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To encourage property owners to participate, a project manager and program staff, hired
with support from the GCI, began coordinating technical assistance teams. Working with
property owners, the teams—composed of architects, structural engineers, and
preservation specialists—assessed damage to buildings and offered suggestions on how to
stabilize and rehabilitate historic structures.
Soon the effort expanded. "The first few days after a disaster strikes are key to setting a
tone for preservation," says Linda Dishman, executive director of the Los Angeles
Conservancy. In order to respond fully to the earthquake, "it was extremely important to
identify the historic structures that were damaged."

The Partners project developed a computer program to
pinpoint historic buildings damaged in the quake. The
survey of buildings inspected by City of Los Angeles
officials—which grew from 12,000 structures after the
first day to more than 80,000 one month later—was
electronically compared against the State of California
Inventory of Historic Properties—more than 8,000
structures in Los Angeles alone. This created a computer-
generated list of 171 significant structures in Los Angeles
that sustained damage from the earthquake—58 buildings
posted unsafe by city inspectors and 113 buildings with
limited entry.
The Ara's Pastry building, located
in Hollywood. Built around 1925, Using the initial work of the technical assistance teams
the structure has received grants and the preliminary estimates of damage generated by
for technical assistance, repair, computer and field survey, the consortium developed a
and restoration, and work is more comprehensive response plan. Other organizations
under way. Photo: Lisa Snyder for and agencies, including the National Park Service and the
the Los Angeles Conservancy.
California Preservation Foundation, joined the response
project.
In February, $5 million was allocated to the Partners from the emergency earthquake
disaster relief package approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
With funding now on its way, the program staff, sharing offices with the Los Angeles
Conservancy, was expanded from a project manager and two assistants to include three
field directors, a grants administrator, and an administrative assistant.
Based on the federal funding, the Partners have established two grant programs to assist
in restoration efforts. Technical assistance grants—varying in amounts up to $10,000 per
recipient—are available to organizations, cities, and property owners of historic structures
for feasibility studies, architectural and engineering services including structural analysis,
and historic preservation reports. The grants can also fund community or district economic
recovery assessment.

More than $3 million is available to provide funding for repair and restoration of buildings
in the National Register of Historic Places or structures determined eligible for inclusion in
the register. It is envisioned that the bulk of this money will be distributed in small awards
to assist as many historic buildings as possible.

Mr. Brink considers the team effort demonstrated by the Partners to be "a real
breakthrough." Ms. Dishman agrees. "The Partners program is exciting because we are
pooling our resources in a way that provides more services to people who need help," she
says.

Jane Slate Siena, Head of Institutional Relations at the Getty Conservation Institute, sees
the partnership as a model for what is still necessary at a national level. "To deal with a
local catastrophe, we've created a working partnership of cultural heritage groups that
includes the private sector and government, local and national organizations," she
explains. "But this won't be the last disaster. We need to develop a strong partnership
nationally so that future emergencies, wherever they occur, will be confronted with a
focused and coordinated response."

John Hinrichs, a Hollywood-based writer who specializes in arts, culture, and
politics, is the communications consultant for Historic Preservation Partners for
Earthquake Response.