Culture, Community, and the Holiday Bowl

In 2003, the majority of the beloved Holiday Bowl in L.A.’s Crenshaw district was demolished. Although the bowling alley–a big box profoundly important to the community–was lost, the coffee shop–a Googie gem designed by Armet and Davis–remains standing and is now a Starbucks. Today’s guest Katie Horak analyzed the efforts to save the Holiday Bowl in her 2006 thesis. Listen as Katie reflects on her research, how times have changed in terms of valuing cultural significance, and why communities should tell their own stories. Now a leader in our field, she’s come back to USC as a teacher, inspiring the next generation of heritage conservationists.

	Katie Horak is a Principal at Architectural Resources Group and manages the firm’s Los Angeles office. Katie teaches graduate-level courses in historic resource documentation at USC’s School of Architecture. She has pursued her interest in postwar built heritage as Founding President of Docomomo’s Southern California chapter and is currently Secretary of Docomomo US.
	Trudi Sandmeier is the Director of Heritage Conservation Programs at the USC School of Architecture and co-host of the podcast.

Want to know more about some of the ideas and places mentioned in this episode? Check out:

Thesis:  Holiday Bowl and the problem of intangible cultural significance: A historic preservation case study

The Holiday Bowl History Project

Historic American Building Survey documentation, Library of Congress

SurveyLA

docomomo_US

Architectural Resources Group

Friends of Residential Treasures: LA (FORT: LA)

USC Heritage Conservation Programs

 Credits on About page