West Hollywood has officially decided NOT to landmark the famous Sunset Strip Tower Records--the city council voted yesterday to confirm an earlier decision by the Historic Preservation Commission. Councilmember John D'Amico's take, via WeHoville: "This is not a historic structure, but a lot of history happened there" (Radio host and ex-Dramarama member Chris Carter tells CBS LA "One of the great things about it was you could go there you know, just to shop, and you might run into Brian Wilson shopping, or Ringo.")
Tower's flagship red-and-yellow store opened in 1972 and closed in 2006 when the chain went bankrupt; this leaves the intersection of Sunset/Horn/Holloway more in question than ever--for several years, developer Sol Barket has been trying to build a retail project at the site called Centrum Sunset, but the city has rejected several different configurations. Tower neighbor Jerome Cleary and historian Domenic Priore led the landmarking effort and were hoping to turn the building into a music museum, but WeHo's preservation guidelines say a building has to maintain its "integrity" to qualify, and the now-white Tower doesn't look much like it did in its heyday. The city says it plans to commemorate the store somehow or other.
· WeHo Council Affirms Decision to Not Declare Tower Records a Cultural Resource [WeHoville]
· WeHo Wants to Landmark Tower Records But Isn't Sure It Can [Curbed LA]
· WeHo's Gymless Tower Records Project Rejected Yet Again [Curbed LA]
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