WeHo's Plummer Park Reno Thwarted by Historic Landmarking

West Hollywood's Great Hall/Long Hall, located off Santa Monica Boulevard in Plummer Park, was granted historic designation by the California Historic Resources Commission on Wednesday, WEHOville reports. The designation was opposed by West Hollywood--it's highly unusual for a city to oppose such a designation--because the city wants to demolish the buildings and add green space to Plummer Park. The whole Plummer renovation plan is on shaky ground because state money dried up, some locals oppose it, and now, things are complicated by the historic designation. The CHRC made the unanimous decision based on the hall's Spanish Colonial revival architecture, the fact it was built in 1938 as part of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, and, likely, because it held historic meetings, including gatherings of ACT UP, which pushed the government to take action on AIDS. The funny thing about the designation, though, is the city can take a vote of "overriding consideration" and still knock down the structure. The commission also approved a historic designation for the Stahl House, aka "Case Study House #22," aka the house from Julius Shulman's iconic photograph.
· Great Hall-Long Hall Buildings Approved to National Register of Historic Places [WEHOville]