Plummer Park buildings head toward historic preservation status

West Hollywood’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will hold a public hearing Tuesday evening to consider the nomination of two cultural landmarks, Plummer Park Community Clubhouse (Great Hall/Long Hall) and Fiesta Hall. The applications were initiated by the City Council through Resolution No. 22-5502, adopted on May 2, 2022. The designation applications included a statement of significance, description, history, bibliography, and additional documentation for each property.

Plummer Park Community Clubhouse, also known as Great Hall/Long Hall, is a one-story building constructed in 1937 as a recreational facility. It was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by architect Edward C.N. Brett and built through a partnership between Los Angeles County and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building retains the majority of its exterior character-defining features, which convey its historic identity during the 1926-1945 period of significance.

Fiesta Hall, a one-and-a-half-story multi-purpose public building, was designed by architect H.L. Gogerty and constructed in 1949. The building is also in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, with stucco exterior walls, a multi-plane/complex roof, replacement terra-cotta tiles, box cornice, and one gabled dormer. Fiesta Hall retains all its exterior character-defining features that convey its historic identity during the 1946-1965 period of significance.

From 1869, the early California Rancho on the land where Plummer Park now stands was a mecca for distant travelers. In 1937, Los Angeles County purchased the remaining three-plus acres of the Rancho and named it Plummer Park. The Community Clubhouse of Plummer Park was constructed in 1938 as a partnership between the WPA and Los Angeles County. It is the only structure in West Hollywood built through the New Deal program of the Great Depression. The building’s completion marked the inauguration of Plummer Park as a county park and recreational center in central Hollywood.

In 1949, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors approved an auditorium building that was constructed and named Fiesta Hall, intended to create a space for cultural recreation programs, particularly music and drama. From 1938 to 1984, both the Community Clubhouse and Fiesta Hall remained under the management of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation. In 1984, they were turned over to the City of West Hollywood with its incorporation as a municipality.

In 2013, the Plummer Park Community Clubhouse was listed in the National and California Registers for its association with the WPA in Los Angeles County and its embodiment of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style. Locally, the building is significant in the context of West Hollywood – World War II for its association with community or park planning by the WPA and its embodiment of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style in a public recreational building.

The Community Clubhouse exemplifies the Spanish Colonial Revival style of community buildings in Los Angeles County. The building’s style reflected a prevailing public sentiment for “Old California” and represents an architectural style not often associated with the WPA’s Moderne style of buildings and artwork found throughout the Los Angeles area.

The public hearing will be held to discuss the significance of both buildings and to determine their eligibility as local cultural resources. With their rich history and cultural significance, it is expected that the HPC will approve their nomination and recommend them to the City Council for designation as local cultural resources, further preserving these historic landmarks for generations to come.

TO PARTICIPATE

To better facilitate the meeting, members of the public who wish to comment on matters before the Historic Preservation Commission are strongly encouraged to submit an Email to shouston@weho.org no later than 2:00 p.m. on the Historic Preservation Commission meeting day.

***Your comments and information will become part of the official public record. If you do not want your personal information included in the official record, please do not include your address and/or phone number***.

Note: E-Comments received by 2:00 p.m. will be forwarded to the Historic Preservation Commission and posted on the City’s website as part of the official meeting record.

To comply with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 If special assistance to participate in this meeting is required, (e.g., an American Sign Language interpreter for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing), you must call or submit your request in writing to the Office of the City Clerk at (323) 848-6409 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. The City TTY line is (323) 848-6417.