A demolition permit has been filed on a 1919 service station along an early alignment of Route 66 in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles.
Esotouric, which leads bus tours of assorted Los Angeles spots and has been diligent about historic preservation issues in the region, recently flagged the news in an Instagram post:
The station at 1659 W. Colorado Blvd. (aka Route 66) is listed on the Los Angeles Historic Resources Inventory. It stated:
“Excellent and very rare example of a 1919 service station in Eagle Rock; this property appears to be the oldest remaining service station building in the city. Originally constructed on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, it was relocated to its current site in 1931.”
According to the city’s Department of Building and Safety, the demolition permit application was filed in late July.
I haven’t been able to find the property on the Los Angeles County Assessor’s website. The building may be so small that it escaped the assessor’s notice.
UPDATE: Esotouric posted this update on the situation:
1933 Group hopes to move it offsite, but it’s a California historic resource on SurveyLA in a specific plan district, so preservation in place is on the NC agenda, 7pm. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uQgNbgeLwfibm-ku4vTOLre_oj5IYkhc/view
1933 Group is the same outfit that saved the Tail O’ the Pup hotdog stand in Los Angeles.
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It is often the small, the ordinary buildings that get demolished because they are just that:small and ordinary. Yet they are very much part of the fabric and the history of an area. Who owns the fuel station? If there is a demolition notice for the site, is there also an application to build something else there? By whom?