evaporate with little remorse, Scientology is the most
ardent preservationist force in town. " />

evaporate with little remorse, Scientology is the most ardent preservationist
force in town. " />

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Alissa Walker

Why Scientology is Good for Hollywood

The Guaranty Building in
1923 (photo by Curt Teich & Co.) and in 2006.

Last week
may have marked the end of a year-long promotional campaign of impossible proportions. But it was only the beginning of the
age of enlightenment for the Church of Scientology.

An astounding 23
million visitors visited Scientology websites in 2005, where the FAQ page now seems to tap the mind of an US Weekly
reader. In the same year, Scientology logged a record 289,000 minutes of radio
and TV coverage — coverage that upgraded Scientology from an obscure insider
reference to national late night talk show fodder. When Isaac Hayes left "South
Park" because of an episode that depicted Scientologist beliefs, Comedy Central
issued an stunningly cheeky
response from the show's creators: "Scientology, you may have won THIS
battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun!" They said exactly
what had been on our minds for months: Scientology is really screwing up
Hollywood.

But if you live where I do, in the actual city of Hollywood,
just a few blocks away from where the Oscars are held, you see the Church of
Scientology as somewhat of a savior. Within a two-mile corridor along Hollywood
Boulevard, the Church owns eight historic buildings, four of which are on the
National Register of Historic Places. In a neighborhood where architectural
triumphs
evaporate with little remorse, Scientology is the most ardent
preservationist force in town.

Los Angeles is infamous for its design
amnesia, but Hollywood seems to have been whacked over the head particularly
hard. By 1960, all but one of the film studios that financed the building boom
in the 20's had relocated to different parts of the city, leaving a gilded shell
to rot. Over the next 40 years, the city adopted some rather extreme planning
methods.

The earthquake-damaged Egyptian Theater was cemented shut, sealing its ornate 1922
details inside like the King Tut tomb it was inspired by. Sardi's, the glamorous Schindler-designed sister to the NY
power lunch spot was thrust out by current tenant, Le Sex Shoppe. Even after it
was declared a cultural monument, the once-lush Garden Court apartment building,
known later as "Hotel Hell," was soon leveled by an even more frightening, white
cage of a complex named The Galaxy. No such measures were needed when the famous
Brown
Derby restaurant fell into disrepair; transients simply burned it to the
ground.

When I moved here five years ago, the legendary heart of
Hollywood — the intersection of Hollywood and Highland — was a vacant lot. I
walked my new neighborhood expecting a shimmering celluloid siren — or at least
a seductive dark-hearted lounge lizard. But Hollywood today is more of a
jaundiced has-been with her teeth punched out. Shingle-weary 1926 Craftsman,
weedy parking lot, strip mall with stucco frosting, chain link fence.
Repeat.

Slowly, Hollywood is making a comeback. But discovering an
original structure that's not impregnated by souvenir shops is like seeing a
celebrity on Hollywood Boulevard before 11pm.

One such structure holds
court in the center of Hollywood: it's the prestigious Guaranty Building, a true
Beaux Arts beauty. Charlie Chaplin and Cecil B. DeMille invested in this
building. Social columnist Hedda Hopper kept an office here. It still looks much
like a 1923 banking center, which, at 150 feet, was once one of the tallest
buildings in LA. Today, it is the mother church of the worldwide Scientology
religion.

Next door, the Church owns the Regal Shoes building, a
Streamline Moderne curved-corner property built in 1939. A few blocks down is a
two-story Normandy-style building, home of the Scientology Test Center. Across the street from that is the
Hotel
Christie, the bricked-and-columned Colonial Revival built in 1923 by Arthur
Kelly, considered the first luxury hotel in Hollywood due to its private baths.
A neon sign runs its length like a theater marquee: S-C-I-E-N-T-O-L-O-G-Y
lit up green and yellow at night. A lovely complex on the western end of
Hollywood includes a Spanish Colonial church. The fluorescent pink bougainvillea
of that courtyard compared to the graffiti etched in the empty storefronts of
The Galaxy, right next door, makes me wish L. Ron Hubbard had started his
writing career sooner.

With seemingly little self-awareness, Scientology
has become the unofficial pioneer of Hollywood's gentrification movement. But
why? In the 60's and 70's, when Scientology was staking its claim, land was
cheap. What spurred them to scout and restore aging façades instead? In addition
to his talents for spinning a religion out of a mediocre science fiction career,
was Hubbard was an urban planning visionary?

Maybe, I thought, in
Scientology speak, architectural renovation serves as a stirring metaphor for
spiritual rebirth. Like a suppressive robbing an engram bank, I needed answers.

