Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Opinion: Don’t Fence Me In

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but the Mayor’s fence is complete.

Many in the neighborhood understand that the Mayor needs protection, but wonder if other methods could have been employed to achieve the same goal. A fence on such a prominent property sends all kinds of signals – most of them pretty negative for our community.

It’s precedent setting. If it’s OK for the Mayor to bend the rules, how do you apply the laws of our city and say “no” to other residents in the future?

It closes the Getty House off.  Rather than showing off this beautiful home, the property now sits behind a 6-foot high fence.  Rather than being an example of what makes the Hancock Park neighborhood so special (grand homes; big, open front yards, etc.) – the Getty House is now a fenced-in compound.

Many would argue that fences around front yards are wrong because they breed more fences…one-by-one changing the beauty of the neighborhood.

And that seems to be playing out right next door to the Getty House as the neighbor to the south is in the middle of a major re-landscaping of their front yard – with the pilasters for a fence included.

 

 

Our neighborhood’s most infamous fence has to have been the fence surrounding the front yard at the corner of Muirfield and 3rd Street…the home formerly known as the “House of Davids”. This property is undergoing a transformation – the fence and the Davids are gone in an attempt to make the grounds look better to prospective buyers.

Funny thing is…it does look better! In spite of all the remaining rod iron fencing on the house and the white roof and…well, in spite of all the other things going on with the house you can begin to see what the future can be for that property. All because the fence (and the Davids) have been taken down.

So…don’t fence me in. Here’s to preserving the essence of the Hancock Park landscape – open and accessible.

What do you think? Be sure to comment and help to foster a dialog on this important topic.

 

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Mary
Mary
Mary has lived in the Hancock Park area for over 20 years - including homes in Larchmont Village and Windsor Square. Mary has lived in some great places in her life - but none compare to the convenience and majesty of our neighborhood. For Mary, the neighborhood has been a wonderful home to her large, extended family...at one time she had family members living on seven different Hancock Park area blocks! Larchmont Buzz is a labor of love - built to celebrate the neighborhood and to elevate the conversation in the area.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. The old saying was “No one is above the law”. As you can see it looks like the Mayor is above the law and if the people don’t come together, he’ll get away with it. Politicians always get what they want….

  2. All the gate’s posts (which I believe is the proper term instead of pilaster) should have been left either unpainted or painted. The mix of both plain brick and painted brick uprights looks uncoordinated. The red-brick posts also don’t match the house itself, so all of them being painted would have looked better, or more professional, in general.

    It’s odd how such a basic design detail or concept escaped the ability of the planners.

    • Deborah, Look around. There is a TON of brickwork on the driveway. The unpainted pilasters relate to this brick and are also different in scale and shape and create a sense of entry at the driveway gate and the smaller (pedestrian gate.) Have you even been to this site since the fence came down? The painted pilasters (yes, they’re all called pilasters) refer to the painted brick of the house and if some of us remember, the original short pilasters were painted the colour of the house. Perhaps you ought to teach a course on coordinated colour-coordinated brickwork at your local community college; or write a blog. In the meantime, leave the designing to the designers and planners. Thanks.

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