10 Iconic Los Angeles Buildings That Could Be Demolished at Any Moment

Kim CooperCulture

The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd.The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd.The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd.The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public Librarythe 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacantThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public Librarythe 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacantThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryEast Los Angeles)The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryA new county landmarking ordinance could provide some protectionThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryA new county landmarking ordinance could provide some protectionThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryWest Hollywood)The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryHiding in plain sight at the western end of West Hollywood is a gorgeous streamline moderne glass brick palace (Wurdeman and BecketThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public Librarybuilt for the pampered pets of Hollywood’s gilded age and threatened by the Charles Company’s Melrose Triangle development.; Credit: Courtesy Bruce Becket ArchivesThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryDr. Jones Dog & Cat Hospital today (9080 Santa Monica Blvd.The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryDr. Jones Dog & Cat Hospital today (9080 Santa Monica Blvd.The Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibrarytaggingThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public Librarydogged preservation activists Krisy Gosney and Kate Eggert of West Hollywood Heritage Project and the Los Angeles Conservancy fight on to save Boystown’s coolest building.; Credit: Courtesy West Hollywood Heritage ProjectThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Los Angeles Times compound circa 1937 (First and SpringThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Los Angeles Times compound circa 1937 (First and SpringThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryCanadian developer Onni Group seeks permission to demolish William Pereira’s masterfulThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library1973 late modern addition of a pair of enormous glass residential towers.; Credit: Herman J. Schultheis / Los Angeles Public Library CollectionThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Los Angeles Times Pereira compound today (First and SpringThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public LibraryThe Los Angeles Times Pereira compound today (First and SpringThe Tamale (6421 Whittier Blvd., East Los Angeles) A rare survivor from the era of oddball restaurants shaped like their specialty, the 1920s tamale storefront with a house behind is currently vacant, and listed at what preservationists fear is a teardown price.; Credit: Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library

It’s an easy slur to say Los Angeles never had much history, and doesn’t respect what there is of it. In fact, L.A. has one of the nation’s first, and strongest, preservation ordinances, and a clear path for protecting architecturally significant buildings and those where history was made. But it’s a lot of work to steer a landmark nomination into a safe harbor, and today there are only about 1,000 protected landmarks on the official list, which leaves thousands of unofficial landmarks at the mercy of their owners.

In times of rampant redevelopment and land speculation, important buildings can be lost without notice, be fatally compromised when property owners engage in slow-motion “demolition by neglect” or fall victim to political whims.

To see more important places at risk, visit the Los Angeles Historic Preservation map here or read more about them at Esotouric.

Here are 10 iconic buildings that are currently threatened by redevelopment.

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