The Cultural Resources Office soon will host the first public meeting on the citywide survey of non-residential mid-century modernist architecture. On Monday, February 11 at 5:30 p.m., the meeting starts inside of an appropriate setting: the former L. Douglas Abrams Federal Building at 1520 Market Street, completed in 1961 from plans by Murphy & Mackey with William B. Ittner, Inc.
Last year the Cultural Resources Office issued a request for proposals for a consultant to aid in conducting the survey and developing context statements. Peter Meijer, Architect PC of Portland, Oregon won the bid. (Disclosure: PRO submitted a bid.) Meijer included architectural historian and energetic modernista Christine Madrid French on the team, a very good move and one that hopefully leads to the spirited public engagement that Christine brought to the National Trust’s TrustModern initiative in the past. (Chris’ Twitter feed is a must-read: @archmod.)
One of the purposes of this first public meeting is to gather public input on ranking of 40 buildings selected as potential candidates for further study and potential City Landmark designation. The Cultural Resources Office promises to post information on the survey website as well.