WMF Returns to the West Coast: Thank You, Los Angeles

In what has become an annual tradition, WMF returned to Los Angeles in May, this time with Jonathan Foyle, chief executive of WMF Britain, presenting “Our Past: A Present to our Future?” We were delighted to meet with supporters and friends during return visits to both the Beverly Hills Women’s Club and the Pacific Palisades Women’s Club, and this year we also met The Friends of Greystone, the non-profit organization leading the way to promote the preservation of Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills.

With sunny skies beckoning, Jonathan presented on the many challenges facing important works of architecture in the United Kingdom and around the world to all three groups.

We began the trip with our second visit to the mid-century Pacific Palisades Women’s Club, which is in the early stages of restoration planning. We enjoyed a particularly warm welcome from our friends in the Palisades, along with the stunning sunset views to the west.

Next was a morning presentation at Greystone Mansion, courtesy of The Friends of Greystone. For those in Southern California who have yet to explore the Greystone estate, I highly recommend a visit. Perched on a hillside with a panoramic view of Beverly Hills, this Tudor-style mansion with extensive gardens was designed by Gordon Kaufmann and presented as a gift from oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny to his son, Edward "Ned" Doheny, Jr. The house was the most expensive in California upon its completion in 1928. While its design recalls palatial European residences of previous centuries, it also includes a number of Prohibition-era state-of-the-art technological innovations. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the house is now a city park. Movie buffs will recognize it as the setting of many film and television productions, notably including its bowling alley, which was restored to perfection for its role as a backdrop in a particularly grim scene in the Coen Brothers’ film There Will Be Blood.

Following Greystone we were delighted to return to the lovely Beverly Hills Women’s Club for our fourth annual visit. The club’s 1925 Spanish colonial-style clubhouse was the site of a prominent and active membership during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century. It is now thriving again thanks to the energy of a few committed community leaders. The clubhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

We are so grateful for the support of the officers and members of all three host organizations, including Kristin Sibson at the Pacific Palisades Women’s Club; Susan Rosen, Vicky Swartz, Susan Rifkin, and Dani Lancer with The Friends of Greystone; and Jill Tavelman Collins at the Beverly Hills Women’s Club.

Last but definitely not least, we would like to extend special thanks to WMF International Council supporter Cindy Leuty Jones, who has worked tirelessly on behalf of WMF to introduce us to so many new friends in Los Angeles.