The crown jewel of
Scientology's heirlooms is the Chateau Elysee, a 1929 replica of a 17th century
French chateau now known as the Celebrity Centre International. It was built by Eleanor
Ince, widow of Thomas Ince, the original movie mogul to house luminaries like
Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Errol Flynn and Ginger Rogers.
It's also where Katie Holmes came, reportedly almost every day during the past
year, to study. I chose this as my architectural gateway into Scientology.

I call ahead, saying I'm an architecture enthusiast and I'd like to set
up an appointment to tour the building with someone who knows about the
restoration process. They assure me they have someone on hand for just that
request, and urge me to come any day, from 9am until 10pm. Their doors are
always open.

The doors are, in fact, closed, when I arrive, so I tell the
guard smiling outside why I'm here. This request puzzles him greatly, and he
guides me in, looking for backup.

In 1992, the Church devoted over one
million hours to restoring the Chateau Elysee to its 1929 state. The lobby is
Rococo-perfect. Hand-painted frescoes cover the ceilings and most of the walls.
Original crystal fixtures sprout from every surface, throwing their glittery
patina over the room. Thick, large-footed furniture is upholstered in sumptuous
Victorian florals. I sit in a burgundy armchair and stare up at the blue plaster
sky, rimmed with clouds and columns.

A woman named Trish scurries to my
side, asking if I'm indeed the person who wanted to know about the building's
architecture. I ask her if she's the restoration expert. "Well, I know a little
bit about the building," she says. "But I know a lot about Scientology, and
that's who owns the building!"

But — the restoration expert? "I'm not
sure who you spoke to," she says. "But I could show you around. And you could
learn a little about Scientology on the way?"

I'd only gotten a peek at
the famous pink-and-green checkerboarded marble floors. And the French gardens —
I could barely see them from the street since they stretched canvas around the
property's perimeter. "I'd love to learn about Scientology," I
say.

Perfectly centered in the salmon recesses of the lobby's wide cream
paneling are huge flat-screened monitors. The tour begins by walking from screen
to screen, where wide-eyed people demonstrate Scientology's ability to overcome
life's trauma — in this case, attacks by German Shepherds. I pretend to watch
but secretly memorize the carved gold woodwork along the wall.

My
e-meter readings are taken in the corner of a sitting room with an ivory grand
piano. When I'm forced to grip metal cylinders and recall a traumatic moment
myself — I conjure visions of vicious German Shepherds — I observe how well the
scarlet curtain swags match the red in the carpet. The auditing classrooms are
upstairs, on a level painted entirely in pastoral motif, with glossy-eyed
rabbits prancing along the chair rail. The world-famous purification program, a
regimen which releases toxins so violently that students have been known to have
drug flashbacks, takes place in a pristine black-and-white tiled
spa.

When we step into the garden, I audibly gasp. This is the view I've
strained to see over the jasmine-entwined fence for five years — the Chateau
Elysee, unobscured. Towering above neighboring cinderblock apartments, it's
quite literally a castle. Turrets rise from fluffy Englemann oaks to spike the
sky. A splashy fountain drowns out the hum of the Hollywood Freeway. The
afternoon sun filters through 90-foot palms onto feather-thin ferns that
surround an orangerie. I'm in the Loire, not Los Angeles. I feel dangerously
close to being brainwashed with period detail.

In my reverie I point at a
leafy balcony on the sixth floor. The top four floors are home to the hotel
suites heaped with history. I have a list of which celebrity lived in which room
— each with original furnishings — and I'd like to see Bogart's or Hepburn's,
maybe. Trish shakes her head without dimming her smile. It's a functioning hotel
for visiting Scientologists, she says. They're off-limits. The tour is
over.

Trish guides me back into a tiny office where I politely decline
several classes that will lead to enhanced professional growth. She looks
troubled when I don't write my phone number down on her evaluation sheet. I get
it: the door to Scientology will reopen if I pay $35 for "The Personal
Efficiency Course." I stare out the window, where Eleanor Ince designed a moat
to encircle her sculpted boxwoods, and seriously consider it.

Hubbard
didn't live to see the completion of the Celebrity Centre's restoration, but he
did author a 1955 initiative called Project Celebrity, in which he acknowledged
his desire to recruit those who "entertain, fashion and take care of the world."
The century of star power threaded through these buildings draws a direct line
to the headline-snagging Scientologists of today. Even the consecrations
concentrated in Hollywood's historic entertainment district milk every bit of
their Walk of Fame locations: the L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition in the Guaranty
Building packs as much bang into its guided tour as the Hollywood Wax Museum
down the street.

