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Story by Erin Leiker
Photos by Leslie Velez

This past weekend, six houses in a West Adams neighborhood opened their doors — and their kitchens — to a parade of visitors celebrating the holidays.

Put together by the West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA), the Silver Jubilee offered a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood, or a docent-led progressive dinner, with each house serving one part of an elegant five-course meal.

In the early afternoon, guests followed brochures printed with addresses and brief summaries of the houses on the tour. Inside each, volunteers guided them from room to room, explaining the history of the house; from the architect who built it to former residents who lived there and renovations undergone to maintain or restore the property.

Later in the evening, groups gathered at the Welcome House for the start of the progressive dinner. Volunteers from WAHA led them through each course of the meal which was set up in a different house; from the Atomic-Age Appetizer House through the Salad and Dinner Houses, ending finally at a Spanish-style villa serving as the Dessert House.

“People love old houses, and they just love to be able to have an opportunity to see the inside of how other people live,” explains John Patterson. The President of the West Adams Heritage Association is relatively new to the position, but has quickly grown fond of the group’s year-end event. “There are people that have been on the tour every year for the last ten or fifteen years, and it’s become the holiday tradition for them.”

Founded in 1983 as a local homeowners group, neighbors banded together to share the maintenance and restoration woes that came with owning classics like these. Their dedication to stay true to the style and intent of the architects led them to evolve into the preservation organization they have become today.

Working extensively with the LA Conservancy, the WAHA has had a hand in making sure preservation ordinances stay in place to help maintain the integrity of the buildings in the West Adams neighborhood. The Silver Jubilee is the biggest of four similar events throughout the year, which raise funds for the group’s preservation efforts. They celebrate these efforts by returning to their roots in the pride they have for their homes.

Patterson explains how the Silver Jubilee started, “twenty-five years ago, that little homeowners group – now that they fixed up their houses – loved to show them off. And so they’d done a couple of walking tours here and there, and they said, ‘let’s do a dinner party!’”

The Silver Jubilee’s progressive dinner is entirely run by volunteers and members of the WAHA. From planning the menu to cooking and serving the food, neighbors, homeowners, and even children from the local elementary schools help kick off the holiday season in West Adams.

But it’s not just about cool houses and delicious food for the Silver Jubilee.

“A big element of what we do is educational,” says Patterson. Several of the houses on this tour are listed with the name of Paul Williams. The prominent African-American architect was known for designing classic homes in the mid-century modern era – and for not being allowed to live in the areas in which he was building. That’s an important aspect not to forget,” Patterson warns. “We are doomed to repeat mistakes if we don’t remember our past. So we don’t brush over those facts in our brochures.”

The Appetizer House is one example of this honesty. The swanky Atomic-Age residence is a Paul Williams design officially known as the Taylor Residence.

The guide brochure states that it was named for Dr. Jackson Taylor, who was prominent in the struggle for African-Americans to gain equal access to quality healthcare. It goes on to list his struggle to open “the first inter-racial, non-sectarian, non-profit hospital, open to every race, creed and color.”

Even with the backing of well-known figures of the time – Harpo Marx, Lena Horne and Benny Goodman to name a few – Dr. Taylor’s dream hospital was never built.

WAHA forges on today to preserve the community and its cultural heritage and history. Patterson muses, “this is a very very unique community. It’s very very strong.”

“Most of the people within the neighborhood – even if they’re not members of WAHA – are aware of what we do.” Outreach to more local levels of block clubs or homeowners associations allows the group to get to know homeowners personally. The ones who open their doors for the tours not only allow others to get a glimpse of the culture that thrives here, but also puts them in the position to become ambassadors to their neighbors.

With more than 100 visitors on the walking tour on Sunday alone, and another 450 guests at the progressive dinner, that’s a lot of opportunity for the people of La Fayette Square and WAHA to share their hope for their community.