Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America’s Cities
by Ken Bernstein ; photography by Stephen Schafer
Bernstein begins the
text debunking the myth that there is no history, therefore no preservation, in
Los Angeles. Photos by Schafer—with occasional additions of those from Julius Shulman,
LAPL Collections, and others—liberally accompany the text, divided into chapters
touching on the meaning and process of historic designations, LA’s historic districts,
SurveyLA, culturally diverse resources, DTLA adaptive reuse, future efforts, and
a timely assessment of cities after Covid-19. A 90-page appendix illustrates some
of the results of SurveyLA. Going neighborhood-by-neighborhood, it becomes a Gebhardt
Guide for the preservation minded. Although obviously concentrating on LA, the book’s
subtitle audaciously declares young Los Angeles as a model applicable to older cities.
Angel City Press, 2021,
256 pages, hardcover, $50.
|
