LA Conservancy’s Website Spotlights County’s Rich Modernist Architecture

Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome.

Modernism isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think of Los Angeles. But that image might change with the launch of the Los Angeles Conservancy’s new website, which will spotlight historic places in a city often known more for its highways and ritzy suburbs than its groundbreaking architecture.

The interior ceiling of the Cinerama Dome.

One of the most exciting new features of the site is its focus on modern architecture. Building off the Conservancy’s “Curating the City: Modern Architecture in L.A.” educational series, the “Curating the City” section maps more than 300 modern places in LA County. The sites can be filtered by architectural style, architect, community and decade, and include tours based on eight themes: Art and Architecture, Big Business, Car Culture, Homegrown Architects, Housing the Masses, Innovations in Technology, Living the High Life at Home and The Public Realm. An additional 100 non-modern sites are also featured. The website is part of a collaboration the Getty Foundation titled “Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.” Beyond mapping historic places, the site also provides information on the ins and outs of preservation.

The extensive mapping is a collective undertaking as well. The site was developed with feedback from more than 1,300 users, and its open-source format will facilitate future expansion. Ultimately, the goal is to highlight LA’s rich Modernist heritage, and how Modernism figured in LA’s development and vice versa.

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