LOS ANGELES - A recent appellate court order has halted the demolition of Venice's Lincoln Place Apartments, though seven of its buildings have been torn down and one has been significantly altered since the issuance of permits from the city of Los Angeles in 2003. The court ordered a permanent injunction on any demolitions at Lincoln Place until all conditions are met, or the owner, Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIMCO), has a subsequent Environmental Impact Report (EIR) approved.

The garden-style apartment complex, built between 1949 and 1951 on a 38-acre site in Venice, was designed by Ralph Vaughn, an early African-American architect, and Heath Wharton. The complex consisted of 52 buildings (now 44 in original condition) and 795 units in trademark modern-style architecture with geometric-shaped apartment entrances, windows and balconies.

Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, a long-time supporter of the tenants association, will meet with the residents and the owner to work toward an agreement. "[The council office is] glad the tenants are heartened and encouraged by the court decision and hopes their interpretation is well-founded,” expressed Rosendahl's Chief of Staff Michael Bonin.

Lincoln Place Tenants Association Representative Laura Burns commented on the councilmember's support. “We are thrilled that Bill Rosendahl has said this decision gives him the tools he needs 'to keep Lincoln Place standing.' He has been a strong advocate for preservation of Lincoln Place and we know that his leadership will make it a reality.”

Bonin, continuing to speak on behalf of the council office, stated, “The office's goal has been most importantly to maintain affordable housing and keep as many of the current residents as possible, and secondly to seek historical and cultural preservation of the complex.”

The Los Angeles Conservancy, among other organizations, has aided in submitting a nomination for the complex to be listed on the California Register of Historical Resources, which is designed to protect the state's important historical and archaeological resources.

Amanda Seward, chair of Modern Committee's Residential Council of Los Angeles Conservancy, stated she supports preserving Lincoln Place because "it represents a successful attempt to create living space for the every day person that fosters a strong sense of community, ease of living, and privacy for its families. It is an excellent example of how architecture and site planning can be used as a social tool to improve the human environment in an urban setting."

In order to be registered as a historical site, the resource must be associated with events that have significantly contributed to the broad patterns of local or regional history or the cultural heritage of California or the US. Alternatively, a perspective site must symbolize characteristics of a type, period, region or method of construction, or possess high artistic value.

Proponents of the nomination argue the complex meets the latter requirement.  They belive it is a paradigm of post-World War II societal welfare and an emblem of the effects of urbanization and industrialization during the first half of the 20th century. It also represents an example of the "garden apartment," multi-family rental housing and has roots in the English Garden City Movement and the Modern Movement of architecture.   

Laura Burns' added a lasting note on behalf of the tenants association. She stated, “We love Lincoln Place and, like all the preservation organizations and experts around the country, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Bill Rosendahl, our new city councilman, our senators and congresswoman and virtually the whole Venice community, want to see it preserved. We are 170 families who are determined to stay and protect our homes.”

Whether or not the site is a historical resource, and consequently its fate, will be decided when nominations are announed on Aug. 5.