Altadena’s historic sites have never been fully documented. The LA Conservancy is fixing that

The Los Angeles Conservancy is working on a full record of historic sites in Altadena — and you can help make sure its heritage is remembered.

The nonprofit has spent a year documenting significant spots that were lost in the January fires, but that’s been hard to do because of gaps in official information. Altadena has plenty of historic areas, but there hasn't been a comprehensive survey.

That’s why the conservancy has expanded its fire-related tracking to cover all of the community — with residents’ help. Its first public meeting is expected to be announced this month. Here’s what you should know.

Taking stock of Altadena

What makes something significant? Historic resource surveys help determine that. Like the city of L.A.’s robust survey, these are usually comprehensive documents that assess a community’s built heritage by researching and identifying important buildings.

They can influence land use planning and essentially lay out the case for preservation, taking into account things like design, time period and cultural importance.

But official tracking of significant sites in Altadena is fairly slim. CEO Adrian Scott Fine says the L.A. Conservancy ran into this while working on its Eaton Fire impact map.

“What it realized for us is that in the city of L.A., there had been good survey data that existed prior to the fire,” Fine said. “In Altadena, it was much less so. In many ways, we didn’t even know what we lost.”

Some of the existing records have helped. There’s a county-run African American historic resources survey from 2020 and a volunteer-led database from Altadena Heritage, focused on architecture. Some sites have also been put on local, state and national registries, but Fine says doing a full review of the community will create a clearer picture of Altadena.

“ This is the way for us to now go forward and say, OK, here’s what is still surviving. What’s the story? Why is it important to acknowledge that and tell that story?” Fine said.

Finding more historic resources could also help prevent future losses in a disaster, he said. L.A. County planning documents show just 12 historic resources within the Eaton Fire’s perimeter — three of which were destroyed.

Reimagining heritage

The L.A. Conservancy already has mapped hundreds of historic resources in the Eaton Fire. Since expanding that work, Fine says it’s helped them redefine what heritage is.

“We traditionally are focused on the built environment — historic buildings, communities, neighborhoods,” he said. “We will continue doing that, but I think it’s amplified even more so for us [that] real heritage comes from people.”

That’s why the project will document important sites, along with what they call “intangible heritage” — community traditions, oral histories and cultural practices.

They’ll also do “cultural asset mapping,” which goes beyond standard historic places to track things like where artists lived and legacy businesses.

Altadena residents and local organizations are encouraged to participate across the initiative to share what matters to them. A date for the public meeting is expected to be announced soon.