Last week the Santa Monica Conservancy welcomed its 1000th and 1001st visitors, Mike and Megan Lampkin of Santa Monica, to its Preservation Resource Center in Ocean Park. The Lampkins are originally from the Bay area, and although they are neighbors and have walked the neighborhood many times, this was their first visit to the Shotgun House. The couple was presented with a book about shotgun houses.
Since opening in January, the Preservation Resource Center has been visited by local residents as well as guests from other states and countries (Australia, Germany and Colombia to name a few). One visitor, former resident Karen Noonan, shared her experiences of actually living in this Shotgun House in the 1960s, nearly 60 years before it was rehabilitated and re-purposed by the Conservancy.
A primary goal of the Center is to assist property owners and the community with information about the methods and benefits of preservation. This year at least five homeowners were assisted in understanding the requirements for formal designation of their historic properties and two are now preparing applications. “Providing such assistance demonstrates the value of our Center as a readily accessible resource for preservation help,” notes Conservancy president Carol Lemlein.
Adding to its recent milestone, the Conservancy will receive a Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation (CPF) at its gala on September 29th. The award is for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the 1890s Shotgun House as a Preservation Resource Center. The 25 winning projects are recognized for their exemplary work in historic preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, sustainability, studies, reports and other significant categories in the preservation field and showcase preservation design excellence.
The Preservation Resource Center is open to the public from 11 am to 2 pm everyWednesday, Saturday and Sunday as well as by appointment. For further details see the Conservancy website, www.smconservancy.org or send an email toinfo@smconservancy.org.
