Outgoing head of Los Angeles Conservancy talks to New York Times
St. Vibiana’s Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles was on the brink of demolition but is now an events center. Codera23 CC BY-SA 4.0
Los Angeles has some tremendous historic sites. That's not by accident, notes Shawn Hubler of The New York Times.
“Many of Southern California’s most popular landmarks are still there because Los Angeles rallied,” Hubler writes.
Hubler speaks to one of the people who helped lead these rallies, Linda Dishman, who is wrapping up 31 years with the Los Angeles Conservancy and leaving as president.
Dishman told Hubler about how much has changed over the years.
“Preservation has really become more of a commonly held value,” Dishman said. “I think of my first years, when we were fighting to save the Herald Examiner building. Fighting to save the Ambassador Hotel. Fighting to save the May Company. The Herald Examiner was going to be torn down for a parking lot, which seems so strange now. But that’s how little value people placed on these buildings and their history.”
This and more factors into a Q&A that’s worth a read for those who’d like to know more about why historic parts of L.A. remain.
The article “The Woman Who Has Fought to Save L.A. History From Demolition” can be found on NYTimes.com.
