The West Hollywood Historic Preservation Commission will be holding a special meeting to consider a cultural resource designation for Great Hall/Long Hall, located at 1200 N. Vista Street, and Fiesta Hall, located at 1150 Vista Street, in Plummer Park. A regular commission meeting originally scheduled for Monday was cancelled due to the Cesar Chavez Day. A special meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at 7:00pm in Rooms 5 & 6 of the Plummer Park Community Center at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.
Those who are not able to attend the meeting, but want to support the designations are urged to send an email to be included in the Public Record, to dpurificacion@weho.org
Fiesta Hall was constructed in 1949 by architect H.L. Gogerty for Los Angeles County and opened to the public in 1950. Its main purpose was to serve as an auditorium. The Spanish Colonial Revival building has been used as a venue for several city events. The 300 capacity auditorium is known for featuring performances in the arts, award ceremonies and the space was also used for 12-step recovery meetings on Sunday evenings.
Fiesta Hall at Plummer Park – WEHO TIMESPlummer Park and its Great Hall/Long Hall, completed in 1938, offer insights into West Hollywood’s growth and identity from its New Deal origins to its contributions to LGBTQ community organizing. Despite being built before West Hollywood’s incorporation as a city, the park and its Spanish Colonial Revival design were dedicated by the County of Los Angeles in partnership with the Works Progress Administration as part of a Depression-era initiative to expand park space.
Great Hall/Long Hall – WEHO TIMESThe Great Hall/Long Hall, previously known as the Plummer Park Community Clubhouse, is the only West Hollywood structure constructed through New Deal programs. The facility features a U-shaped plan surrounding a central courtyard, a clay tile roof, and a stucco exterior, chosen to reflect the region’s Mexican-era ranchos. The Great Hall section includes an auditorium space, while the Long Hall section was originally used as a library and game room, both featuring original decorative elements like wood trusses, beams, and molding.
In the 1980s and 90s, during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the facility hosted the local chapter of AIDS advocacy group ACT UP, which played a significant role in advocating for better treatment and research programs. The group’s meetings and campaigns took place against the backdrop of Plummer Park’s historic significance and provided an unprecedented platform for greater visibility of the LGBTQ community.
Today, Plummer Park remains a vital part of the community, hosting public events, theater productions, and community meetings. In the past, the Los Angeles Audubon Society and the community’s Russian Library occupied spaces within the Great Hall and Long Hall, respectively. The Great Hall/Long Hall’s history and architecture continue to showcase the unique character of West Hollywood.
The Historic Preservation Commission (formerly Cultural Heritage Commission) was created on November 6, 1989 and is comprised of five (5) members appointed by individual Councilmembers and two (2) appointments by the Council as a whole (at-large). All members appointed shall serve a two-year term commencing on March 1st following a general election. Members shall have a significant interest in the City such as residency, business or residential ownership, economic involvement or some other valid link to be determined by the City Council. All members of the Commission shall have a demonstrated interest or competence in, or knowledge of, historic preservation and the cultural resources of the City. Commission members shall not be officers or employees of the city. The Commission shall meet no more than once monthly, and if a member of the Commission is absent for any reason for more than three regular meetings in any twelve-month period, the office of such member shall be vacated.
The powers and duties of the Commission are outlined in West Hollywood Municipal Code Section 2.40.080 et seq. and include periodically updating the City’s Historic Resources Survey and recommending to the Planning Commission and City Council, the designation of cultural resources including structures, portions of structures, improvements, natural features, landmarks, sites, objects, historic districts, multiple resource or thematic groupings of structures sharing common characteristics or uses.
Thank you for this update WeHo Times.
Preservation of these buildings would benefit our community and this report provides good background regarding the structures and the Historic Preservation Commission.
Thank you Paul for this fine article. Having the City of West Hollywood reconnect with its soul through recognizing both Great Hall/Long Hall and Fiesta Hall representing its cultural roots, would be the most honorable gesture for the City to make. Starving the City of these valuable resources depicting the City’s humble beginnings was not noble at all. The city failed to examine and investigate what was in its portfolio when it formed West Hollywood. Imagine had the country disconnected from the early settlements, cultural values and structures in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, Charleston and other historically notable cities.… Read more »
Both Great Hall/Long Hall and Fiesta Hall are finally being recognized and considered for Local Cultural designation. These buildings have served our community for decades and they deserve the recognition and eventual, (hopefully sooner than later) renovations, restorations and upgrades they and we deserve.
I thank council member, Lauren Meister for initiating this and I thank the City Council for voting in favor.
Important buildings to our history. Stravinsky played Fiesta Hall. It’s time to fully restore these gems. The LGBTQIAA+ importance alone lends gravitas to these cultural resources. I hope they are around another century or longer.