Alice Carr, former chair of the L.A. Conservancy board of directors, and her husband, Nathaniel Grouille, examined damages to the historic Zane Grey Estate in Altadena with Adrian Scott Fine, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Conservancy. (photo by Rico Mandel)

Getty announced on June 5 it has awarded $420,000 to the Los Angeles Conservancy to lead a community-driven historic resources survey and Cultural Asset Mapping project designed to inform the rebuilding of Altadena following the devastating Eaton fire in January.

Utilizing an approach that prioritizes local participation, the project will document tangible heritage, such as buildings and sites, along with intangible heritage, including community traditions, oral histories, cultural practices and legacy businesses, to capture the social and cultural significance of Altadena’s distinct neighborhoods and community identity. L.A. Conservancy will work directly with community organizations and the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning to ensure historic and cultural heritage are incorporated into policy discussions and decision-making.

The Eaton fire claimed the lives of at least 18 individuals and destroyed half of the area’s homes, businesses, schools, places of worship and other structures. While there is strong community interest in rebuilding historic neighborhoods, the efforts have been hampered by the absence of a complete inventory of heritage and cultural resources to identify what has been lost. Unlike Pacific Palisades, whose comprehensive heritage data was mapped by the city of Los Angeles in SurveyLA well before fires ravaged the area, Altadena is an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County and lacks an official inventory.

“Tackling this incomplete record of Altadena’s cultural resources, both built and intangible, is critical for the community as it contemplates rebuilding,” said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “L.A. Conservancy is an excellent partner to lead an alliance of community-based organizations and preservation professionals who are working to ensure that Altadena’s vibrant cultural history is not lost in redevelopment efforts.”

The Cultural Asset Mapping project will be led by L.A. Conservancy in partnership with Altadena Heritage, a volunteer-led organization that has worked in the community for decades. The team will incorporate community input in the project at all stages and is eager to involve other local organizations in the collaborative process, including the Altadena Historical Society, Altadena Rebuild Coalition, Altadena Rising and SoCal National Organization of Minority Architects.

The Getty’s grant is one of several recovery efforts following the January fires, including the L.A. Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, a Getty-led coalition of major arts organizations and philanthropists to provide emergency relief to artists and arts workers whose residences and studios were impacted by the Los Angeles fires. Within six weeks of its launch, the fund awarded $14.3 million to 1,700 individuals, 78% of whom were impacted by the Eaton fire.

For information, visit getty.edu.