West Adams artists open up homes during architectural tour



The West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA) hosted its second annual ‘Art in Historic Places’ tour Saturday.

Attendees toured 8 historic homes in the West Adams neighborhood. Each home was owned by a local artist, and his or her work was displayed throughout the house.

The ‘Art in Historic Places’ tour is one of four events hosted by WAHA throughout the year, each in an attempt to bring new visitors to the historic neighborhood and to raise money for the association’s preservation advocacy efforts.

“There are more landmarks in West Adams than the rest of the city,” said John Patterson, the president of WAHA.

In the late 1800s, the West Adams neighborhood became a destination for Downtown Los Angeles’ professionals. The “first suburb” of Los Angeles, West Adams grew exponentially with the installation of the streetcar.

But after Downtown Los Angeles’ heyday ended during the 1920s, several of the West Adams homes fell into disrepair.

imageIn 1983, WAHA was founded as a neighborhood association. Noticing that the majority of people moving into the area had an interest in historic homes, WAHA morphed into a preservation advocacy group.

“The sense of community here is really, really strong,” Patterson said.

Patterson moved to West Adams from the Hollywood Hills because he wanted to own a historic home. Previously unaware of the area, he said he marveled at the magnificent homes when he first visited West Adams.

With WAHA, Patterson works to encourage more people to move into the area and provide guidance on how to renovate and preserve its hundreds of homes.

Sometimes referred to as the “preservation police,” WAHA has been at odds with developers in the past. It lobbies for the landmark status of homes based on their architect.

“Preservation is the ‘greenest’ building you can do,” said Patterson.

During the mid-2000s, West Adams saw a steady influx of residents. Among them were substantial Korean and Mexican immigrant populations, said Patterson. He noted that WAHA has experienced language barrier issues.

In attempt to reach out to community members, WAHA is hosting a class in Pico Union this summer to teach youth how to renovate houses. The hope is that the youth involved will work to restore homes to their former glory instead of tagging them with graffiti.

“We want to encourage people to do good work,” said Patterson.

More information about WAHA can be found on its website.

Stephanie Guzman contributed to this story.