The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission halted a demolition order Thursday for the Barry Building, a historic cultural monument in Brentwood known for its ground-floor storefront and courtyard, and which has served the community as a bookstore and cafe for nearly 50 years.
In a unanimous vote, the commission barred the owners from moving forward with demolition for 180 days, as well as any interior work as part of plans to remove hazardous material, which could result in substantial alteration of the property.
While the stay order is in place, city officials are expected to find ways to preserve the building, which may include finding an applicant or interested party to relocate or buy the property, among other possible efforts.
Located in Council District 11 at 11973-11975 W. San Vicente Blvd., the Barry Building was built in 1951. The two-story commercial building was designed by L.A. architect Milton H. Caughey for David Barry Jr. as a ground-floor retail with four wings of offices around a central courtyard with tropical plans.
In 1960, the building became home to Brentwood Books, and later to Dutton’s Brentwood Books starting in 1984, according to a city report. The building was ordered to be vacant and fenced off in 2017.
The City Council designated the building as a historic cultural monument in 2007, citing its significance as a “broad cultural, economic or social history of the nation, state or community. Additionally, the property met another criteria for its “characteristics of an architectural-type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or method of construction” as a distinguished example of the International Style architecture.
Thursday’s vote by the commission is the latest development in the Barry Building saga. There have been multiple attempts to demolish the property by the owners.
In 2006, ownership of the property was transferred to Charlie Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation.
Munger sought to raze the Barry Building between 2012 and 2016 for the Green Hollow Square project, a more than 73,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space development. It detailed plans for three new, two-story buildings on San Vicente.
The project was formally abandoned in 2019, and soon after, new plans to only demolish the building were introduced. Ownership of the property was transferred to 11973 San Vicente, LLC, managed by William H. Borthwick.
Plans aimed to demolish the building and leave a vacant lot — as the property qualified for structural retrofitting or demolition under the city’s soft-story retrofit program.
Attorneys from Alston & Bird Law Firm represented the owners and argued the commission did not have the authority to stay the demolition order as authorized by the City Council.
They further alleged the stay wouldn’t change a thing, as the owners spent six years seeking a buyer for the property with no results.
Additionally, previous preservation plans were unfeasible. These plans consisted of relocating the entire building to a new parcel of land, cutting or dismantling the building into smaller portions that would be reassembled elsewhere.
Commission members ultimately sided with planning department staff in providing more time to find alternative solutions with the goal of preserving the historic property. It was also determined that the commission does indeed have the power to stay a demolition order despite approval from City Council.
Supporters of the demolition say it’s needed to address the dilapidated building and what has become a site for crime such as break-ins.
Meanwhile, historic preservation advocates hailed the decision and criticized the building owners for their attempts to raze the Barry Building. Advocates alleged the owners failed to market the building to potential buyers to the best of their ability, and turned down negotiations with groups such as LA Conservancy.
“This is fundamental to the cultural heritage ordinance. It’s one of the few protections, designated protections, given to the cultural heritage commission to grant this stay, so we wholeheartedly support the stay of demolition,” LA Conservancy Director of Advocacy Andrew Salimian said.
“We reached out … had a meeting set up and then that meeting was rebuffed, so they cut communications with us,” Salimian added. “The fact that zero opportunities have emerged is patently false.”
Others offered the commission possible solutions to preserve the building, such as Anne Zimmerman, a Venice-based architect.
“I’m familiar with the site from when I first moved to L.A. I urge support of the stay. I’ll even go one step further. Why does the property need to sell? Why doesn’t the owner donate the building, pay for relocation if they want to redevelop the site. Think really creatively,” Zimmerman said.
The LA Conservancy and Angelenos for Historic Preservation have filed litigation as well, in an effort to save the Barry Building.
“Today’s action by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, imposing a 180-day stay on the demolition permit for the Barry Building … is exactly what the Commission’s charge calls for,” LA Conservancy President and CEO Adrian Scott Fine said in a statement.
“The owner’s decade-long strategy of vacancy and deliberate neglect does not erase the city’s obligations to its designated Historic-Cultural Monuments,” Scott Fine added.
He emphasized the commission sent a clear message that “Demolition by neglect is not a way to bypass landmark protection of L.A.’s historic places.”