Is Preservation Going Too Far?

Earlier this year, the new owners of the Kronish House, a 1955 Modernist home in Beverly Hills designed by legendary Austrian architect Richard Neutra, showed signs that they planned to demolish the aging structure and sell the empty lot. Unlike the city of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills has no preservation ordinance in place that offers protections for historic properties, so a campaign to save the house has been waged by fans of Modernist architecture, lead by the Los Angeles Conservancy. Longtime LA Conservancy member and associate editor at Los Angeles Magazine Chris Nichols gives some background on the house and why he thinks it should be saved. But is this desire to save aging buildings preventing cities from creating new and exciting architecture for the future? Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne gives his thoughts on the Kronish House, defining notable architecture, and our obsession with the past.

The Kronish House today. Curbed LA editor Adrian Glick Kudler got an exclusive peek

inside the home, you can see the entire slideshow of the tour at Curbed LA.

Top image: The Kronish House in better days, photo via Neutra.org