Beverly Fairfax Historic District is a neighborhood in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles that is noted for its significance to the city's Jewish history and for the area's preserved period revival architecture. [1] [2] [3] The district's boundaries are Rosewood Avenue, Melrose Avenue, N Gardner Street, Vista Street, Beverly Boulevard, and N Fairfax Avenue. [4] [5] The district was officially recognized by the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 2018. Efforts to recognize Beverly Fairfax as a historical district were led by Save Beverly Fairfax, a grassroots coalition of owners and residents formed in 2016 to protect the neighborhood's architectural and cultural history. [2]
The buildings in the Beverly Fairfax district were majorly developed between 1924 and 1949. [6] [7] The neighborhood's architectural styles include Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, Chateauesque, Streamline Moderne, Mediterranean Revival, Tudor Revival, Minimal Traditional, and Art Deco. [6] [8] Out of 463 residences, 79% of the district's buildings contribute to its historical significance. [7]
By 1940, the neighborhood had one of the highest concentrations of Jewish residents in Los Angeles, with over two-thirds of the district's population being Jewish. [5] [7] Jewish schools, religious institutions, social clubs, and storefronts flourished here in the 20th century. [5] Following World War II, many Holocaust survivors moved to Beverly Fairfax because it was an established safe haven for Jewish people living in Los Angeles. [7] [9]
In 2016, several major development projects near the district threatened the neighborhood's unique cultural and architectural heritage. [1] In response, Save Beverly Fairfax hired Architectural Resources Group to complete a district survey and draft the National Register nomination for the Beverly Fairfax neighborhood. [7] The nomination was submitted to the National Register on May 30, 2018, and was officially recognized on October 4, 2018. [5] Save Beverly Fairfax was awarded with the Governor's Historic Preservation Award and the LA Conservancy Preservation Award in 2019 for achieving the Historic District recognition for Beverly Fairfax. [1] [9]
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