EICHLER TRACT A CLASS ACT
Twenty enthusiastic high schoolers team up with the Los Angeles
Conservancy to keep alive suburbia's modern architectural heritage

From the pages of CA-Modern magazine
By Adam Rubin

For many people, the San Fernando Valley is what Southern California historian Kevin Roderick nicknamed "America's suburb" -- the ultimate iconic representation of postwar suburban living, even after a half-century of continued development.

But how does that suburban image change from the perspective of today's Valley teenagers, who are too young to have a nostalgic connection to mid-century architecture and the culture of modern living?

In the Joseph Eichler tract of Balboa Highlands, in Granada Hills, a group of Valley teens recently discovered their architectural heritage firsthand. Twenty students from the John F. Kennedy High School Architecture and Digital Arts Magnet in Granada Hills launched a new extracurricular program last fall with the Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit historic preservation organization. Known as Conservancy Student Advocates, the students met after school every two weeks with Conservancy staff members and guest speakers to discuss local architectural history, the preservation process, and fundamental advocacy techniques, all while applying their newfound preservation skills to a semester-long group project.

Their first assignment: surveying the Balboa Highlands Eichler tract to help it gain status as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, or HPOZ, the official name for historic districts in the City of Los Angeles.

Balboa Highlands is one of three Eichler tracts in Southern California and the only one in Los Angeles County. Built between 1963 and 1964 and designed by principal architects A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons, the tract encompasses four main streets and more than 100 homes, many of which have undergone significant restoration efforts by preservation-minded residents.

In an area -- and era -- where faux-Mediterranean McVillas seem to sprout like weeds, preserving the past is a constant challenge, especially when that past is less than 50 years ago. If and when designated as a historic district, Balboa Highlands would be L.A.'s second postwar HPOZ, preceded only by the Gregory Ain-designed Mar Vista Tract in West Los Angeles. But while Ain built his tract in the late 1940s, Balboa Highlands wasn't built until over a decade later, which would make it the youngest HPOZ in the city.

The road to historic designation can be long and complex. Between building community support, surveying every structure in the neighborhood, and wending the survey and application through the city's approval process, HPOZ designation often takes years. Generally, much of the official survey work is done by a professional team of architectural historians, often with the aid of community members. Enter the students of Kennedy High School.

Over several weekends, the Conservancy Student Advocates visited Eichler homes for guided tours with the owners, architectural photography workshops, and a seminar on how to complete the surveys. They worked closely with preservation professionals from Pasadena's Architectural Resources Group, Inc. (ARG), the firm responsible for completing the full Balboa Highlands survey.

ARG staff taught the students how to evaluate the Eichlers to discern their historic character and any alterations made over the years. Conservancy staff compiled a visual style guide to original Eichler features such as block house numbers, globe lamps, grooved wood siding, square 'Eichler block' exteriors, and 'Saturn' escutcheon plates.

Once familiar with the survey process, each student was assigned two homes in the neighborhood and sent into the field to record findings and photograph the homes. While the whole notion of approaching a complete stranger's house to photograph the details of their steel-sash window treatments seemed a little bit unnatural to some of the students, in several instances the young surveyors were greeted by enthusiastic homeowners, who invited students inside to see their interior restoration work.

Although home interiors are generally not evaluated while producing an HPOZ survey, many students jumped at the opportunity to see a modern home from the inside-out. "I was amazed that there were people, other than Conservancy members, interested in teaching students about historic architecture," said Misael Perez, a junior at Kennedy.

Balboa Highlands residents were equally enthusiastic about the students. "I took special notice of how observant the student teams were when studying the various models and their attention to detail," pointed out Balboa Highlands resident Adriene Biondo. "Introducing them to mid-century modern homes they've only seen in commercials and TV shows like 'CSI' is a unique and meaningful way of engaging their interest and propelling them forward in their architectural studies."

"The involvement of students from Kennedy High School has certainly made the process unique," said Katie Horak of ARG. "We almost always work with volunteers on historic resource surveys because they're labor intensive and it's important that the community be involved in the process. Working with these students has been a delight, not only because they've provided us with an excellent work product, but also because their enthusiasm and wonder has brought new vitality to our work in the area."

Many people's love of modern architecture involves some degree of nostalgia. The Student Advocates, born in the 1990s, are forging their own fresh appreciation for these homes based solely on their distinctive and timeless design.

"When I first saw the Eichler homes, I was amazed by their style and the way they looked," said Irene Guzman-Garcia, a senior, who surveyed two homes with the same flat roofline style. "One of the homes was in original condition as built. The other was modified with glass block in place of the original sash windows, the original address numbers were removed, and the sliding garage doors were replaced with a modern, roll-up style. I preferred the original home."

