News

Heritage Square Museum has been approved as a Historic Cultural Monument for the City of Los Angeles. The City Council approved 12 to 0 and passed the nomination of the museum on Friday, December 16.  As an important cultural resource for the community, the designation as a Historic Cultural Landmark will protect the museum and secure the integrity of the site that will ensure the museum’s ability to protect its architectural and historical accuracy.

“This is a momentous occasion in the history of the museum and to have it approved during the holiday season is a great gift for all lovers of the Heritage Square Museum,” said Jessica Maria Alicea-Covarrubias, executive director of the Heritage Square Museum. “Many thanks to the Los Angeles City Council for recognizing the museum’s cultural significance to the city of Los Angeles, and to our former board member Mitzi March Mogul who was instrumental throughout the nominating process.”

“Heritage Square Museum is an important historical jewel to the city of Los Angeles and to the residents of my district where the museum is located,” said Councilmember Ed P. Reyes. “With the museum now a historic cultural monument, the L.A. City Council has recognized how important the museum is to the city. I applaud the council and congratulate Heritage Square Museum on this wonderful achievement.”

The formal dedication, which should include new signage around the museum and surrounding areas, will take place sometime in 2012. The City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Ordinance, enacted in 1962, has made possible the designation of buildings and sites as individual local landmarks, called “Historic-Cultural Monuments” in Los Angeles. The City currently has over 1000 Historic-Cultural monuments, providing official recognition and protection for Los Angeles’ most significant and cherished historic resources.

On June 17th, 2011 a very unique Color Guard of veterans will help mark a special day of celebration for Los Angeles’ new Veterans Preservation Corps. Hosting a graduation ceremony at 12:30 pm at Heritage Square Museum, the program organizers will honor their first six veterans to triumph over difficult circumstances (such as homelessness and PTSD), and complete the Corps 12 week niche pilot course in historic building restoration and preservation. Event graduates of the pilot program, known as Preservation through Practice offered by Heritage Square, will be honored by the Corps partners, New Directions, Inc., Preservation Arts, and Heritage Square Museum.

Initially funded by the US Department of Labor, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Weingart Foundation, Heritage Square Museum’s program Preservation through Practice, recruits, teaches and trains craftsman and construction novices, through hands-on preservation courses, to actively restore Los Angeles’ historic buildings. Combining forces with LA’s historic restoration company Preservation Arts and LA based New Directions, Inc. treatment center and transitional housing program for homeless vets, the museum has expanded the program to include veterans, leading to a partnership known as the Veterans Preservation Corps.

Each partner brings a niche value to the Corps new program, offering post combat stress and homeless veterans alike an opportunity for work-force re-entry. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs PTSD affects approximately 12-25% of returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan alone. Los Angeles currently has 11% of the nation’s total homeless veteran population. The Veterans Preservation Corps offers Los Angeles veterans aid with homelessness and PTSD management in four key areas: Transitional veteran housing and treatment, education, applicable on site job training, and therapy through personal life coaching. Offering additional program support, the LA based national campaign Harvesting Happiness for Heroes will be on hand weekly to help reconstruct personal happiness, through positive psychology coaching techniques created by the HH4Heroes Organization for PTSD therapy.

Flying colors will be presented by the Veteran Color Guard of New Directions, Inc. as the New Directions Choir accompanies the presentation in honor of the occasion. In attendance will be honored guests, invited attendees from the retired Armed Forces, Veterans Preservation Corps Directory Board members and supporters, government officials, program funders, and friends and family of the graduates.

Heritage Square Museum wishes to alert all visitors and members about the running of the Pasadena Marathon on Sunday, May 15.   Because of the time of the marathon, the Museums of the Arroyo Day event is from 12 to 5 p.m. this year.  Please make your plans and travel accordingly.

Heritage Square Museum’s hand’s on training, Preservation through Practice, received generous support from funders such as Department of Labor, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Weingart Foundation. With this support, and partnerships with Preservation Arts and New Directions, training of military veterans the true art and skill of preservation has made positive results. Work on the Valley Knudsen and the Osborn Carriage Barn has commenced. Stop by on the weekends to see the work being done and support this tremendously important program.