Larchmont Chronicle
Larchmont Chronicle The Voice of the Community since 1963
presort standard u.s. postage
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south gate ca. permit no. 294
APRIL 2013
vol. 50, no. 4 • delivered to the 76,439 readers in hancock park • windsor square • fremont place • park labrea • larchmont village • Miracle Mile
Lack of inventory reason for rise in home prices
SECTION ONE
Realtors question 85 percent figure
SUMMER CAMPS Pages 16 to 25 FIREFIGHTERS to flip pancakes. 4 GARDEN tour to benefit schools.
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HOPE NET serving 25 years.
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STREETCARS, heart of the Blvd. 11 HEARST reporter still at it. 15 FILM fundraiser on pointe. 24 PARTY takes on Spanish theme. 30 JAPANESE cuisine on menu. 33 MOVIES score good ratings.
The escalating prices of homes in Hancock Park and Windsor Square far outweigh what is happening in other city neighborhoods. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times said the Southern California median price for single-family resale homes has risen 34.5 percent since bottoming out at the beginning of 2009. In Hancock Park and Ko-
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SECTION TWO Real Estate Home & Garden
Chronicle tribute benefits Ebell Gala is May 17 A tribute to community trailblazer Jane Gilman, publisher and editor of the Larchmont Chronicle, will be held on Fri., May 17 to benefit The Ebell of Los Angeles’ Preservation & Restoration Fund. Gilman co-founded the Chronicle 50 years ago. The Golden Jubilee celebration will be held at the historic Ebell, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., a national landmark opened in 1927. It is among many nonprofits and neighborhood groups the Chronicle has contributed to the past five decades. Others are the Larchmont See JUBILEE, p 13
reatown, the prices are up 85 percent, according to the article. Coldwell Banker’s Lisa Hutchins doesn’t agree with the figures. “Many of the recent sales in the area are closer to 2007 figures in the upper price range. A house in Hancock Park that sold for $6 million in 2007 just went for almost $1 million more at the end of 2012. Homes that are selling either have a soughtafter location, are on the golf course, on a large lot or are a fantastic remodel.” Pete Buonocore of Keller Williams Larchmont, noted that every local neighborhood has sustained about a 20 percent drop from the height of the market. Given the shortage of inventory, multiple offers are driving prices back up very quickly. In some areas, Buonocore is seeing shortterm prices at only four perSee HOME PRICES, p 6
‘Design for Living’ in May Annual special section will feature homes, lifestyles and personalities, in the May Larchmont Chronicle. Advertising deadline is Mon., April 15. To reserve space, call Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241 x 11.
SOCIETY WOMEN fought fires in station's early days. 3 PRESERVATION ongoing at Ebell. 2 MIND READING on program. 7
For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11
CHRONICLE'S Jane Gilman has sported many hard hats covering the community. Above, she joins a crew at The Ebell.
AT LAST YEAR'S BIG SUNDAY, Tobie Hess and Zoe Wasserman prep exterior walls at the LAUSD Leadership Academy for student murals. Photo by Pamela Springsteen
Volunteering can be life changing, just ask Charlie Sign ups for Big Sunday start April 3 By Suzan Filipek When then five-year-old Eloise Hess walked into a nursing home in West Adams many years ago, her family’s lives changed forever. They had signed up for the volunteer effort at the last minute. The place was dark and, well, creepy, Charlie Hess, Brookside, recalled. Then they entered a patient’s room, and “my very shy daughter came alive, and so did the man in the room. “It was such an extraordinary, moving experience… she brought so much joy to these elderly people’s lives. “To see this awakening in our daughter I was so moved, I offered to help David with Big Sunday.” David Levinson, of Hancock Park, is founder of the massive, statewide volunteer effort, Big Sunday, which is celebrating its 15th year. Sign ups start this month Now known as Big Sunday Weekend, it takes place Fri., May 3 through Sun., May 5. Sign ups for volunteer activities start Wed., April 3 at bigsunday.org.
About 500 projects from San Diego to San Francisco will be offered, such as cleaning up parks, cooking for the homeless and helping out at animal shelters. And, visiting See BIG SUNDAY, p 9
On the Boulevard Glimpses by Jane Diners have new choices— Chipotle and Lemonade. And there’s more: a coffee bar will open where Baskin Robbins was, and a taco place will take the La Bottega Marino space. *** Gertrude Fuji told us Altrusa is celebrating its 75th year at Tam O’Shanter on April 27. Speaker Amy Wilentz is author of “Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti.” *** Janet Rohman and Anne Loveland were at a recent DAR meeting to hear Eric Blehm, author of “Fearless” which covers Adam Brown, a member of the Seal Team Six that See BLVD., p 10
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