LOS ANGELES, September 13, 2021—The Los Angeles Conservancy is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Preservation Awards which recognizes exceptional achievement in the field of historic preservation in Los Angeles County. The breadth of projects reflects a wide range of efforts to preserve L.A. County’s architectural heritage. Winning projects will be recognized at an open-air celebration on Wednesday, October 27th at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, winner of this year’s Chair’s Award.

 

The Preservation Awards Celebration will also honor winners of the 2020 Preservation Awards following the cancellation of the Preservation Awards in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Since 1982, the L.A. Conservancy has recognized some of Los Angeles County’s most remarkable efforts to preserve architecturally and culturally significant historic resources—showcasing the power of historic preservation as a beacon of the past and also the future.

 

 

 

This ambitious renovation of one of L.A.’s most iconic buildings successfully kept its character, shape, and feel intact while ensuring the landmark will continue to serve the community well into the future.

 

 

This six-episode animated series celebrates the people and places of L.A.’s diverse, historic neighborhoods through the eyes of children, helping tell the full story about L.A. history from multiple perspectives.

 

 

This survey, the first historic context statement focused on Black history in Altadena, is an integral step in creating a clearer and easier process for designating resources important to the community.

 

Designed by Paul R. Williams, this 1932 funeral home was thoughtfully rehabilitated into management offices and living spaces for a new affordable housing apartment complex.

 

Also known as FORT L.A. Trails, this program promotes civic pride and cultural engagement by exploring L.A. history through residential architecture.

 

Using the hotel’s original 1926 design as the foundation, this beautiful restoration honors the building’s roots in women’s history while contributing to downtown L.A.’s ongoing revitalization.

 

By adapting a Modern style professional building into a 400-student charter school, this project offers a model for bringing needed facilities into a neighborhood while respecting and building upon history.

 

This project, which rehabilitated and restored a historic professional building while constructing a compatible modern structure, is an excellent example of how possible it is to build anew while preserving the old.

 

2020 Preservation Award winners include Gardner Street Women’s Bridge Housing Center (Chair’s Award), Beverly Gardens Park (Royce Neuschatz Award for Historic Landscapes), County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation Cultural Resource Assessment, the Formosa Café, The Glendale Historical Society, the NoMad Los Angeles, Robert Frost Auditorium, and Warner Music Group Headquarters.

 

The 2020 and 2021 Preservation Awards will be presented at an outdoor celebration on Wednesday, October 27th, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This annual celebration is a rare opportunity for hundreds of business and community leaders to hear inspirational stories of how historic preservation strengthens communities and fosters economic development. City National Bank returns as a presenting sponsor of the Preservation Awards. 

 

Preservation Award recipients are selected by an independent jury of leading experts in architecture, historic preservation, and community development. The 2021 jury included:

 

Partner, KFA

 

Architectural Designer

 

California Preservation Foundation

 

Director of Housing, Penny Lane Centers

 

 Former Conservancy Board Member and former Senior Counsel, Richards, Watson & Gershon

 

President of The Highland Park Heritage Trust

 

Since 1982, the Los Angeles Conservancy has honored excellence in the field of historic preservation through its annual Preservation Awards. The awards are selected by an independent jury of experts in architecture, historic preservation, and community development. 

 

Award recipients range widely, from sensitive restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse projects, to groundbreaking advocacy and education efforts by individuals and groups. 

 

In addition to the project awards, the Conservancy bestows a special Chairman’s Award for exceptional contributions. Past recipients of this award include the J. Paul Getty Trust, Google Playa Vista, and the Asian Americans in Los Angeles Historic Context Statements.

 

The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization that works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. What began as a volunteer group in 1978 now has more than 6,000 member households, the largest membership of any local preservation organization in the U.S. 

 

Media Contact: Lisett B. Chavarela, lchavarela@laconservancy.org