ACTION ALERT UPDATE:
Moore House Demolished

The Moore House demolished. Photo by Sarah Farris-Gilbert.

The Moore House was one of Lloyd Wright's most significant postwar residential designs. Photo by Stephen Russo.

Detail of the demolition. Photo by Flora Chou/ Los Angeles Conservancy staff.

Despite several years of intensive advocacy and significant public outcry, the Moore House (Lloyd Wright, 1959) in Palos Verdes Estates (PVE) was demolished on Wednesday, April 25.

The demolition occurred less than a day after the PVE City Council denied the Los Angeles Conservancy's appeal of the City's earlier decision to allow the home's demolition.

The Moore House was a unique, irreplaceable, and extraordinarily significant modernist residence, designed by Lloyd Wright, renowned architect and son of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The environmental impact report (EIR) for the replacement project didn't evaluate a single sincere preservation alternative that would have maintained the Moore House's eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a state law that requires the evaluation of a range of alternatives. It also requires that those alternatives be analyzed with the public's interest in mind, not the property owner's -- even for a private residence. 

When the EIR for this project failed to provide a reasonable preservation alternative, the Conservancy commissioned our own. It provided for a sensitive addition to the Moore House -- a standard approach to increasing the size of an existing home. We met with the owner to present this alternative, yet it was disregarded by both the owner and the City.

With no protections in place for its historic resources, the City of Palos Verdes Estates can continue to erase its architectural heritage, one demolition at a time. If you live in PVE, please let your elected officials know that you care about your city's tangible history and want it preserved for future generations.

Thank you to the hundreds of people who submitted letters of support on this issue, and for the people who attended the City Council meeting Tuesday night. Your voice will continue to be heard as we work to preserve other historic places throughout Greater Los Angeles.

More information on the Moore House
The Conservancy's testimony from the April 24 City Council Meeting (PDF)