The Chateau Elysee has the same theme-park appeal; as a
castle it rivals the one inhabited by Sleeping Beauty, a mere 39 miles away. But
the fairy-tale perfection is also a physical representation of the hyper-idyllic
world in which Scientologists so firmly believe. Scientology preaches "a
civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able
can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to
greater heights..." A building frozen in the prime of its bygone era becomes a
more believable refuge from the complications of modern life.

Perhaps
then, the distinctive landmarks serve as a motivational tool? As students of
Scientology ascend the Bridge towards total self-determinism, maybe they also
climb the architectural ranks. They start as cashiers at the Hubbard bookstore
on the ground floor of the Hotel Christie; the penthouse of the Chateau Elysee
tantalizing them along with their dreams of becoming level-seven Operating Thetans.
Brochures for Flag, the spiritual retreat center and Mecca of Scientology,
promise "maximum case gain" at the palatial 1927 Mediterranean-revival Fort Harrison Hotel, in Clearwater,
Florida.

Hubbard's legacy has ensured that Hollywood's Golden Age is safe
— albeit only for the enjoyment of those who have been saved themselves. Yet
even our local government has failed to protect historic buildings from demise,
and he's managed to elevate our secular spaces — hotels, banks, theaters — into
untouchable sacred grounds. Given our track record, maybe it's for our own
good.

And, like most of their tenets, Scientology has decided that what's
good for Hollywood is good for everyone. They already have their eye on a lovely
Art Deco masterpiece in a town near you.

Alissa Walker is a
freelance design writer and co-editor of Unbeige. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado's
journalism school and Portfolio Center. She writes from a home tucked into a
hill below a 1928 Frank Lloyd Wright house and above the lights of
Hollywood.

Posted in: Architecture,
Cities + Places, Culture, Ideas

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Alissa
Walker is editor of the design blog UnBeige.

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Comments [31]

Alissa, this has to be the worst excuse for why
Scientology is "good" that I've ever heard.

I too lived in the heart of
Hollywood, for 11 years in fact. I've been inside the Celebrity Center a number
of times (it was for a "business seminar" bait & switch scam, oh those were
ignorant days). Yeah, it's beautiful, but at what cost? It's beautiful in the
same way I think a mushroom cloud has a graceful aesthetic.

The church
is not giving squat back to Hollywood, or the world for that matter. They're
claiming it for themselves. They're hoarding real estate and keeping the value
high. It's a pretty effective means to make billions of dollars. Just ask Trump,
Wynn, or the Academy of Art in San Francisco.

Bobby Dragulescu

05.14.06
12:53

I just checked with the Thetans, and they said
everyone should put back on thier aluminum foil hats and suits and stay in their
basements until the mother ship arrives. Standing by...

Joe Moran

05.14.06
02:24

Where to start? I could point out that five years ago
the corner of Hollywood and Highland was hardly vacant; the giant project that
dominates this corner was about to open to the public. But instead I think I
should describe my own preservation experience at the Celebrity
Center in the early 1990's. At the time I was the Principal Architect of the
Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) which oversaw
and still oversees today the Hollywood
Redevelopment Project. This project area includes many of the properties
that the Scientologists own in Hollywood.

I was invited to the Celebrity
Center to try and negotiate a solution to an historic preservation problem;
mainly that the Scientologists had repeatedly ignored demands by the City of Los
Angeles to stop work and cease non-permitted illegal demolitions within their
historic buildings; most particularly the 1923 Guaranty Building that is
featured in the illustrations in this post and on the Scientology
web page.

The Scientologists knew what they wanted to do in the Guaranty
Building and it did not include getting permits much less following the
Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Historic Presertvation. They
most certainly at the time were not interested in maintaining the remaining
historic fabric in the bank lobby, maintaiing the intact office corridors from
the 1920's, keeping the historic windows nor resolving numerous other
preservation and building code violations that I vividly remember. Historic
preservationsist who had fought hard in the 1980's to designate landmarks in
Hollywood were up in arms, the Scientologists were the enemy, and I was the
unfortunate point person who was designated to go break bread and figure out a
truce and a solution.

Perhaps the Scientologists were interested in
preservation but only on their terms. They stated this loud and clear in both
private and public situations. I recall being denounced by a Scientology
representative at an annual public meeting of the Redevelopment Agency in
Hollywood who claimed that I was personally depriving Scientology of their
property rights. Actually that was not true, I just refused to sign their
permits for months until they agreed to minimally meet preservation standards.

