The Melrose Triangle mixed-use project in Weho got the thumbs-up from city planners in June, but its construction is likely to take out this 1938 Streamline Moderne building. Melrose Triangle has yet to be approved by WeHo's city council (a decision is expected at their August 18 meeting), so time is of the essence if the Jones Dog & Cat Hospital, as the endangered building is known, is to be spared the wrecking ball.
According to the LA Conservancy, this "may be the only remaining, example of the work of master architects Walter Wurdeman and Welton Becket in the city," referring to the famed architectural team who expanded and remodeled the building in 1938.
The building, though identified as eligible for a spot on the state historic register, isn't on it currently; otherwise, this might be a different story. The Melrose Triangle's Draft EIR contained one possible plan that allowed for the incorporation of the building into the new mixed-use development, but another plan, one that called for its demolition, was recommended instead. Undaunted, preservationists are encouraging letter-writing to effect change before the August 18 WeHo city council decision, but as West Hollywood Preservation Association vice president said last month, the biggest obstacle is getting attention and making people care. "If this building was in South Beach, there would be a giant, gay riot to save this building."
Buildings from the Thirties are hitting the chopping block pretty regularly these days. This past June, a 1930s-era Art Deco building in Fairfax was demolished. The Mole-Richardson Building, as it was known, wasn't protected and didn't have historic designation, but it did have a little bit of fame attached to it: it was designed by Morgan, Walls & Clements, the same team who did the El Capitan Theater and the Belasco Theater.
· Jones Dog & Cat Hospital/Melrose Triangle Project [LA Conservancy]
· WeHo Could Get an Elaborate Mixed-User at SaMo and Melrose [Curbed LA]
· 1930s Art Deco Building Unceremoniously Destroyed in Fairfax [Curbed LA]
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