Conserving L.A.’s Queer Eden(dale)
Los Angeles has a rich LGBTQ heritage that’s been largely hidden. Recent graduate Rafael Fontes talks with producer Willa Seidenberg about why sites of LGBTQ significance are relatively hard to find, research, and designate. He discusses three case studies from his master’s thesis, Gaining a Foothold: Conserving Los Angeles’ Queer Eden(dale): the Harry Hay Residence, The Black Cat, and the Tom of Finland House. Each site reflects a different aspect of the city’s LGBTQ history, as well as the complexities in its conservation.
Learn more about USC’s Heritage Conservation Program
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Rafael Fontes is an urban planning professional currently working for the City of Los Angeles. In addition to work experience in architectural design, drafting, and project management, time spent volunteering abroad proved formative. Above all, he seeks to combine a professional commitment to the built environment with a love of history. He has both a Master of Heritage Conservation degree from the USC School of Architecture and a Master of Planning degree from the USC Price School of Public Policy. |
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Our producer Willa Seidenberg interviewed Rafael earlier this year. Not only is she a long-time professor of radio journalism for the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, but she is also earning her Master’s degree in Heritage Conservation. |
Podcast Breakdown
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- [04:09] LGBTQ history in Los Angeles
- [10:07] Efforts to landmark the Harry Hay Residence
- [15:40] Landmarking The Black Cat
- [21:21] Landmarking the Tom of Finland House
- [30:02] Next Steps to Preserve LGBTQ L.A.
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Want to know more about some of the ideas and places mentioned in this episode? Check out:
Thesis: Gaining a Foothold: Conserving Los Angeles’ Queer Eden(dale) by Rafael Fontes
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries is the largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) materials in the world.
City of Los Angeles LGBT Context Statement
L.A. Conservancy – Curating the City: LGBTQ Historic Places in L.A.
“Crazy, Noisy, Freaked-Out Dance Music for Weirdos,” The queer legacy of 3909 Sunset Boulevard
National Park Service LGBTQ Theme Study
Preservation and Place: Historic Preservation by and of LGBTQ Communities in the United States, edited by Katherine Crawford-Lackey and Megan E. Springate
USC Master of Heritage Conservation program
Episode Credits
Special thanks to Mixtape Series (Juan-Salvador Carrasco, Misha Vayman, Michael Siess and Nathan Ben-Yehuda) Music interludes from Mixtape Series Vol. 1: “Currents” 2.0. Mixtape Series on YouTube
We couldn’t do this without our amazing Save As Dream Team – Xiaoling Fang (visiting Urban Light at LACMA), Lindsay Mulcahy (she’s on the right with her classmates Stacy Williams and Rafael Fontes at the Paul R. Williams-designed Founder’s Church), and Julia Ressler (hard at work performing a materials assessment at Topanga Ranch Motel), who offer creative input, advice, perspective, reality checks, and hands-on help to make this episode possible.
The Save As logo was designed by the talented Fern Vargas – and we are grateful for the support of the Communications team at the USC School of Architecture!
Special thanks to Stephen Conley, who wrote our Save As theme music – you can reach him at stephenconleymusic@gmail.com.
And thanks many times over to Tom Davies for his sound engineering and tech support.