Remarkably, even though Kennedy High is only three miles south from Balboa Highlands, none of the students had ever seen the neighborhood in person before the first field session. This sense of collective discovery made the project all the more enjoyable, as the students saw for themselves an important part of the Valley's rich architectural history, just a short drive from where many of them grew up.

"I appreciate the architecture of the San Fernando Valley because it gives me an opportunity to see and learn about amazing buildings and their history -- without having to travel too far from home," said Guzman-Garcia. "Having the chance to learn more about the history of architecture in my own neighborhood makes me feel a sense of pride."

The Student Advocates Program is the newest component of the Los Angeles Conservancy's Youth Outreach Initiative. In addition to helping with the Balboa Highlands survey, Student Advocates explore historic buildings and districts, conduct research and file field reports, assist with Conservancy tours, and investigate central concepts of preservation policy -- empowering the students to become advocates for their local heritage and built environment.

"We are very excited to be in the early stages of what we believe will be a long and successful partnership with Kennedy High," pointed out Linda Dishman, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Conservancy. "By giving local youth a stake in the future of their historic city, we hope to cultivate a preservation ethic in the next generation of Angelenos."

It helps that these aren't just any ordinary high school students, but rather architectural design students. In their daily architecture class back at school, the students are responsible for conceptualizing all sorts of buildings, from small-scale mock-ups of surf shacks and doghouses to larger design projects, such as a theme park attraction or a Palm Springs modern home.

The Conservancy Student Advocates Program introduces an alternative aspect to the students' design education -- the idea that while there are many opportunities for trained architects to create new buildings, there are also creative and fulfilling careers in the field of historic preservation and in the restoration and rehabilitation of existing buildings.

Of course, participation in the program doesn't go unrewarded: the students earn valuable 'Service Learning' credits required for graduation. "The Student Advocates learn how to observe their surroundings, research the subject matter, and report on their findings," said Aaron Kahlenberg, the students' architecture instructor and the program's staff sponsor.

As for the students -- many of whom plan to continue studying architecture in college -- seeing the Eichlers up close isn't just of historic interest. It's also validation that one day, these students might have the opportunity to design something as beautiful and long-lasting as one of these homes.

With the Balboa Highlands survey completed, the students will continue their preservation work in the spring by working in groups to research and nominate individual buildings throughout the San Fernando Valley for landmark designation. Ultimately, the Student Advocates will graduate Kennedy High with a basic set of preservation skills and a working knowledge of local history that many people don't develop until well into adulthood.

"I always tell my students that they will take one class that will change them forever," said Kahlenberg. "I think the Student Advocates Program has had a permanent effect on a few of the students. Because of this opportunity, Irene [Guzman-Garcia] has decided to become an architectural historian. That alone makes this program worthwhile."

• Adam Rubin is the Los Angeles Conservancy's Youth Outreach Coordinator.

Photos: John Eng and Adriene Biondo

What's behind the L.A. Conservancy? The Los Angeles Conservancy is the largest membership-based local historic preservation organization in the country. It is dedicated to the recognition, preservation, and revitalization of the architectural and cultural heritage of greater Los Angeles. Established in 1978, the Conservancy grew out of the community-based effort to prevent demolition of the Los Angeles Central Library. The organization has developed into a membership of 7,000 households, including more than 400 volunteers. With a two-fold mission of advocacy and education, the Conservancy works to preserve existing architectural resources by developing preservation strategies and by raising public awareness of the value of those resources through tours, lectures, publications and major programs such as 'Last Remaining Seats,' showcasing classic vintage movies at equally classic Los Angeles movie palaces. Membership in the Conservancy, a nonprofit organization, helps the group to continue to build community consensus on preservation issues, create stronger laws to protect historic resources, and facilitate 'win-win' solutions between property owners and neighborhood groups to save what remains of our endangered architectural heritage. The Conservancy relies heavily on the support of its volunteers, who are essential to the success of both educational programs and advocacy efforts. Many of the Conservancy's projects depend on the continued involvement of volunteers in a variety of different activities. A wide array of options, suiting many areas of interest, is available to anyone wishing to give time and talent to the Conservancy. The Conservancy's 'Modern Committee' (or ModCom) was formed in 1984 in response to the unabated destruction of post-World War II architecture. Since then, the committee has expanded to include all 20th-century architecture and related fields. The committee conducts tours, exhibitions, lectures, and field trips, and also plays an advocacy role in nominating potential historic landmarks and in protecting significant modern buildings. For more information, visit laconservancy.org and modcom.org.