The West Hollywood landmark vies for $150,000 grant during a nationwide campaign and hosts community voting event with the Los Angeles Conservancy on Saturday, October 7, 2017
The city of Los Angeles is invited to vote for funding that will contribute to the restoration of the historic Formosa Café in West Hollywood. A community-based preservation group (Partners in Preservation) is initiating a nationwide campaign for the public to vote on projects to improve Main Streets around America, and the West Hollywood landmark restaurant and bar—originally founded in 1925 by 1920’s prize-fighter Jimmy Bernstein and recently acquired by the 1933 Group––is one of 25 locations across the country lobbying for funding.
As a participant of the “Partners in Preservation: Main Streets” campaign, the Los Angeles Conservancy nominated Formosa Café as the beneficiary of the grant, recognizing it as an iconic site on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood and part of Los Angeles’ Main Street, Route 66. The prize—in the amount of $150,000—if awarded to the 1933 Group, would specifically fund the rehabilitation of the café’s Pacific Electric Red Car trolley, the oldest portion of the building.
The Los Angeles Conservancy, in partnership with 1933 Group, invite the public to visit during an “Open House” weekend event on Saturday, October 7, 2017 from11:00a.m. – 3:00p.m. to highlight the importance of Main Street preservation efforts in West Hollywood and encourage voting. Visitors will be treated to food and giveaways, and the first 200 guests will have exclusive access to tour the closed café. The public can vote for Formosa Café now through October 31, 2017 at VoteYourMainStreet.org, the online voting portal hosted by National Geographic Travel.
“We are honored to be selected by the Los Angeles Conservancy and to represent the city of West Hollywood,” says Dimitri Komarov, 1933 Group Co-owner. “Our company mission prioritizes the preservation of Los Angeles’ architecture and history by acquiring and breathing new life into notable gathering places, and we are thrilled to have the support of the city behind us and the opportunity to secure additional funding that aids in our vision to restore the historic Formosa Café in 2018.”
Originally built in 1925 on Santa Monica Blvd., Formosa Café became an infamous hideaway for Hollywood elite including John Wayne, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley. In 1991, it was threatened with destruction and patrons petitioned to salvage the building. Due to its historic relevance, the city of West Hollywood chose to conserve and protect it.
After closing its doors in December 2016, Formosa Café sought a company with a penchant for preservation to revive the destination’s cherished nostalgia and celebrate its rich story. Following two consecutive landmark restorations of Idle Hourand Highland Park Bowl, 1933 Group owners Dimitri Komarov, Bobby Green, and Dmitry Liberman humbly accepted this duty with the intention to preserve and reinvigorate the restaurant’s cultural value and historic significance.
“Legacy bars and restaurants like the Formosa Café are exceedingly rare today, threatened by development pressure, increasing rents, and ever-changing demographics that make them difficult to survive,” said the Los Angeles Conservancy director of advocacy, Adrian Scott Fine. “We’re excited to have this opportunity to bring funding to such an important project, and shed a light on preservation efforts in Los Angeles County.”
Partners in Preservation is a community-based partnership, created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express, to raise awareness of the importance of preserving historic places and their role in sustaining local communities. Partners in Preservation: Main Streets will award $2 million in grant funding from American Express to Main Street districts in need of preservation support across America.
For more information and to vote daily for the Formosa Café through October 31st, visit VoteYourMainStreet.org/weho and share via social media using #VoteYourMainStreet.
About 1933 Group
Formed more than a decade ago, the 1933 Group helms a lauded portfolio of bars in Los Angeles, including the historical restoration of Highland Park Bowl and the barrel-shaped bar Idle Hour in North Hollywood, Harlowe in West Hollywood, Sassafras in Hollywood, La Cuevita in Highland Park, Bigfoot Lodge in Los Feliz, Thirsty Crow in Silver Lake, and Culver City’s Bigfoot West and Oldfield’s. Combining design aesthetics that embrace various time periods in early America with a passion for cocktails and the revival of the art of bartending, owners Bobby Green, Dimitri Komarov, and Dmitry Liberman create imaginative libations and scenes throughout LA’s drinking landscape. Each concept reflects bold, modern interpretations, reflective of the company’s dynamic partners and memorable eras. For more information, please visit 1933Group.com.
About the Los Angeles Conservancy
The Los Angeles Conservancy is a membership-based nonprofit organization that works through advocacy and education to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. The proposed demolition of the Los Angeles Central Library led to the Conservancy’s founding in 1978. What began as a handful of concerned citizens now has nearly 6,000 member households and hundreds of volunteers, making it the largest local historic preservation group in the U.S. For more information, visit laconservancy.org. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Partners in Preservation
Partners in Preservation is a program in which American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, awards preservation grants to historic places across the country. Through this partnership, American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation seek to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of historic preservation in the United States and to preserve America’s historic and cultural places. The program also hopes to inspire long-term support from local citizens for the historic places at the heart of their communities. For more information about The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, and works to save America’s historic places, visitwww.savingplaces.org.
