Join author Ken Bernstein, photographer Stephen Schafer,  noted author/preservationist Lisa See, and Timothy Whalen, director of The Getty Conservation Institute,  as they discuss Bernstein and Schafer’s new book from Angel City Press, Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America's Cities at 6 p.m. on its publication date Tuesday April 20.

In the pages of Preserving Los Angeles, Bernstein tells the comprehensive story of how historic preservation has revived Los Angeles neighborhoods, created a Downtown renaissance, and guided the future of the city he loves. Under Bernstein’s leadership in the Office of Historic Resources, Los Angeles has developed one of the most successful historic preservation programs in the nation, including the completion of the nation’s most ambitious citywide survey of historic resources.

Preserving Los Angeles is an authoritative chronicle of urban transformation, a guide for citizens and urban practitioners alike who hope to preserve the unique culture of their own cities. Bernstein’s informative text is richly illustrated with more than 300 full-color images by Schafer, a nationally acclaimed architectural photographer. A major portion of Preserving Los Angeles is devoted to a photography-driven section featuring historic sites, a veritable field guide to hundreds of the city’s most notable locations.

Newer than many American cities, Los Angeles has a remarkable collection of architectural resources in all styles, reflecting the legacy of notable architects from the past 150 years. As one of the most diverse cities in the world, Los Angeles has broken new ground in its approach to historic preservation, extending beyond the preservation of significant buildings, to identifying and protecting the places of social and cultural meaning to Los Angeles’s communities. Preserving Los Angeles illuminates a Los Angeles that may surprise even longtime Angelenos—highlighting dozens of lesser-known buildings, neighborhoods, and places in every corner of the city that were “found” by SurveyLA, the first-ever city-wide survey of Los Angeles’s historic resources.

Ken Bernstein, a principal planner for the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, oversees the Office of Historic Resources, which is responsible for the city’s historic preservation policies and programs. As lead staff member for the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission, Ken oversaw the completion of SurveyLA, a multi-year city-wide survey of historic resources, and has led the city’s efforts to create a comprehensive historic preservation program. Before joining the Department of City Planning, Ken was director of preservation issues for the Los Angeles Conservancy.

Stephen Schafer is an architectural photographer with a preservation distraction. Over the course of his thirty-plus-year career, he has been drawn to vintage buildings great and small. He now crisscrosses America documenting significant places for the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Buildings Survey collection at the Library of Congress.

Lisa See is one of America’s most beloved authors, renowned for her New York Times bestsellers, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan; The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane; Peony in Love; Shanghai Girls; Dreams of Joy; and China Dolls. In addition to her celebrated writing career, she sits on the board of National Trust for Historic Preservation, and has been honored as National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001.

Timothy Whalen is the director of the Getty Conservation Institute and is a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a member of the international advisory board of studies for the Courtauld Institute of Art's MA program in the conservation of wall paintings, and a former member of the United States National Commission to UNESCO. A California native, he holds an MA in museum studies and art history from USC.

To register for and view the event, visit https://www.crowdcast.io/e/acpchannel-book_launch_prla-20210420 -- please don't be shy with questions!

For more information about (and to order) the book, visit https://www.angelcitypress.com/products/prla

book launch for "Preserving Los Angeles" -- Lisa See and Timothy Whalen in conversation with authors Ken Bernstein and Stephen Schafer