Yettem: A Garden of Eden for Armenian California [00:00:00] Trudi Sandmeier: Today on Save As, we’re going to answer the very important question of what taxidermy and bicycles have to do with Armenian California. [music] [00:00:17] Cindy Olnick: Hello, and…
Tag: historic preservation
These Walls CAN Talk: Heritage and Hope at the Mafundi Building in Watts Trudi Sandmeier 00:08 This is Save As, a podcast that glimpses the future of heritage conservation through the work of graduate students at the University of Southern…
These Walls CAN Talk: Heritage and Hope at the Mafundi Building in Watts
As L.A.’s Watts neighborhood reeled from the 1965 Rebellion against systemic injustice, Black architects and civil rights activists Art Silvers and Robert Kennard designed a place of healing and hope. The Watts Happening Cultural Center opened in 1970 as the home of the Mafundi Institute (“mafundi” is Swahili for artisans or craftspeople), which provided a vital creative outlet for self-expression and Black empowerment. Now widely known as the Mafundi building, this Late Modern gem is a rare symbol of art and culture with an uncertain future.
USC’s Materials Conservation class studied the building this term, using pandemic workarounds to assess everything from the windows to the coffee shop’s collection. Join us for a humdinger of a season finale about the Mafundi building’s history, significance, condition, and precarious situation. Learn about the class project from instructor Peyton Hall, FAIA and students Arabella Delgado, Emi Takahara, and Melissa Miller. And hear from alumna Rita Cofield, a lifelong community member and part of the grassroots preservation effort, about what this place means to the people of Watts and how you can help.
| This episode is dedicated to the memory of Jerome Robinson – scholar, MHC alumnus, and friend – pictured at Disneyland Paris in 2017 with Save As co-host Trudi Sandmeier. |  |
Bunker Hill Refrain: Resurrecting a Lost Community Cindy Olnick 00:34 Today we are talking about a subject near and dear to the hearts of many — the area of Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles. Trudi Sandmeier 00:41 Yeah, most…
Bunker Hill Refrain: Resurrecting a Lost Community
Bunker Hill looms large in the collective memory of Los Angeles. Once a tony enclave of Victorian homes, the downtown neighborhood became a vibrant and diverse community before being razed in the urban renewal/removal of the 1950s. Much has been made of the architectural loss. But who were, and what came of, the thousands and thousands of people displaced? A very cool USC project called Bunker Hill Refrain seeks to find out. High tech meets low tech in a vast effort to capture, map, and analyze data from a trove of 1930s WPA census cards. Coupled with oral histories, the data can help illuminate the social cost of urban renewal, inform more thoughtful planning going forward, perhaps even reconnect the community. Hear from students, faculty, and staff about how the project came about, how it works, and how you can get involved.
Meet you at Lenchita’s
Alumna Sara Delgadillo grew up in the working class ethnic enclave of Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley. The heart of the community, the Van Nuys Boulevard commercial corridor, is home to several legacy businesses that serve as centers of community and cultural continuity. In this episode, journey with us to this corner of Los Angeles and see it through the eyes of a local. Hear about how growing up in Pacoima has influenced Sara’s path in life, in her studies, and in heritage conservation.
Free to be Punjabi
The allure of abundant work and fertile soil drew many to California, and in particular, the rich rural areas of the state. Punjabi workers came in small numbers to Yuba City in the early 1900s, but after Indian independence in 1947 when Punjab was split in two, that trickle became a steady stream. Now this rural area known for its peach orchards is the heart of a vibrant South Asian Punjabi community, rich with traditions and culture.
In this episode, hear from alumna Deepeaka Dhaliwal about her family ties to the area and some of the sites she explored in her research for her thesis Yuba-Sutter: A Case Study for Heritage Conservation in Punjabi-American Communities.
Hometown Heritage in Compton
What comes to mind when you think of Compton? If it’s gangs and rap, think again. This small city is one of the oldest in L.A. County, with a history of agriculture, self-reliance, and resilience. It has a farm, a space-age civic center, the tennis court where Venus and Serena learned to play, and more (including, yes, cowboys). Compton’s history mirrors that of many cities across the U.S.; it just gained more notoriety thanks to groups like NWA.
In this episode, get the real scoop on Compton from one who knows: alum Camille Ora-Nicole, who grew up there and wrote her master’s thesis on it. Hear what Camille learned about her hometown, and how she thinks small cities should approach conservation, as we chat about her thesis, Conserving Compton: Identifying Potential Landmarks and Recommendations for Conservation.
Hometown Heritage in Compton Trudi Sandmeier [0:08]: Welcome to Save As, a podcast that glimpses the future of heritage conservation through the work of graduate students at the University of Southern California. I’m Trudi Sandmeier, director of the Heritage Conservation Program…
The Rancho Roots of Mission Viejo Trudi Sandmeier [0:08]: Welcome to Save As, a podcast that glimpses the future of heritage conservation through the work of graduate students at the University of Southern California. I’m Trudi Sandmeier, your friendly podcast…