But let's get back to the lunch. No doubt Scientology's culinary
standards have improved in the fifteen years since this repast took place but I
recall that lunch to be unfortunate. After the requisite tour of the facility
and breathless references to Scientology stars (in those days they were most
excited by John Travolta). I was ushered into an ornate private dining room. I
was seated at one head of a long table formally set with cloth table. At the
other head was one of the Los Angeles' most powerful business lobbyists, Maureen
Kindell, who had been hired to represent the interests of the Church. She seemed
as embarrassed to be there as I was, and kept winking at me as the Scientology
functionaries seated inbetween us worked to convince me that they were ready to
reform. Towards the end of the meal the Scientologists, Kindell, and I agreed
that from now on the Church would be most cooperative. Kindell winked one last
time and asked if they could they please now get their permit. Mostly, I still
recall the leathery chicken, soft overcooked asparagus, heavy cream sauce that
tasted like flour, and glad relief when I was finally released from this
environment - my only obligation to sign off their permit when and if they
follwed the preservation rules - which to their credit they subsequently did. I
am not sure I would call this the lunch that spurred Hollywood's preservation
renaissance. I remind myself of these details because throughout the meal the
Scientologists spent a lot of time describing the world class standards of their
cookery as I tried to choke down their food. Their simultaneous assurances that
their preservation experts had the future of the Guaranty Building well in hand
did not inspire confidence. I for one will remain ever vigilant.

While I
am writing all this from memory, suffice it to say that the Scientologists may
have spent millions of hours restoring their landmarks but I can well
demonstrate that lowly government officials were forced to spend hundreds if not
thousands of hours monitoring this group's then intransigent attitude towards
preservation. This last point is critical given the tenor of the post.

There are many preservation heroes in Hollywood and while Scientology
should be commended for their eventual cooperation on several buildings this
hardly qualifies them as heroes of preservation and Hollywood revitalization
history. Unfortunately they can only be heroes to the misinformed who don't
bother to do their homework and have clearly not spent much time learning about
preservation and redevelopment issues in Los Angeles. I was a minor player in
the dramas that "saved" Hollywood: it's worthwhile here to mention a few far
more important individuals and groups. For decades both the Los
Angeles Conservancy (who by the way fought continuously and very publicly
for a decade to save the Ambassador Hotel - hardly an example of a resource
evaporating with little remorse) and Hollywood Heritage have struggled
to both document and save Hollywood's and Los Angeles' architectural resources.
They provided critical support when I was working on the Guaranty Building.
Local activists and government leaders have also been committed participants at
each phase of Hollywood's redevelopment. Christy Johnson McAvoy has worked
tirelessly on preservation issues in this corner of Los Angeles and willingly
walked the halls of the Guaranty Building when the Scientologists were engaged
in wanton destruction. Other heroes include Fran Offenhauser, Bill Roschen,
Barton Myers, Michael Woo, Jackie Goldberg, Hillary Gittelman, and Robert
Nudelman. Nudelman, a Hollywood gadfly, was a pain in many a government
officials backside (and probably still is) but being on the street everyday he
figured out who was not doing the right thing with regard to preservation
(including the Scientologists) as well as numerous other issues usually sooner
than anybody else. One could go on and on.

Suffice it to say that when
the history of Hollywood redevelopment is written the Scientologists will be
noted as major Hollywood property owners who initially had to be brow beaten by
public and private interests into becoming preservationists. The real heroes of
Hollywood revitalization and preservation are hardly unknown or blasé. They
certainly have never been dispassionate about saving this community's legacy and
fostering better development. Unfortunately they and their efforts, both the
good, the bad and the ugly, were not the subject of this post - a post, however
well intentioned, nevertheless written from the point of view of a fictional
(perhaps Thetan?) design universe that I do not live in.

John Kaliski

05.14.06
07:16

A fascinating insight, Mr. Kaliski, that tells the
other side of the story - how hard it is to get people to do the right thing. It
does tie in to the issue of eminent domain -- properly used, not abused as of
late -- the idea that some parts of a city or town are important enough, of
historic or ecological value, and therefore are "bigger" than any one owner. The
City of Montreal is using its powers in this regard (finally) to force out
derelict landlords and property owners who have let historic edifices decay.

While it's not the focus of this particular discussion - and I'd prefer
not to sidetrack things - I refer curious readers who may only be familiar in
passing with Scientology as a "wacky" Hollywood celebrity cult to the following
site, which sheds some disturbing lights on their true aims and activities.

www.xenu.net

aj

05.14.06
11:01

This reasoning is bizarre, and the argument is
incredibly irresponsible. I am a writer who was harassed and threatened by The
Church of Scientology for four years. Because the "church" is so secretive and
so flatly dishonest about their intentions and beliefs you obvioulsy have no
idea what you are praising.

