Historic Preservation Commission Undecided on Tower Records

The members of the West Hollywood Historic Preservation Commission all seemed to agree on one point Tuesday evening following a public hearing regarding the application to designate the former location of Tower Records as a local cultural resource; the building represents a significant part of the city's history.

However, the questions of whether the building still conveyed that cultural significance and if the commission had the legal standing to recognize it through an official designation remained undecided.

After two hours of testimony and discussion, the board voted to continue the Tower Record records matter until its next regularly scheduled meeting and requested guidance from the city attorney on the issue of the building's historic integrity.

Going into Tuesday's evening, city staff had advised the commission to not support the application submitted by author Domenic Priore to grant the building cultural resource status. The final decision will be made by the West Hollywood City Council.

Historic Preservation Commission member Edward S. Levin articulated the dilemma the board faced with respect to the site of the notable record store, which operated from 1971 until 2006.

"It's always tricky dealing with retail locations because we're really talking about designating not so much the building, but the tenancy of the building," Levin said.

The biggest hurdle facing proponents of the building's preservation seemed to be the fact that record store's iconic red and yellow signs were removed after it closed its doors in 2006.

Quoting the California Environmental Equality Act (CEQA), Levin stressed that integrity was defined as "the authenticity of a historical resource's physical identity evidenced by the survival of characteristics that existed during the resource's period of cultural relevance."

Levin said that, though there is no doubt that 8801 Sunset Boulevard was indeed a historically significant location, little had survived at the current home of Live on Sunset demonstrate its past.

Commisioner Gail Ostergren noted, though, that the West Hollywood's Historic Preservation Code provided a more liberal standard than CEQA. She added that the building may meet the standard of part A of section 19.58.050 that code, which requires that buildings "[exemplify or reflect] special elements of the city’s aesthetic, architectural, cultural, economic, engineering, political, natural, or social history."

However, part A goes on to state that buildings must also possess "integrity of design, location, materials, setting, workmanship feeling [...]"

Because the vernacular style building does not possess any of the architectural characteristics required by the code, and the distinctive red and yellow sign that recalled its days as an epicenter of the worldwide music scene was long gone, the board was at a loss to determine legal means to recommend the city council preserve it as a historic structure.

"It's not a significance issue," Levin said. "It's an integrity issue."

The commission heard numerous arguments from residents of West Hollywood and beyond testifying to Tower Records cultural importance.

Priore, the author of Riot on the Sunset Strip who first applied to have the building preserved in 2007, noted that Tower Record's rise in prominence coincided with music establishing itself, briefly, as America's dominant cultural medium.

"When Tower Records flagship location on Sunset Strip opened its doors in 1971, the music industry got its model for marketing," he said. "It presided over the most successful period music industry history, a moment when it briefly eclipsed the movie industry."

He further noted that, prior to the construction of the Tower Records, 8801 Sunset Boulevard was home to a Muntz Stero, where businessman and engineer Earl "Madman" Muntz perfected his "Stereo 4 Pak" player for automobiles.

Jerome Cleary, a Horn Avenue resident who has long collaborated with Priore in his effort to preserve the building, noted that tour buses still make daily stops at Tower Records.

"It does build a greater understanding of the past, it does preserve the city's cultural and historical heritage, it does encourage public appreciation of the city's history and sense of place," he said. "People recognize this place no matter what color it is."

Not everyone who attended Tuesday's meeting favored the preservation effort.

Nicki Carlsen, an attorney representing the owner of the Tower Records property, Centrum Sunset LLC, said that proponents had failed to refute a 2007 Environmental Impact Report, which stated that the building did not meet any of the criteria for designation in the city's preservation code.

Further, she stated in a letter to the board, that many of the preservation proponents were the same individuals who opposed Centrum's effort to develop a commercial project at the location.

"This continued effort to nominate the property as a local cultural resource is somewhat disingenuous, and the applicant's failure to provide any credible documentation to support the nomination proves the point."

Perhaps the most compelling testimony came from longtime Tower Records employee Todd Meehan. Dressed in a staff tee-shirt and toting a bag full of records, he reeled of a long list of anecdotes from his days working in the record store.

"There's a lot of history there," he said. "It wasn't just all about music, it was a place to go and been seen. There were a lot of record stores that people could choose from to go shopping, and Tower was the place to be."

Meehan recalled shopping for records with Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and playing Stevie Wonder's new album for the man himself because he wanted to hear what it sounded like in large room.

"There were thousands of in-store performances," he said. "Pavarotti, Prince, Elton John, Beck Yes, Duran Duran. That store got so much publicity for the city of West Hollywood, it was unbelievable."