Remember when Santa Monica was cute? And was quaint and had charm? No, really! It was and did, once, I swear.
Good thing you voted for Queen Anne-hating cultural terrorists, or you might be walking down the street and suddenly subjected to a bit of charming old-world picturesque delight. That stuff can kill you!
Thankfully, "XYZ Rent" tore down this life-threatening, totally-restored 1895 Queen Anne!
And do you know what's going to replace what was once 516 Colorado? An eight-story luxury hotel! Because we need housing!
The 74-room hotel is being thoughtfully designed with no onsite parking, which the neighbors are going to love, but it's their fault they live in Santa Monica, the "Manhattan of Los Angeles"!
Apparently Howard Laks Architects believes we shall live in a world of floor-to-ceiling windows without drapes, because what to you have to hide? Well?! Answer me!!
But ultimately what's important is thankfully society is no longer bothered by doll museums that benifit disabled children.
Nor are we bothered by stupid old buildings. "This sale was a rare opportunity and a chance to own part of Santa Monica history,” said the Coldwell Banker realtor, T.C. Macker. Yes, own it and tear it down!
The Landmarks Commission considered moving the structure to Santa Monica's Heritage Square, which seemed reasonable, since the house had been moved before; moreover, Santa Monica's Historic Resources Inventory deemed it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
However, the YIMBY lobby needed filmed fodder for their manic masturbation sessions, hence this.
You can hear the YIMBY fappening from space
If you're "into" the demolition of Victorian buildings, or justifiably (and innocently) interested in the topic, there's a book that covers the subject; might I suggest you pick up a copy.
About Nathan Marsak
NATHAN MARSAK says: “I came to praise Los Angeles, not to bury her. And yet developers, City Hall and social reformers work in concert to effect wholesale demolition, removing the human scale of my town, tossing its charm into a landfill. The least I can do is memorialize in real time those places worth noting, as they slide inexorably into memory. In college I studied under Banham. I learned to love Los Angeles via Reyner’s teachings (and came to abjure Mike Davis and his lurid, fanciful, laughably-researched assertions). In grad school I focused on visionary urbanism and technological utopianism—so while some may find the premise of preserving communities so much ill-considered reactionary twaddle, at least I have a background in the other side. Anyway, I moved to Los Angeles, and began to document. I drove about shooting neon signs. I put endless miles across the Plains of Id on the old Packard as part of the 1947project; when Kim Cooper blogged about some bad lunch meat in Compton, I drove down to there to check on the scene of the crime (never via freeway—you can’t really learn Los Angeles unless you study her from the surface streets). But in short order one landmark after another disappeared. Few demolitions are as contentious or high profile as the Ambassador or Parker Center; rather, it is all the little houses and commercial buildings the social engineers are desperate to destroy in the name of the Greater Good. The fabric of our city is woven together by communities and neighborhoods who no longer have a say in their zoning or planning so it’s important to shine a light on these vanishing treasures, now, before the remarkable character of our city is wiped away like a stain from a countertop. (But Nathan, you say, it’s just this one house—no, it isn’t. Principiis obsta, finem respice.) And who knows, one might even be saved. Excelsior!””
Nathan’s blogs are: Bunker Hill Los Angeles, RIP Los Angeles & On Bunker Hill.
