Visit private gardens, raise funds for islands, see local trees

By Suzan Filipek

Everything is coming up roses, wisteria and a bountiful array of other colorful flowers when A Secret Garden Tour comes to our neighborhoods on Sat., June 3, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Five to six private gardens — the number is still being sorted out — will be on the tour and fundraiser in Windsor Square and Fremont Place.

Music, a plant sale and a silent auction will also be featured on the tour, which is not so secret, it turns out; rather, the name of the event is a take on the recent musical at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Confirmed gardens for the visit (as of presstime) are those of Leah Fischer and June Bilgore in Windsor Square and Patty Lombard in Fremont Place. Theirs are among the gardens that will offer a sensory and visual delight to visitors on the tour. Bilgore is also the silent auction chair of the event, hosted by the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society (WS-HPHS).

Organizers of the June 3 tour are Chronicle co-founder Jane Gilman and Richard Battaglia, WSHPHS president.

Islands of Rossmore

“The garden tour, like our home tours, depends upon the generosity of these wonderful homeowners who are willing to expose their secret private gardens for a good cause. This year’s cause is the ‘Islands of Rossmore and Beverly Project’ which is long overdue,” Battaglia told us.

The two triangular pedestrian islands are at the southwest and northeast corners of the busy intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Rossmore Avenue, as the project’s name says.

During the years that this project has been in the talking stages, other pedestrian islands were transformed on Wilton Place at Second Street and at First Street. One also was improved on the corner of Sixth Street and Norton Ave., Battaglia tells us.

“The Larchmont Boulevard medians were finished ages ago, while the two concrete eyesores on Rossmore and Beverly, the gateway to both Hancock Park and Windsor

Square, are still just looking ragged and derelict.

“This is not going to be done overnight and is certainly a process, but we have a good team in place,” he added.

The “Islands” committee includes both Michele Flores, field deputy, and George Hakopiants, deputy district director, for Councilwoman Yaroslavsky.

Others beside Battaglia are Cindy Chvatal, Joyce Kleifield, Joseph Guidera, Patty Lombard, Brian Curran, June Bilgore and Alysoun Higgins. “Landscape designer and Historical Society member Jeffrey Smith did a fantastic job on the renderings [for the islands]. Everyone was very impressed,” added Battaglia.

For tickets to the event visit wshphs.com.

Walk with a Lumberjack on May 6

Urban Lumberjack Steve Marshall will give a Tree Walking Tour of the neighborhood on Sat., May 6, beginning at

10 a.m. at First Street and Larchmont Boulevard. The tour will head east to Wilton Place, south to Second Street and return east along Second Street to Larchmont. Wear comfortable shoes. Visit theurbanlumberjack. com. For tickets visit wshphs. com.

Linda Dishman to leave a ‘strong’ Los Angeles Conservancy

By John Welborne

Linda Dishman, president of the Los Angeles Conservancy, is stepping down after helming the nonprofit for 31 years.

“It has been a great run, but I feel the time is right to leave, both for me and for the organization,” Dishman told supporters via e-mail in midApril.

“The Conservancy board and staff are strong, and we’ve hired a search firm to find the next leader,” she added.

Dishman announced that she would be retiring this coming November.

In a statement released by the organization, Conservancy Chair Joy Forbes said, “On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I want to thank Linda for her passion and dedication as the Los Angeles Conservancy’s leader for 31 years. As the Conservancy celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, I note that Linda has been at the helm for twothirds of our history.”

“While her absence at the

Linda Dishman

organization will be felt, we will continue to see the fruits of her labor in the many historic places across Los Angeles County,” she continued.

The board of directors has hired Envision Consulting to manage the search process and anticipates having a successor in place before Linda’s departure on Nov. 30, 2023.

Since Dishman’s arrival at the Conservancy in 1992, the group has been successful in saving iconic buildings threatened with demolition, such as the May Company (now the Academy Museum), Herald Examiner, Sheraton Town House, Downey McDonald’s, St. Vibiana Cathedral and the Century Plaza Hotel. The Conservancy has also expanded to saving places important within a broader and more diverse community — such as the Paul Revere Williams House.

The Conservancy helped add 14,000 units of housing in the Historic Core of Downtown as part of its Broadway Initiative, and the group has become a national leader in the effort to recognize Modernism.

Its Preservation Positive Report in 2020 validated that historic buildings and neighborhoods are a community asset enjoyed by economically and racially diverse residents.

“One of my favorite parts of leading the Conservancy has been working with so many people who believe in the power of our historic buildings to inspire and bring communi- ties together,” said Dishman. Historic preservation has been Dishman’s passion and profession since 1977 when she was an intern at the California Office of Historic Preservation in her Sacramento hometown.

“I have met incredible people through this work, including my husband, and I have made many friends.

“It has been my honor to help preserve the places that hold the history and future of Los Angeles County. Thank you.”

And “thank YOU,” Linda Dishman.

Last Remaining Seats returns with a classic film lineup

(1940) screens at the Los Angeles Theatre on June 10 at 8 p.m.

“Metropolis” (1927) kicks off the program on Sat., June 3, at 2 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre. The 1973 film “Enter the Dragon” with Bruce Lee screens at the Orpheum later the same day at 8 p.m.

“Planet of the Apes” (1968) is at the Los Angeles Theatre Sat., June 10, at 2 p.m.

“The Philadelphia Story”

“Auntie Mame,” a 1958 comedy, brings Rosalind Russell to the Million Dollar Theatre Sat., June 17, at 2 p.m. The same day, James Stewart and Kim Novak star in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” at 8 p.m. at the Million Dollar.

Live music, Q&A sessions and other programming accompany some of the screenings. Visit laconservancy.org for tickets and more information.

By John

Welborne Neighbors convened on April 15, at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Poinsettia Place, to eat gelato and celebrate a recent addition to the city’s list of Historic Cultural Monuments.

Two groups, Save Beverly Fairfax and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, nominated the Silberberg Building for designation, approved March 3 by the City Council. The 1931 building now houses ice cream parlor Gelato and Angels.

The report and recommendation of the Cultural Heritage Commission (available at tinyurl.com/32tm92fh) notes that “the La Brea Mortgage Company, founded in 1928 by realtor and businessman Abraham Silberberg, was one of many businesses established to serve the Jewish community that developed in [the area].”

Annual Garden Tour and Showcase House