Tell City Councilman Gil Cedillo to support the nomination of the Stires Staircase Bungalow Court as a Historical Cultural Monument!

The 1920's Bungalow Courtyard at 1251-1259 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90026, is threatened with demolition to make room for an over-sized and over-priced apartment project that would displace the current tenants - most of them working class families who have lived here for over 20 years. 

The Stires Staircase Bungalow Court is a classic example of a downhill bungalow courtyard, one of a shrinking number of endangered historic bungalow courts. Out of 1206 historically designated properties in LA, only 9 are bungalow courts (less than 1%).

This is a prime example of streetcar-oriented development as these bungalows were built in 1922, at the height of streetcar usage in LA. Built with no garages, driveways or off street parking, they were built uphill along a 112-step concrete staircase that residents used to access the Red Car line known as the "Echo Park Local" which ran down Sunset Blvd. The streetcar lines were instrumental in the design and development of Echo Park and Angelino Heights.

For almost 20 years, the property was part of an estate owned by Lilly Bennett Baldwin Howard, former wife of Gold Rush tycoon Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin. After his death, she thrived as a successful bank executive in the 1920s-1930s, owning or presiding over half a dozen banking institutions at a time when women entering this male-dominated field was very rare. Her obituary in the NY Times called her a "financial genius".

The Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources voted in favor of nominating the bungalows as a historic housing type - tell Councilman Gil Cedillo and the City Planning Commission to uphold this ruling and save the bungalows from redevelopment!

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Please also consider using the following template to write a letter of support for historic nomination to Councilman Gil Cedillo, representative for Los Angeles Council District 1:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Subject:  Please SUPPORT the Stires Staircase Bungalow Court - CHC-2020-896-HCM

Dear Councilman Cedillo and members of the PLUM Committee,

I'm writing in support of the historic landmark nomination for the Stires Staircase Bungalow Court at 1251-1259 Sunset Boulevard, which 
you will hear at the PLUM Committee meeting on October 29.  

Bungalow courts are increasingly rare, but they are significant and vital to the story of Los Angeles history and culture.  The Stires Staircase Bungalow Court was built on this Angelino Heights hillside in 1922 in the simple Mission Revival style.  They were designed with no garages, driveways or vehicle access and 112 steps connecting these 10 little homes.  

( Here you can talk about why you love bungalow courts, why you love Angelino Heights history, Echo Park, the history of the Red Car line, early feminist or immigration/worker history, etc )  

The application won the approval of the Cultural Heritage Commission on August 6, 2020.  The nomination passed on ALL THREE criteria: the bungalow court architecture, the historic personage of bank executive Lilly Bennett Baldwin Howard, and the cultural connection to the streetcar line which serviced the Sunset Boulevard corridor at that time.  It's rare for the Commission to grant an approval on all three criteria, and that speaks to the unique importance of this site.  As expressed by CD1 staff, I hope you will defer to the decision of the 
Cultural Heritage Commission and vote in support of this nomination.  

thank you for your time,
your name
any neighborhood affiliations or titles 
 

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copy and paste all email recipients here:
gilbert.cedillo@lacity.org, gerald.gubatan@lacity.org, hugo.ortiz@lacity.org, ricardo.x.flores@lacity.org, clerk.plumcommittee@lacity.org, councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org, kristen.gordon@lacity.org, councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org, elizabeth.ene@lacity.org, councilmember.price@lacity.org, sherilyn.correa@lacity.org, councilmember.lee@lacity.org, hannah.lee@lacity.org

please bcc perpetua33@gmail.com

or call:
Councilman Gil Cedillo  CD1 213-473-7001 gilbert.cedillo@lacity.org
Gerald Gubatan  CD1 gerald.gubatan@lacity.org
Hugo Ortiz  CD1 hugo.ortiz@lacity.org
Ricardo Flores  CD1 ricardo.x.flores@lacity.org

PLUM COMMITTEE clerk.plumcommittee@lacity.org 

Marqueece Harris-Dawson  CD8 213-473-7008 councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org
Kristen Gordon  CD8 213-485-7616 kristen.gordon@lacity.org
213-473-2371
213-473-2379

Bob Blumenfield  CD3 213-473-7003 councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org
Elizabeth Ene  CD3 818-774-4330 elizabeth.ene@lacity.org     

Curran D. Price  CD9 213-473-7009 councilmember.price@lacity.org
Sherilyn Correa  CD9 sherilyn.correa@lacity.org

John Lee  CD12 213-473-7012 councilmember.lee@lacity.org
Hannah Lee   CD12 hannah.lee@lacity.org