The Los Angeles Conservancy is partnering and The Cultural Landscape Foundation present a lecture on the history and preservation of 1960s cultural landscapes by Charles Birnbaum and Alan Hess.
Los Angeles boasts a wealth of exceptional landscape architecture from the 1960s, including master works by such famed designers as Thomas Church and Garrett Eckbo. As with historic buildings, cultural landscapes reveal aspects of our region’s history and development, and reflect our evolving relationships with the natural world. These works of art express our regional identity, particularly in sunny Southern California. Ultimately, these landscapes are an important part of our built environment and a vital facet of the historic preservation movement.
Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR, is the founder and president of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to increase the public’s awareness of U.S. landscapes. Mr. Birnbaum has authored and edited numerous works, including Preserving Modern Landscape Architecture.
Alan Hess is a preeminent authority on the mid-twentieth-century architectural history of Southern California. As a practicing architect and historian, Mr. Hess documents the emerging suburban metropolises of the West. His many books include Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture.
The program begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the 1967 Proud Bird Restaurant in Westchester, a site on the Conservancy's 2009 It's a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod City tour. Admission is $20 for the general public, $15 for Conservancy members, and $5 for students. Reservations are required and available on The Cultural Landscape Foundation website.
This event is part of the Los Angeles Conservancy and Modern Committee program, The Sixties Turn 50, celebrating the 1960s architectural heritage of Greater Los Angeles and exploring how best to preserve it. Buildings from the sixties start turning fifty in 2010; while relatively young, these resources are coming of age, and they need protection before it’s too late. Launched in September 2009, The Sixties Turn 50 combines a range of events with online resources such as an interactive timeline and a “People’s Choice” Top 60 of the ‘60s, an unofficial poll of favorite sixties buildings in L.A. County. For more information, visit www.laconservancy.org/sixties.