The city of Los Angeles has long been criticized for its tear it down and build it new attitude and its unappreciative coldness for its architectural past . Long gone are architecturally significant buildings, cool old hangouts of the rich and famous such as the Ambassador hotel, and too many to count quaint California bungalows that were once the homes to working class folk before gentrification set in all over the city. Glass, concrete and steel are the choice for most new home builders in L.A. and in most instances, they are taking being built on the lots once occupied by simple little wood frame homes with redwood siding that were so popular early in the 1900's. Our Echo Park neighborhood was, and fortunately still is, home to many of those sweet little abodes. But anybody who has lived in L.A very long knows how hard it is to stop what is coined as progress by the cities politicians and developers. And now that most LA neighborhoods are bound to suffer the "small lot development" which allows several condensed single family homes on lots where a just a couple of houses once stood, we are bound to see more bungalows fall. Like any city dweller that loves history, Zation Woodworks hates to see them go. But we've figured out a way to keep them alive by turning the old sturdy Douglas Fir of the past into something beautiful. And if our customers are interested in the stories of where and how their beautiful furnishings came about, we happily share. Take the fellow up the street that bought Maria's bungalow after she passed away last year. Maria was 96 when died and she told me she had been born in the back room of the house and had raised her son there who passed away before her. A lot of things went on in that house and I was happy to hear all about it when Maria was alive. Fortunately, the guy who bought the property has a deep appreciation for our neighborhood, but he wanted to make the house larger for his growing family. Luckily he didn't tear it down and we know it's going to turn out great. We rescued a lot of the old wood before it got thrown away and it's been turned into something truly beautiful and we love that the owners of the cool new Thai restaurant in Hollywood wanted to know everything about where the wood came from. They especially loved the story about Maria and how she would feed the whole neighborhood on Sundays evenings. Steaming tamales, cooking pots of beans, grilling meat in her backyard for the whole block to smell, right there in her tiny little wooden house in Echo Park. Its our way keeping history alive.