The increased traffic on the Scientology
websites you cite as well as the coverage on television and radio is likely 99%
well deserved ridicule of the absurd sci-fi tenets of this "religion," which
from my direct experience of having my home and property and person threatened,
I can tell you is in reality a creepy fascist cult.

Design Observer
should have though much harder before letting this one go out. What next,
"Albert Speer Is Awesome"?

Eleanor

05.15.06
01:52

And what's with their logo? Any insight on that thing
with the pyramids / triangles? And does it have a snake someplace in it too?

Tselentis

05.15.06
07:11

I'd like to offer these detailed descriptions of Scientology's many
logos, and a clarification: the intersection of Hollywood and Highland was
indeed a vacant lot when I first saw it...although it was quickly transformed
into one of the most disappointing development disasters in LA history. The $640
million monstrosity opened in November
2001.

I'm thrilled to hear John's story. Until now I have found
nothing but words of praise from Hollywood city officials concerning the Church.
He was just the person I should have been directed to during my visit to the
Celebrity Centre and his experience explains why they were less than forthcoming
about discussing the restoration process. But whether the Church was strongarmed
into such beliefs or not, they've obviously reformed their ways, and made
preservation a priority in their subsequent acquisitions.

While I
support and promote the LA Conservancy and Hollywood Heritage, as
donation-dependent non-profits, their efforts are limited. In the case of the
Ambassador Hotel, the LA Conservancy initiated negotiations
with the Los Angeles Unified School District, but
lost, and the hotel was demolished. If the Church of Scientology had decided
to throw their weight (and their cash) behind the same effort, we'd have a
meticulously-preserved Cocoanut Grove. However, they'd probably be serving
mediocre food.

Alissa Walker

05.15.06
07:30

a clarification: the intersection of Hollywood and
Highland was indeed a vacant lot when I first saw it..
obviously you
timing was off unless they built that whole complex in a few month....

ps

05.15.06
11:30

The Church of Scientology has every reason to be a
good citizen in Hollywood. They live there and good citizens in their civic
nature applaud their efforts with regard to historic buildings, supporting
parades, feeding homeless people, paving streets, etc. My points are in fact not
in opposition to the capital improvement efforts of Scientology in Hollywood but
to the framework of facts and consequent reading of history and place
constructed by the post.

The following paragraph spurs my thoughts:

But if you live where I do, in the actual city of Hollywood, just a
few blocks away from where the Oscars are held, you see the Church of
Scientology as somewhat of a savior. Within a two-mile corridor along Hollywood
Boulevard, the Church owns eight historic buildings, four of which are on the
National Register of Historic Places. In a neighborhood where architectural
triumphs evaporate with little remorse, Scientology is the most ardent
preservationist force in town.

1. A minor point: Hollywood may be a
state of mind, is a place, but has not been a city since the early 1900s. Many
people who live in Hollywood regret this inconvenience.
2.Scientology
maintained and improved their buildings, But the impression the post leaves is
that they have been a key leader in the struggles to revitalize Hollywood as a
place. This is very far from the reality that I know and diminishes the very
significant role of people and organizations who have dedicated their lives as
leaders in the community reinventing this part of Los Angeles.
3. I have a
pet peeve with the too readily accepted myth that people in Los Angeles do not
care about it's history or landmarks. While certain buildings may be torn down
in Los Angeles and Hollywood (as they are in all cities) it is not because
people in Los Angeles are somehow more blase about history then people in any
other place. The Hollywood Boulevard National Register Historic District was
initiated by local citizenry in the 1980s who cherished the architecture and
history of Hollywood. Additionally, the fact is that the Los Angeles Conservancy
is one of the largest preservation organizations in the country with over 8000
members and is very very active throughout the city. I am always amazed and
impressed when thier very active board sues as a last resort to ensure that the
laws are followed and that landmarks are respected. Could they do more? Sure,
but to describe their efforts as "limited" when the work of this Board exposes
them as individuals to great personal financial risk is unfortunate.
4. The
Ambassador Hotel which is mentioned in passing in the post is not in Hollywood
and is not in a National Register Historic District. The Ambassador is in the
Wilshire corridor (four miles distant) and mid-Wilshire did not have a strong
preservation constituency at the start of the Ambassador process. If these
component factors had been present in mid-Wilshire, as they were in Hollywood
when misguided renovation of the Guaranty Building was begun, the results might
have been very different. The point is that somebody had to lay the ground work
in Hollywood and the real saviors of Hollywood and its revitalization have been
ignored and history has been tweaked in the effort to construct a story that
reads more like a public relations puff piece.
5. There is no reason to
comment on the notion that Scientology is the most ardent preservation force in
town.

