There is an area west of Downtown Los Angeles that I find myself driving through for work, usually on my way to a plater who has recently been refinishing a lot of brass for some Interior Design projects. It's on the map as Arlington Heights and has some of the coolest, gigantic old houses in Los Angeles. Many of which I'm learning were more frequent before the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
I haven't been able to find much information on the history of Arlington Heights online. More generally, there is a great deal of history on Historic West Adams which consists of several neighborhoods: Adams-Normandie, Pico-Union, Angelus Vista, Harvard Heights, Victoria Park, Lafayette Square, Wellington Square, Jefferson Park and Arlington Heights.
Historic West Adams is, in fact, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles with many homes established between 1880 and 1925. It was developed by a famous railroad magnate named Henry E. Huntington (who built the Huntington Mansion, centerpiece of the Huntington Library) and industrialist Hulett C. Merritt.
It's pretty obvious looking at the now decayed facades of the oversized Craftsman homes on each street that this neighborhood was once very affluent. Before the development of the West Side, Beverly Hills and Hollywood in 1910, West Adams was one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. It managed to sustain some status when upper-class African Americans began to inhabit the homes that wealthy white citizens were leaving behind for Beverly Hills. But now, it houses an average income of $30K a year despite over seventy sites in West Adams receiving recognition as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments, a California Historic Landmark, or listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
I love looking at all the homes in Arlington Heights, but my favorite site isn't a home at all. No building catches my attention more than the original Washington Irving Library (above). It was built in 1926 and designed by Allison & Allison in a classic style you often see implemented at American universities built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From what I've read, the interior had a long, airy room with exposed wood trusses and rafters. I'm guessing along the rectangular side you see in the above photo.
In 1987 the Washington Irving Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places. But, only three short years later the Los Angeles Library Commission voted to close its doors and open a new library just blocks away. It's not clearly written online when this building closed, but the new library opened in 2000. At the time of it's closure, no major physical changes had been made to the building since its construction. And it's rumored online that books remained house there on it's wooden shelves.
Are you kidding me? This sounds like a dream! As a designer, I see potential in almost everything. When I look at the Washington Irving Library I imagine a complete repurpose of the building as an incredible home. It appears large in the photo, but in person it's no larger than the decaying Victorian mansions that surround it. It's incredible history and past life as a library would be a plethora of inspiration in design and furniture choices. Imagine dinner parties with guests seated around a long, cherry stained table, dimly lit with emerald glass lighting fixtures reminiscent of classic library desk lamps and the exposed wood trusses above.
The only problem: is it even possible to buy a nationally registered historic place from the city? And at what cost? The city seemed very eager to repurpose the structure in 1990. City Councilmen even guaranteed another "viable funded" use, such as a community center, would be found for the structure. But, for years it has been empty, boarded up and fenced off. In fact, when you see the photo (below) of what it looks like today, you'll have no doubt that it has been out of use and will clearly understand that it definitely takes vision to see any kind of potential. Anyone want to fund my fantasy?
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