Beverly Fairfax Historic District
The Beverly Fairfax Historic District in mid-city Los Angeles is steeped in both cultural and architectural history. At nearly 100 years old, the District boasts a collection of largely intact Period Revival apartment buildings and homes, including Spanish Colonial, Tudor and Monterey revivals, as well as Late Chateauesque, Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles.
Dubbed “Little Europe” by its residents, it transports the visitor back in time. Adjacent to Pan Pacific Park, the many giant avocado, citrus and fig trees dampen the boisterous city sounds around this small but densely populated area. Comprised of 463 parcels, the district includes mostly two-story, multi-family apartment buildings with a few single family bungalows and unique courtyard complexes.
Starting in the late 19th century, many neighborhoods throughout the country had racially restrictive covenants in place called “redlining,” which were legally enforceable and integrated into the deed of a property. Redlining prohibited an owner from selling or leasing to people of color or ethnic minorities, including Jewish Americans.
With no racial covenants in place, the Beverly Fairfax district became the destination of many Jewish Americans who migrated from L.A.’s eastside in the 1920s. By 1961, the district was over 60% Jewish, having become a sanctuary for numerous Holocaust survivors who settled there from Europe and rebuilt their lives after World War II. Today, the neighborhood remains largely Jewish, with some residents living in the same apartment buildings that their grandparents once called home.
In 2016, several major development projects in and around the district threatened the neighborhood’s survival. Motivated by findings in SurveyLA—the city-wide survey of historic resources—which identified the district as an historic resource, a volunteer committee of six residents formed the group Save Beverly Fairfax. Tasked with identifying ways to preserve the neighborhood’s architectural and cultural history, the team set out to put safeguards in place.
Over nearly two years, the Save Beverly Fairfax group, along with substantial support from property owners in the district, set their sights on submitting a nomination for the National Register of Historic Places, and worked tirelessly to raise funds to hire a preservation consultant to write the nomination.
In October 2018, the Beverly Fairfax Historic District was officially listed in the National Register making the entire area an historic resource or monument. This huge undertaking by a group of property owners and residents earned the district a California Governor’s Historic Preservation Award, an LA Conservancy Preservation Award and Certificates of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles. Their work exemplifies the value of place and community.
For more information on the SurveyLA Context Statement of Jewish History in Los Angeles, go to: https://planning.lacity.org/odocument/cb3a43ec-8138-4517-95e1-3a1cf0947309/LosAngelesJewishHistoryContext.pdf