I appreciate, as I trust Alissa does, that history and symbols are
relative and subject to interpretation. Surely none of us has a lock on the
truth and forums such as this are invaluable at ferreting out the facts. I do
feel strongly that this post constructs a too dubious story about place-making
that leaves a false impression of history and reality. I believe we should
always strive hard to construct histories and produce journalism that has a
vital sense of accuracy or we have to accept that everything is relativistic
personal impressions. For me this latter option would be less than civilized; we
would give up that part of being human that wills us to construct a less
forgetful and hopefully more moral culture.

John Kaliski

05.16.06
01:06

I was born at the old Cedars of Lebanon hospital on
Fountain. It's now a Scientology center, and I too had grudgingly said at
parties that I was glad the place was still there, no matter who's occupying it
now. But after trying to get in one day, and getting the bum's rush, that naive
sentiment immediately became history. In fact, on the way back to my car, I
found myself wishing the place had been levelled, furious that some powder
blue-clad robot was probably counting money orders in the delivery room where I
came into this world.

The several friends I have who are also Cedars
alumni feel the same way; one says it's like seeing your grade school girlfriend
and finding out she's married to the guy who ate bugs on the playground. But my
problem is not necessarily with Scientology, not in this context anyway. It's
more with the johnny-come-lately tourists who have lived in LA for 5 years,
slapped a KCRW sticker on their Explorers (Hybrid), and loudly exclaim while at
the Hollywood Farmer's Market about how they've just discovered the cutest
place, a place my dad's been taking me for 40 years.

These are the
people we saw at the closing night of the Nickodell, their first night, who
pointed at the crowd and nervily asked the poor owner how he could close with so
many customers in the place. The same ones at the last night of the Cocoanut
Grove who sipped ice water and mentally calculated how much the silverware would
go for. LA is not Disneyland, and when something dies, shut up and let us kids
who have grown up with these places mourn in peace, let them be frozen in our
memories, along with the junkies and sex shop owners who have actually toughed
it out here. The places Scientology "preserves" have the look and feel of
stuffed corpses, prolonging death, not life.

Of course, hard workers
like Mr. Kaliski and the LA CONSERVANCY and the like are the true non-whining,
honorary citizens of our city, natives or not, and if they can save something
the way it was meant to be saved, more power. But for real, for the right
reasons, and not because some dolt driving down Franklin on her way to an
appointment wants to see over a hedge.

jason katsufrakis

05.16.06
01:14

obviously your timing was off unless they built
that whole complex in a few months....

Yes, ps, thanks for pointing
that out. Construction on Hollywood and Highland was well underway by May 2001.
My mistake.

John and Jason both bring worlds of insight to this
discussion due to their experiences, which are precisely the stories that I want
to hear. I surely do not claim to be an expert nor a native. But I walk the
streets of Hollywood nearly every day and I have devoted my time in Los Angeles
to learning as much as I can about the place I live and what came before. I
don't mean to reimagine history, and I am aware of the well-known heroes in
Hollywood's battle to preserve its heritage. Scientology came upon these
buildings before most major restoration efforts began to take shape. There is
little public information about it. I wanted to know why.

There is no
reason to comment on the notion that Scientology is the most ardent preservation
force in town.

Perhaps it is the word 'ardent' that's troublesome,
since it denotes some kind of moral motivation for intent. Scientology is
definitely the most 'visible' preservationist, since they slap signs on their
buildings that can be seen for miles. But it is exactly that--Jason's
frustration of seeing the hospital where he was born being rebranded by the
Church, or the question of if saving a building is ever "for the right reasons,"
that I wanted to discuss in this post.

Alissa Walker

05.16.06
11:23

Here's Michael Beirut boo-hooing on one post about
fake plagarism, and yet on this post Ms. Walker serves up blatant baloney
described as ...research technique? Just what is ambiguous about this statement:
"With seemingly little self-awareness, Scientology has become the unofficial
pioneer of Hollywood's gentrification movement."? Is this some new journalistic
technique taught at the University of Colorado, first make something up, and
then hope that someone corrects you as a way of getting at "the truth?" Or is
this just another case of the current fad for "truthiness"? Scientologists as
civic-minded preservationsists? Sounds good to me!

"There is little
public information about it. I wanted to know why." Hey, how about starting with
the LA Times? I think they wrote a few hundred articles on this very subject
over that last decade (before Ms. Walker moved there, but still, she could
have...looked it up. On line. At the library. Somewhere).

P.S. On the
newsstand today, a whole issue of Los Angeles magazine dedicated to the revival
of Hollywood, attributing it to a whole set of forces driven mostly by the
players Mr. Kaliski mentioned: I guess they forgot to go to the Celebrity Center
for their "research."

tarpitizen

05.16.06
02:27

Wow. I never thought I would end up reading an article
that is more or less an endorsement of the Church of Scientology on Design
Observer.

