NEW BOOK: published in April.
At a wonderful late-April book launch event attended by 497 people via Zoom, author Ken Bernstein and photographer Stephen Shafer discussed their new book, “Preserving Los Angeles,” with award-winning local author and National Trust for Historic Preservation trustee Lisa See. Bernstein is a principal city planner in the City Planning Department, and he directs the city’s Office of Historic Resources. Previously, he was the director of preservation issues for the Los Angeles Conservancy.
I had the privilege of reviewing an advance copy of the book, and it truly is worth reading (and owning!). It is 256 pages long, with more than 300 full-color images. Architectural photographer Shafer makes a major contribution to Bernstein’s story, one that touches less on the “old reliable” monuments that we locals generally know, and more on the less-known and even hidden historic treasures throughout the region. Many of these contributors to our collecti
LOS ANGELES
Places linked to African American heritage in Los Angeles will be identified in an effort to preserve them, the Getty arts organization and the city announced Tuesday.
The three-year Los Angeles African American Historic Places Project will work with local communities and cultural institutions to identify places that best represent the African American experience in the city, the collaborators said in a statement.
Just over 3% of the city’s 1,200 designated local landmarks are linked to African American heritage despite extensive efforts to record LA’s historic places, they said.
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“Historic preservation is about the acknowledgment and elevation of places and stories,” said Tim Whalen, the institute’s director. “The point of this work is to make sure that the stories and places of African Americans in Los Angeles are more present and complete than previously.”
By City News Service
Apr 6, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Getty Foundation and Los Angeles planning officials are teaming up for an ambitious project to identify, protect and celebrate African American heritage within the city, it was announced today.
Over the next three years, the Los Angeles African American Historic Places Project will identify and help preserve the places that best represent the depth and breadth of African American history here, and work with communities to develop creative approaches that meet their own aims for placemaking, identity, and empowerment, museum officials said.
In citing the need for such a project, they noted that only about 3% of L.A. s 1,200 designated local landmarks are linked to African American heritage.