The Threat
The Conservancy's Position
About the Building

The International Style Barry Building (HCM #887) is a significant example of postwar modernism in Los Angeles. Photo by Robert C. Cleveland.

Thank you to everyone who submitted comments advocating for the preservation of the Barry Building. The comment period for the Green Hollow Square project draft environmental impact report (EIR) ended on April 20, and the Conservancy was copied on over 65 comment letters.

The next step in the process will be the release of the final EIR, which may occur later this year. Following the release of the final EIR, there will be an opportunity to provide comments before the Los Angeles Planning Commission and City Council.

We will keep you updated on this issue. To stay informed of the latest developments and make sure your voice is heard, please subscribe to our Preservation Action Alert e-mails.

The Threat

The 1951 Barry Building, at 11973 San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, remains targeted for demolition -- even though it has been designated by the City of Los Angeles as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM).

We need your help to persuade the City that demolishing this building would be unnecessary, misguided, and detrimental to the City’s program of local landmarks.

The courtyard of the Barry Building features integrated landscaping. Photo by Raul Borja on Flickr.

The property’s owner, Charles T. Munger, seeks to raze the Barry Building to make way for the Green Hollow Square project, formerly called Brentwood Town Green. The draft environmental impact report (EIR) has been released for the proposed project and had an April 20 deadline for public comments.

The proposed project would contain over 73,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and office space in three new, two-story buildings on San Vicente Boulevard.

As proposed, the Barry Building would be demolished to make way for one of the new buildings -- even though the Barry Building’s scale, massing, and arrangement of retail spaces is remarkably similar to what would replace it.

The draft EIR includes a Preservation Alternative that would reuse the Barry Building for retail space while retaining its landmark designation.

Although the draft EIR declares this preservation- friendly choice as the environmentally superior alternative, it also makes unsupported claims that this seemingly preferable option would not meet a number of the project objectives.

In our response, the Conservancy will advocate for the Preservation Alternative while asserting that many of the project objectives can indeed be met by reusing the Barry Building.

Demolition of a Historic-Cultural Monument

Although Los Angeles’ current Cultural Heritage Ordinance can’t prevent the demolition of a Historic-Cultural Monument, it does allow the City to delay demolition.

This delay period allows for further consideration of preservation alternatives, which has been successful in the past. As a result, there have been very few instances when a Historic-Cultural Monument has been demolished to make way for new development (excluding loss because of fire, earthquake damage, etc.).

The Philharmonic Auditorium Building (HCM #61) was demolished in 1985 and the site remains a parking lot today. Postcard from collection of Annie Laskey.

The 1985 demolition of the Philharmonic Auditorium Building (HCM #61) remains an ever-present reminder that our city’s landmarks can be vulnerable.

Despite receiving HCM designation in 1969 for its rich cultural heritage and architectural significance, this prominent landmark opposite Pershing Square was demolished for a mixed-use development project that never materialized. Twenty-six years after its demolition, the site remains a parking lot.

If the Barry Building were demolished, its loss would call into question the City’s ability to protect our cultural heritage when clear adaptive reuse options exist.

The Conservancy's Position

With its numerous retail spaces, the Barry Building can be adapted to fit the needs of the Green Hollow Square project. Photo by Ty Miller.

LAC Comments on Notice of Preparation (PDF)

LAC Comments on Draft Environmental Impact Report (PDF)

The Conservancy strongly believes that the landmark Barry Building can and should be adaptively reused as part of the proposed Green Hollow Square project. The following points summarize the Conservancy’s advocacy position:

• The Barry Building is a designated Los Angeles landmark, Historic-Cultural Monument #887. Every effort should be taken to avoid the demolition of this designated landmark.
• With its numerous retail spaces and large central courtyard, the Barry Building can be adapted to fit the needs of the Green Hollow Square project.
• The Barry Building can be sensitively upgraded for enhanced energy efficiency to meet the project’s sustainability goals.
• Alternative 4, the preservation alternative, should be the preferred project as it would retain and reuse the Barry Building while meeting many of the project’s goals. These include providing the same number of parking spaces and nearly the same amount of square footage as the currently proposed project.
• Alternative 4 can be further developed and refined to ensure that any new surrounding construction is appropriately designed and integrated with the Barry Building.
• Demolition of the Barry Building, a city landmark, would call into question the City’s ability to protect our cultural heritage when clear adaptive reuse options exist.
• The proposed alterations to the median and coral trees (HCM #148), as an optional plan, should be avoided. This sets a precedent and could invite further changes and cumulative impacts to this linear historic landscape monument.

About the Barry Building

A view of the courtyard, where a louvered screen shields west-facing windows from the sun. Photo by Robert C. Cleveland.

The Barry Building was designed by Los Angeles-based architect Milton Caughey (1911-1958). It was completed in 1951, as postwar development was beginning to redefine Brentwood’s San Vicente Boulevard commercial corridor.

The distinctive and highly intact International Style building is arranged around a central courtyard with integrated planting beds. A notable feature of the building's design is the integration of louvers that shield south- and west-facing office windows from the sun's heat and glare.

The building's preservation effort has benefited greatly from a highly successful grassroots campaign. Diane Caughey, daughter of the architect, prepared the landmark nomination application and formed the Friends of the Barry Building coalition.

The coalition has sponsored several events to promote support for the building’s designation, including a presentation by members of the Conservancy's volunteer Modern Committee in May 2007.

On July 12, 2007, the Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously to recommend landmark designation, followed by a contentious 2-1 vote of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee on September 18. All three hearings were packed with members of the Friends of the Barry Building, with Councilman Bill Rosendahl repeatedly imploring his colleagues to support the nomination.

In October 2007, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to designate the Barry Building a Historic-Cultural Monument. Despite overwhelming community support, owner Charles Munger steadfastly fought landmark designation, but unexpectedly withdrew his opposition at the final City Council vote.