Los Angeles Conservancy
Adrian Scott Fine is director of advocacy for the Los Angeles Conservancy
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Adrian Scott Fine
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FROM Adrian Scott Fine
Design and Architecture
A case of preservation gone too far? Frank Gehry's 8150 Sunset Boulevard project, at the border of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, hasn't yet started construction. The proposed mix of dwellings, offices and stores, developed by Townscape Partners, won LA City Council's approval after reducing its scale. Chase Bank / Lytton Savings Photo by Frances Anderton Then the Lytton Savings Bank, located on the site and designed in 1960 by Kurt Meyer, was designated a historic-cultural monument, and a Superior Court Judge has now ruled in favor of LA Conservancy to stop the demolition of the building. The Conservancy argues that Gehry can fit the building into his scheme. Gehry says it's not so easy, and that the story of LA is one of constant renewal. Is this a case of preservation going too far? Or could the architect and developer successfully juxtapose old and new?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Revamping Old LA The Los Angeles Conservancy is out with their 2014 Preservation Awards. Some of the highlights include a revamp of a dairy farm house that sat in West Adams before the neighborhood was actually a neighborhood. And the people behind the Ace Hotel get a nod for preserving and transforming the Art Deco gem into a boutique hotel and entertainment venue.
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Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."