LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. JUNE 2011
HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY CORNFIELD ARROYO SECO SPECIFIC PLAN AREA CITY OF LOS ANGELES
was called the Arroyo Theater. A Los Angeles Times 1936 movie listing includes the theater located at 3232 N Figueroa Street. The theater was used until at least 1956, according to 1956 City Directory. Theme: Restaurants, 1880–1980 The former Lawry’s California Center (now the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens) is located in the northernmost section of the CASP survey area. It was originally constructed in 1952 by the Frank and Van De Kamp families as an early example of the “corporate campus,” a collection of commercial office, restaurants, bars, and manufacturing buildings organized around promoting the Lawry’s brand of seasonings. By 1987, the California Center accommodated 600,000 visitors a year. It was determined that while architecturally interesting and generally retaining integrity from 1979, it is not clear that the site rises to the exceptional level of significance necessary for listing. Lawry’s had on-site facilities for manufacturing signature spices at this location as early as the 1950s, as well as a gift shop and restaurant. A portion of a 1950s industrial building may be intact. The rest of the site was designed in 1979 by Calvin Straub of Scottsdale, Arizona as a 150-seat restaurant, garden, courtyard and art exhibition, constructed at a cost of $1.5 million. While a unique property, sufficient time has not passed to gain a historical perspective on the significance of the largely 32-year old campus.
5.0 Context: Institutional Development Sub-Context: Education Theme: Public Schools and the LAUSD, 1876–1980 Sub-Theme: Post-1933 Long Beach Earthquake, 1933–1945 Albion Street School is an excellent example of an elementary school built after the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, a period in which the widespread quake-caused destruction of unreinforced schools led to the development of stricter standards for school construction. This pressure to rebuild schools coupled with the infusion of federal funding from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) produced an extensive collection of Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and PWA Moderne schools in the Los Angeles Basin. Albion Street School has retained several key buildings from the 1937 Modernestyled campus. Sub-Context: Government Infrastructure and Services Theme: Municipal Water and Power Sub-Theme: Distributing and Receiving Stations The Department of Water and Power Main Street Station is a major distributing and receiving station within the Los Angeles power grid. It was previously determined eligible for the National Register. Theme: Public Works Sub-Theme: Bridges The CASP area is home to three landmark bridges across the Los Angeles River: the Main Street Bridge, the North Spring Street Bridge, and the North Broadway Bridge. These three bridges have all been recently designated Los Angeles HCMs. Sub-Context: Civil Rights Movement – Ethnic and Gender Equality, 1942–1980 Theme: Women’s Rights Movements The Woman’s Building and Women’s Graphic Center (Woman’s Building) was an art gallery and communal space developed by artists within the feminist movement. These women started the
R:\ARU1001\reports\CASP Historic Survey Report.doc (6/2/2011)
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