Wattles Preserve LA/Getty Grant Committee Holds First Meeting

The kick-off committee meeting for Wattles’ Preserve LA/Getty Grant was held on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 at the Wattles Mansion. The grant was awarded to Hollywood Heritage by the Getty Grant Program following on their 2000 grant which resulted in the Wattles Gardens Cultural Landscape Report. The goal of the new grant is to assess the historic drainage system originally installed by Gurdon Wattles and find ways to “reinvent” and supplement it.

Attending the first meeting were: Manuel A. Mollinedo, Gen. Mgr. of the LA Dept. of Rec. and Parks; Fran Offenhauser, Hollywood Heritage Board Member and preservation architect; Natalie Shivers, Hollywood Heritage Board Member, UCLA Dir. of Campus Capital Planning;  Libby Simon, Hollywood Heritage Board Member;  Steve Sylvester, Exec. Dir. of Wattles Mansion; Kay Tornborg, Hollywood Heritage Pres.; Bill Lukehart, Supt. of Planning & Construction, City of LA, Dept. of Rec. & Parks;  Steve Moga, Historic Resources Grp;  Barbara Bradley, P.E., Engineering Mgr, Nolte Assoc., Inc.;  Richard Hall, P.E., Engineering Mgr, Nolte Associates, Inc.

With this grant, we have nine months to develop a site conservation plan that will address ongoing problems with storm water flooding and erosion that threaten this important historic site.

PHOTO CAPTION: Manuel A. Mollinedo (second from left), new General Manager of the Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks, looks over site maps of Wattles Garden with Hollywood Heritage Board Member Fran Offenhauser (Offenhauser/Mekeel Architects), joined by Michelle Fleanor (right), Field Deputy for Councilman Tom LaBonge and Wattles Executive Director Stephen Sylvester (far left).