Help Secure a Historic Cultural Monument Nomination for the Century Plaza Hotel

It's time to spring into action to help support the efforts to save the Century Plaza Hotel.

Named one of National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, the 1960s-era Century Plaza is in danger of being torn down. The new owners of the Century Plaza Hotel announced plans to raze the building and replace it with two 600-foot towers in December 2008, even though the hotel received a $36 million facelift less than a year ago.

The LA Conservancy is asking for support (details here) in convincing the City Council to nominate the Century Plaza as a Historic-Cultural Monument. Details:

On Wednesday, October 21, the Los Angeles City Council will vote on Councilmember Paul Koretz' motion to initiate a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) nomination for the the Century Plaza Hotel. While it would seem obvious that the hotel should be nominated, the passage of the motion is not a sure thing.

We need as many L.A. residents as possible to e-mail your councilmember by Tuesday, October 20 to urge their support of the motion. The City Council needs to know that the Century Plaza is important to the entire city, not just Council District 5.

Out of nearly 1,000 HCMs in Los Angeles, fewer than twenty are from the 1960s. Councilmember Koretz has taken the lead in securing landmark status for the Century Plaza, but we need your help to make it happen!

If you live in the City of Los Angeles, please take a minute to e-mail your councilmember with a copy to the Conservancy (savecenturyplaza@laconservancy.org). Please (1) urge your councilmember to support the motion on Tuesday and (2) remind him/her that the City of Los Angeles has no minimum age requirement for buildings to merit HCM designation.

If you wrote a Century Plaza support letter to the Planning Department in August, you can simply forward that letter to your councilmember if it's more convenient, adding the points above. The note doesn't need to be long.

Go here to figure out how to contact your city council member. And get to it today!