 Works Progress Administration (WPA)-era William D. Davies Memorial Building in Farnsworth Park and the 1912 Walter Valentine Cottage in Wildwood Park were consumed in the blazes.

Each of these historic structures listed, along with the multitude of houses, schools, cafés, stores and gathering places lost, add up to places of memory, of identity and of connections to the past that underpin a community’s sense of place. Their loss is incalculable, and in most cases permanent. These places are changed forever, scarred. History has shown us though, that out of great destruction can come great renewal and fresh creativity. If California’s history of destruction and revival is any guide, these devastated communities will be rebuilt and be beautiful again, in some cases better. A few of these landmarks may even rise, phoenix like, from the ashes. But today, we mourn what we lost in the fires, because today, it is now all in the past.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Category: Real Estate

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *