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Tag: USC Heritage Conservation Program

Season 2, Episode 13

Posted in Episodes, and Season 2

Tabula Raza: A New Table for People-Centered Conservation

As a kid, Laura Dominguez would sit under the kitchen table during tamale season, listening to family stories as the grownups handed her corn husks to play with. Now she’s one of the people setting a new table for heritage conservation, with community as the centerpiece. In this episode, Laura shares the personal roots of her professional path, her doctoral research into the origins of conservation in Los Angeles, and a glimpse of the future she’s helping to shape.

Season 2, Episode 12

Posted in Episodes, and Season 2

Disco and Diversity in Armenian L.A.

You may know that Greater Los Angeles has the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia. But you might think it’s concentrated in the city of Glendale and Hollywood’s Little Armenia. Recent alum Erik Van Breene found pockets of Armenian Americans throughout the county while researching his thesis, Not So Little Armenia: Conserving Armenian Heritage Sites in Los Angeles. In this episode, Erik shares how these enclaves formed in waves of immigration from the 1910s through the 1990s. He also gives us a glimpse of the vibrant Armenian economy encompassing food, media, and music–including a recording studio that drew Armenian artists from around the world in the 1970s. That means disco, which you do not want to miss. And he makes the case for mapping and more to conserve Armenian sites before it’s too late.

Season 2, Episode 11

Posted in Episodes, and Season 2

Robert Kennard, Architect for Humanity

Robert A. Kennard, FAIA (1920 – 1995) led an extraordinary life as an architect, mentor, and humanitarian. The son of a Pullman car porter, Kennard defied steep odds to build a successful career, design more than 700 structures, and create one of the longest-running African American-owned architecture firms in the western U.S. He “believed that people were more important than the spaces they occupied,” wrote USC alum Jerome Robinson in his master’s thesis, An Odyssey in B-Flat: Rediscovering the Life and Times of Master Architect Robert A. Kennard.

Jerome passed away before we could interview him for this podcast, yet he left a trove of stellar research and archival audio. We bring you some of it in this episode. We also hear personal stories of Kennard from his daughter Gail, who still runs the firm he formed in 1957. This episode is longer than usual (around 40 minutes), but stick with it–you’ll find it worth your while, or your money back!

Season 2, Episode 10

Posted in Episodes, and Season 2

Beit Olam: The Forever Homes of East L.A.’s Jewish Cemeteries

Cemeteries mean many things to many people. In this episode, we talk with alum Rachel Trombetta about her thesis, Beit Olam: A Home Everlasting–The Jewish Cemeteries of East Los Angeles. Rachel shares the history of Jewish congregations in Los Angeles, how they moved away from the central city over the years, and what that means to the burial grounds established as their “forever homes.” She discusses distinct features of Jewish cemeteries and the specific challenges of conserving cemeteries in general. And she shares her unusual path to heritage conservation from the world of TV and film locations.