West Hollywood's Historic Preservation Commission is meeting again this evening to discuss landmarking the old Tower Records building on the Sunset Strip, and city staff have just released their report (pdf) recommending that the Commission give it a pass. When they met last month, the Commissioners seemed to be trying to find a way to designate the building a cultural resource, but were struggling to find grounds to do so. Staffers--who have been against the idea from the start--haven't made that any easier with their report, which looks to be a pretty thorough deconstruction of the preservationists' case, saying the building not only fails to be significant under West Hollywood's municipal code, but also doesn't meet the standards of the state, LA, and the National Register. They even compare it unfavorably to other buildings they deem notable, like Tail o' the Pup and Irv's Burgers. The report concludes that the building does "not appear to retain sufficient integrity to convey its cultural and social significance and its association with Tower Records." If the Commission and City Council agree, then owner/developer Centrum can continue to fail to redevelop the site.
· Cultural Resource Designation Request for 8801 Sunset Boulevard (pdf)
· Tower Records Archive [Curbed LA]
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