Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.

The Historic-Cultural Monument process has its origin in the Historic Buildings Committee formed in 1958 by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects. As growth and development in Los Angeles threatened the city's historic landmarks, the committee sought to implement a formal preservation program in cooperation with local civic, cultural and business organizations and municipal leaders. On April 30, 1962, a historic preservation ordinance proposed by the AIA committee was passed.

The original Cultural Heritage Board (later renamed a commission) was formed in the summer of 1962, consisting of William Woollett, FAIA, Bonnie H. Riedel, Carl S. Dentzel, Senaida Sullivan and Edith Gibbs Vaughan.

The board met for the first time in August 1962, at a time when the owner of the historic Leonis Adobe was attempting to demolish the structure and replace it with a supermarket. In its first day of official business, the board designated the Leonis Adobe and four other sites as Historic-Cultural Monuments.

The designation of a property as a Historic-Cultural Monument does not prevent demolition or alteration. However, the designation requires permits for demolition or substantial alteration to be presented to the commission. The commission has the power to delay the demolition of a designated property for up to one year.

In the commission's first decade of operation (August 1962–August 1972), it designated 101 properties as Historic-Cultural Monuments. By March 2010, there were 979 designated properties.

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