Beyond significance: integrity analysis considerations for modern residential tracts of the San Fernando Valley

Southern California, particularly the Los Angeles area, has a high concentration of residential tracts developed after World War II. Heritage conservation efforts, based on a well-established case for significance of the postwar suburban landscape, will benefit from examination of integrity assessment methodology to aid in implementation of conservation tools, such as the Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ). Two postwar residential tracts, each composed of Modern residences, have been designated in the City of Los Angeles. The Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract (1948) was the first to receive designation in 2003 for its significance in patterns of postwar residential development and its association with architect Gregory Ain and landscape architect Garrett Eckbo. Balboa Highlands (1962-64), a subdivision designed by Claude Oakland with A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons, and developed by Joseph Eichler, became the second postwar residential tract to be designated an HPOZ in 2009. It remains the only postwar residential tract with historic designation in the San Fernando Valley, despite eligibility for dozens more tracts identified by SurveyLA, a comprehensive Historic Resources Survey of the City of Los Angeles. This research uses findings from SurveyLA to emphasize the need for application of conservation tools to the postwar suburban landscape of the San Fernando Valley, and provides analysis of integrity assessment strategies used in three Modern residential tracts. Case studies for the Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract and Balboa Highlands summarize lessons learned through the designation process and long-term management of Modern tract residences. Exploration of integrity assessment methodology continues in a third case study, Palmer and Krisel’s Living-Conditioned subdivision (1957-58), a Modern residential tract in the San Fernando Valley that has been identified as an eligible HPOZ. The San Fernando Valley is a prime example of a suburban landscape that requires recognition for its significance in demonstrating patterns of postwar residential development and a high concentration of historic residential resources associated with notable architects. Examining integrity assessment methodology will assist this effort, in the San Fernando Valley and beyond, by acknowledging that significance is only part of a successful heritage conservation strategy for the postwar residential tract.