First you ban Art Chantry and now this? You've lost me for
good.

FYI—Hollywood is not a independent municipality, it is a section
of this city called Los Angeles that you may have heard of.

There
should be some kind of law prohibiting non-natives of Los Angeles from writing
about CoS—seriously these wacko fascist pyramid scheming nutballs have ruined so
many lives, which obviously you know nothing about.

Guy_B_Bored

05.16.06
06:19

You got it right. Scientology takes pride in the
buildings it purchases, including magnificent buildings in London, Budapest and
Mexico City.

What have the religious bigots who populate the comments
on this page ever done to protect human rights and religious freedom? Almost
assuredly nothing. Scientology is at the vanguard of protecting human rights and
religious freedom, and it has the cojones to go toe-to-toe with a $1.6 Trillion
a year industry that pushes drugs and fraudulent "brain diseases" to collect
insurance dollars. Go to www.infocenter2.org and get some facts.

Mathew Brown

05.16.06
07:41

A comment was made about a hospital (the old
Cedars-Sinai Hospital) where the writer was born. That was a boarded eye sore
vacant for years. The Church of Scientlogy purchased it and renovated it fully
into a state of the art facility to provide services for the many thousands of
Scientologists. The street, L Ron Hubbard Way, in itself is a statement of
design excellence in the use of brick to resurface and beautify an entire street
with City recognition for that accomplishment. www.infocenter2.org

Mathew Brown

05.16.06
07:56

oh jeez, who left the basement door open?

jason katsufrakis

05.16.06
08:31

I liked your commentary, Alissa. And don't mind the
sniping. It goes with the territory.

But allow me to insert my own jab:
Okay, Hollywood & Highland isn't perfect, but I'll take that any day to the
miserable, bleak parking lot (now THAT was a "monstrosity") that used to occupy
the space it now sits on.

Coleen Wynters

05.16.06
08:52

A response to Mr. Kaliski and the rest of the
naysayers:

While the early days of renovation work in Los Angeles for
the Church of Scientology did have see some conflicts with city permit officials
etc., this was mostly due to the fact that much of the architectural and design
work came from volunteers - many of them European and Australian - who were not
aware enough of city regulations, who had an intense eagerness to "get the show
on the road" and perceived city bureaucrats in a negative light.

By the
time I was involved in restoration work with the Church of Scientology
(1991-96), I saw tremendous dedication towards preserving historical buildings,
and an attitude of friendliness and cooperation towards city officials and the
permitting process. As in any large architectural project, OSHA was at times
perceived as the nemesis, as we struggled to comply with all handicap and zoning
laws and at the same time accomodate for all needed office and public spaces. We
made it work.

During this time, I recall three of our senior staff
members getting their contractor licenses. I remember all of us doing special
courses to learn what the city requirements were, and I recall being told by
Scientology executives about the importance for respecting the process.

The intense pace never slowed down. We renovated an incredible amount of
square feet during those years. But the level of professionalism did increase
with each project, and by the mid-nineties, city officials were praising us for
the excellent documentation, attention to detail and transparency of our work.

The results speak for themselves. Scientology buildings are a
preservationist's dream.

On a personal note, I don't see why an article
speaking highly about the architectural value of Scientology buildings must
immediately attract anti-Scientology bigots. Sure, I do realize that most of
these posters subscribe to the same forum; and I realize they were probably all
told to come here and post negativism.

But it becomes a bit of a joke.

It's like you can't post an article about the color of a Scientologist's
tie without one of these fanatical bigots saying "Humbug! Scientology bad! Tie
stolen! Silk not imported! Probably poliester anyway!

Sincerely,

Greg Churilov
[Yes, I'm a Scientologist. Deal with it.]

http://www.liveandgrow.org

Greg Churilov

05.16.06
10:00

"...much of the architectural and design work came
from volunteers - many of them European and Australian - who were not aware
enough of city regulations, who had an intense eagerness to "get the show on the
road" and perceived city bureaucrats in a negative light."
....which,
back in the day, apparently included attempts to intimidate those bureaucrats,
according to bureaucrats I hung with back then...always the sign of the truly
civic-minded! But enough about the Thetans. Congratulations to Ms. Walker for
the result of her well-intentioned "journalism:" Design Observer now populated
with Scientologists, those other notable purveyors of the truth (and design
wisdom).

tarpitizen

05.17.06
12:57

"There is little public information about it. I
wanted to know why." Hey, how about starting with the LA Times? I think they
wrote a few hundred articles on this very subject over that last decade

tarpitizen, I did indeed start with the LA Times, which ran 683
stories about Scientology from 1985 until the present. There are two stories
about the Church's Hollywood preservation efforts: a 1990 story about the
compromise reached with city planners concerning the Chateau Elysee's neon sign,
and a 2003 photo spread in the Los Angeles Times Magazine which documents
the Chateau Elysee's restoration.

