For the first LAVA Sunday Salon of 2018, architectural historian Nathan Marsak (LAVA’s 2015 Visionary of the Year) will give an illustrated talk tracing how shifting aesthetic dicta from the chieftains of Good Taste morphed the way in which the lost Victorian neighborhood of Bunker Hill appeared and functioned. He will show that while the hill’s fabled descent into decrepitude and demolition is often touted as borne of social engineering and political transgressions, much of its history relates to how the arbiters of mores abandoned it as “lowbrow” after its construction.

We’ll explore architectural styles including Eastlake and Queen Anne, Mansard and Mission, as they found and fell out of favor with the likes of Edward Bok and Elsie de Wolfe; investigate how Edith Wharton and The Munsters shaped and reflected the cultural milieu; and review the manner in which the Los Angeles Times mocked the hill’s architecture through the 1950s, prefiguring redevelopment by the CRA.

At the conclusion of the talk, we’ll take a walking tour of the immediate neighborhood, looking at extant buildings and visiting locations of lost ones featured in the presentation.

Photo: Martz Flats, Southeast Corner 7th & Hope in 1939. Built by Henry Martz. Julius V. Krause, architect, 1898.

ABOUT THE SALON: On the last Sunday of the month starting at 2pm, LAVA welcomes interested individuals to gather in downtown Los Angeles for the Sunday Salon, featuring a presentation by a LAVA Visionary and opportunities to meet and connect with one another. Immediately after the Salon, a walking tour expands on the Salon theme. If you’re interested in joining LAVA as a creative contributor or an attendee, we recommend Salon attendance as an introduction to this growing community.

RESERVATIONS: The LAVA Sunday Salon and walking tour are free, but reservations are required. There are no “plus ones,” so tell your friends to sign up individually. Please don’t reserve unless you plan to attend. To reserve your spot for this free event, click on the “Buy Tickets” button above.