Preservation Advocates Flock to Silver Lake for 'An Evening with Julius Shulman'
(Published in The Silver Lake News)
SILVER LAKE- World-renowned Architectural Photographer Julius Shulman returned to Silver Lake on March 14, 2007 bringing together preservation enthusiasts to celebrate and honor Karen and Guy Vidal on the completion of their twentieth restoration project in the Silver Lake/Echo Park vicinity. The pair spent the last year converting a crumbling Spanish fourplex into a stylish Moroccan-Mediterranean home that Shulman called a 'stroke of genius' and the master bedroom suite 'the most beautiful room I have ever seen.' Shulman plans to photograph the house when his partner, Juergen Nogai returns from Florida.
The house has been named the 'Elevado de Castillo' in recognition of itsSpanish/Mediterranean heritage and its position on the hill crowning Elevado Street in Silver Lake. The event brought together leaders and activists from Los Angeles' burgeoning preservationist community including J. Russell Brown, President of the Downtown Neighborhood Council and his friends Tom Gilmore, Gilmore & Associates, a pioneer of adaptive re-use lofts downtown, a gentleman that Shulman called our 'greatest asset' in the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles, and Kate Bartolo, Senior Vice President of the KOR Group, the developer of the historic Eastern Columbia Building. Russell Brown commented, 'Having spent a month in Morocco, I can appreciate the authenticity of this marvelous retreat. Karen and Guy Vidal are angels that deserve the highest praise for understanding the need to preserve the history, architecture and soul of Los Angeles.'
International award-winning author and design journalist Carol Soucek King ventured over from Pasadena for the evening to honor Julius and find out first-hand why Silver Lake is such a 'hot spot'! Carol, in expressing the thoughts of others, exclaimed, 'The evening's greatest satisfaction was seeing a period house preserved and enhanced rather than torn down or even gutted- especially in an area of Los Angeles that is a hidden treasure of many cultural variations expressed through architecture. It was a pleasure to learn more about Silver Lake; for example I learned about the efforts of business and residential owners to take greater pride in their community's identity and quality of life. I loved learning about the community's program of designing trash receptacles into works of mosaic art and the ongoing tree-planting program.'
Actor and comedienne Lily Tomlin and Emmy-award winning writer Jane Wagner served as co-hosts for the event and seemed to be having a splendid time, mixing with the crowd. Jane, as it turns out, has a collection of original Shulman photographs and is a self-professed 'huge' fan. David Locke, formerly of Herman Miller, brought his lovely wife Traci and Graphic Designer April Greiman of Made in Space. As might be expected, the architectural community was well-represented at the event. Ricardo Accorsi and Teresa Young of Accorsi Architecture, Sean Briski, Barbara Bestor, Gustavo Gubel, and John Southern of Urban Operations were in attendance, as well as Architectural Historians Laura Massino of Architectural Tours LA (with husband Drew Smith) and Emily Bills, professor of Architectural History at USC. Jenna Didier and Oliver Hess of Materials & Applications brought Artist Anja Franke visiting from Denmark, who was 'struck by how fearless people in Los Angeles are when it comes to building their dreams- turning fantasy into reality.'
Jenna commented, 'I think we forget how innovative and yes, fearless we are as a culture.' (Anja will collaborate with Materials & Applications and Architect John Southern in the next M&A installation now underway).
Also in attendance were Merritt Price, Director of Exhibition Design at the Getty Museum and his wife, Carla Roth; renowned skyscraper Architect Eli Attia and his wife, Noa; Free Lance Journalist Paul Young; Designer Ron Fields of Ron Fields Design; Filmmaker Eric Bricker (Eric is directing the documentary film, 'Visual Acoustics' about the life and works of Shulman; the film is 'almost' finished!); Rose Nielsen, Director of the Julius Shulman Institute at Woodbury University; Los Feliz Ledger Editor Allison Cohen and Contributing Writer Kimberly Gomez; Dr. Cheryl Revkin, President of the Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce; Filmmaker Scott Kennedy and his wife Catherine Borek (and their infant daughter Tessa); Interior Designer Lori Oddino and Photographer Andrew Sears from the Committee to Save Silver Lake's Reservoirs; Cherie Miller and Douglas Dickstein (and his wife Leanna), Co-Chairs of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council and Michael Cuoto from NBC News.
Special thanks to Juan and Jutta Ribot, owners of Los Globos Night Club and the Lioness Art Gallery who generously donated their parking lot for the event and to Michael Cuoto and Douglas Dickstein who donated and set up the sound equipment. |
