Preservationists Bring the Past to the Future : Annual conference includes restoration demonstrations, tours for the public.

Grass-roots groups dedicated to preserving the dwindling remnants of architectural history in their neighborhoods will gather this week to recommit themselves to their goals at the 14th annual California Preservation Conference at the Biltmore Hotel.

The public is invited to special events that include all-day demonstrations of restoration techniques Friday and Saturday, and 19 neighborhood tours next Sunday.

Award Presentation

About 1,500 preservationists will participate in seminars on supportive federal legislation, local zoning practices and methods of organizing neighborhoods. Awards for preservation design will be presented.

“It wasn’t too long ago that politicians and government officials saw us as troublemakers, and developers branded us as obstructionists,” said Milford Wayne Donaldson, president of the nonprofit California Preservation Foundation, main sponsor of the gathering.

“Today, preservation is an idea whose time has come,” said Donaldson, a San Diego architect who heads the coalition of about 200 grass-roots groups.

“The conference focuses on historic preservation as a way to revitalize vintage neighborhoods and protect things of value that link our past to the present.

“One look at the state Capitol in Sacramento or the dazzling palaces in Los Angeles’ theater district or a 1925 roller coaster in San Diego, and we realize that new is not necessarily better.”

The conference chairman, historian Christy Johnson McAvoy, said that for the last six months she has been coordinating the efforts of 35 Southland groups assisting her with conference activities.

‘Wealth of History’

“With their help we’ve come up with a wide variety of opportunities for conference participants and the general public to view the wealth of historic structures and districts in the greater Los Angeles area,” McAvoy said.

“There’ll be something for everyone, from Victorian neighborhoods to movie studios to San Fernando Valley’s ranchos. Most tours will provide refreshments or lunch.”

The intricacies of gilding, woodcarving, stained-glass making, marbleizing, ornamental plaster work and other architectural decorating techniques, some centuries-old, will be demonstrated all day Friday and Saturday by expert craftsmen.

The demonstrations, organized by Jean Farnsworth of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in the City of Industry, will be held at the exhibit of restoration resources in the Biltmore’s Heinsbergen Room. A preservation-related book fair also will be held.

“Participants (in the demonstrations) have worked on projects ranging from a Frank Lloyd Wright house to a historic courthouse to the Pasadena City Hall,” she said.

Farnsworth said there has been increased demand for the services of these experts by corporations opting to restore rather than destroy the old palaces of commerce.

Time-Honored Finishes

Even owners of newer homes are beginning to use time-honored finishes and ornamentation in their renovation projects, Farnsworth said.

Many of the sources for restoration materials will be represented at the exhibit, including architectural terra cotta, intricate Victorian-style tin ceilings, a large selection of glass bricks, vintage hardware, embossed wall coverings and decorative ironwork.

PRESERVATION DESIGN AWARDS Fifteen projects were singled out as winners in a statewide preservation competition by a jury of architects and preservation officials. The jury reviewed 100 entries in six categories. Here are some of the Southland winners:

Rehabilitation Award

San Fernando Building, a 1906 reinforced concrete building at 400 S. Main St.

Adaptive Re-Use Awards

Federal Building, U.S. Court of Appeals: an 1882 Mission Revival landmark in Pasadena, once a popular resort hotel, later considered for demolition, was turned into a grand courthouse.

The Union Pacific Railroad Depot: a 1904 Mission Revival station in Riverside, abandoned for about 20 years and ravaged by arson, was restored as a mixed-use development.

Mission San Luis Rey: an 1815 mission in Oceanside, which suffered neglect in a succession of owners, was the focus of extensive preservation efforts.

The furnaces at Mission San Juan Capistrano: stabilization of only remaining Spanish furnace in Alta California, dating back to 1776.

Craftsmanship Awards

Stowell House, a 93-year-old Victorian in Pasadena.

Carriage Barn and Windmill at Heritage Park, a reconstruction of an 1880s Victorian ranch at Santa Fe Springs.