Alissa Walker

05.17.06
03:09

Perhaps the scant coverage of the LA times about
preservation by Scientology reflects the dimensions of "their" story?. But the
Times wrote plenty about the struggle to save Hollywood, and the activities of
CRA, the Hollywood councilman's district, etc. Your note only amplifies my
point: you drove this post with a thesis uncomplicated by facts. And though
Hollywood as a specific governmental entitiy may be "imaginary," the city of Los
Angeles and the ongoing struggle over it's nature is not.

tarpitizen

05.17.06
09:21

Thanks to Alissa for posting a well-written commentary
on the Church of Scientology's history in Hollywood preservation. In her
original essay, Alissa aptly highlights the irony implicit in how the
organization gradually adopted community standards as it addressed its
properties. The fact that Scientology's beliefs are crudely disguised paeans to
fascism and superstition hardly distinguishes them from other laughably childish
attempts at philosophy which routinely pass themselves off as religions. It
seems somewhat beside the point. As a preservationist of many years standing, I
have seen similar stories played out with respect to the Catholic Church,
municipalities and private developers. Sometimes these parties get in step with
the community and sometimes they don't. Preservationists might decry the lack of
accessibility to the public that the Church of Scientology maintains with these
properties ... I would say rightly so. That indicates there's more work to be
done. In this little storm of controversy Alissa is experiencing firsthand the
strong feelings that preservationists have—feelings that sometimes devolve into
sniping and peevishness. But some of the writers here seem to have overlooked
that the irony factor is in fact Alissa's theme and the focus of her essay.
Perhaps her more strident critics should reread her piece; maybe on second
reading they'd get the subtext. It seemed pretty obvious to me.

Tom Biederbeck

05.17.06
10:16

Don't you mean, "Why Hollywood is good for
Scientology". Where else to sell the idea that "the whole universe and
everything in it is about ME"?

raymond

05.17.06
10:55

Scientology is definitely the most 'visible'
preservationist, since they slap signs on their buildings that can be seen for
miles.

And they're not the first "preservationists" to do so either.
Check
it out!

Bobby Dragulescu

05.17.06
11:46

If only South Park would do an episode about this...
The Preservationists vs. The Scientologists.

Please Matt and
Trey...where are you in a time of need?

L K Jones

05.17.06
02:43

Alissa, as you can now see, the mere mention of
$cientology is guaranteed to bring out a phalanx of Elron's OT MkVIII
Flamebots™, and, in response, me and my Marcabian minions. Yeah, Churilov, my
obedience implant that the eeeeeevil Lord Xenu placed in my neck began flashing
as soon as this article appeared. I was compelled by his Dark Majesty to
besmirch the brilliance of Hubbard.
As for $cientology's "fabulous taste",
I guess so, if by "taste" you mean Liberace meets Albert Speer. Check this out
to see what kind of taste they really have . . .

http://www.rtc.org/en_US/presentations/newyear2000.html

Artoo 45
Marcabian Acres
Teegeeack

Artoo 45

05.17.06
03:21

Great article and so evocatively put together, too.
Almost makes me want to start sneaking into these building, or getting "tested"
so I can see them up close.

And what's with these anti-scientology
zealots posting about this article? Totally unecessary/unrelated jabbering on
about "facists" and whatnot! Isn't this about archetecture? They're more
annoying than the scientology zealots -and I live in Hollywood so I've dealt
with a few believe me. They aren't as evil as some people are saying.

Rob Adams

05.17.06
05:55

Was pleased to find this website.

upo

05.20.06
03:49

"First you ban Art Chantry and now this? You've lost
me for good"

ditto

what the hell is wrong with you beirut?

piemel

06.07.06
02:44

A city that parleys is half gotten. Gerrard.

Gerrard

10.27.06
12:16

75 years of a VERY full life brought me to fashion my
life moto:
AESTHETICS, HIGYENE AND GOOD HEALTH go together.
Scientology
contains the three of them and therefore, after a lifelong of frustrated search,
I adopted it.
Let the dogs bark while the line of happy people passes by. I
hope they have one day the guts to find out by themselves what is hidden in our
tantalizing teachings...and join the row. The ones who dont, will soon enough
tire of barking and find other targets to attack.
Grandma

Marianne

04.15.08
05:57

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