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The Getty Conservation Institute



                  After the Quake: Historic Preservation in Los

                  Angeles


                  By John Hinrichs
                  Southern California got an early wake-up call on January 17, 1994, as the most
                  destructive earthquake in the history of Los Angeles struck at 4:31 a.m. The 6.7-
                  magnitude earthquake crushed lives, destroyed highways, turned parking structures into
                  rubble, and brought the contents of buildings crashing to the floor. A 5.9-magnitude
                  aftershock rumbled through the city just a minute after the quake, and millions of people
                  fled into the streets in those predawn hours.
                                         The Northridge earthquake was centered in the San Fernando
                                         Valley, northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Destruction was not
                                         limited to the epicenter, and communities 20 or more miles away
                                         experienced severe damage. Fifty-seven people lost their lives,
                                         thousands were injured, and thousands more were left homeless.
                                         Remarkably, Southern California museums suffered little damage
                                         to collections through all this devastation. Over the past decade,
                                         museums have upgraded protection with a variety of techniques,
                                         from isolator bases—mechanical devices that can absorb up to 80
                                         percent of ground movement while allowing objects to remain
                                         relatively still—to adhesive wax and bubble wrap.
                                         Unfortunately, historic structures throughout Southern California
                                         were not as secure. More than five hundred officially designated
                                         landmarks and other historically or architecturally significant
                                         buildings were damaged, with an estimated repair cost of more
                                         than $250 million. Damaged historic structures included the Los
                                         Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles City Hall, the Andrés
                                         Pico Adobe, and the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.

                   The El Cortez apartment  In the first few days after January 17, several preservation
                   house in Santa Monica  organizations formed a consortium to save threatened buildings.
                   just hours after the  Ultimately named Historic Preservation Partners for Earthquake
                   January 17 earthquake  Response, the group included the Los Angeles Conservancy, the
                   struck. The building,  California Office of Historic Preservation, the National Trust for
                   constructed in 1928, was Historic Preservation, and the Getty Conservation Institute.
                   awarded a technical
                   assistance grant and is  For most of the Partners, this involvement was an extension of
                   being repaired. Photo:  their ongoing efforts in planning for disasters and disaster
                   Nancy Kaye 1994.      response. In the mid-1980s, for example, the GCI initiated a
                                         series of meetings on disaster preparedness that brought
                  together directors of cultural institutions and disaster experts. These meetings played a
                  part in sensitizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the value of
                  cultural property and brought about a shift in fema policy with regard to conservation.

                  The National Trust has been particularly active in disaster response. "The first time the
                  National Trust really responded to a disaster was Hurricane Hugo in late 1989, and then
                  the Loma Prieta earthquake," says Peter Brink, a vice president with the National Trust.
                  "The key to our quick response this time was the support from the Getty Conservation
                  Institute. They provided key staff people who made the difference."
                  Within two weeks of the quake, the consortium developed a low-interest loan program
                  with First Interstate Bank of California to offer immediate funds to stabilize historic
                  buildings. Owners of historic properties could borrow up to $20,000, with an interest rate
                  of no higher than 4 percent for the first year. The funds were available for architectural
                  and engineering services and the cost of materials and labor necessary to stabilize
                  buildings.
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