GLASSELL PARK
Built in 1929 along one of Northeast Los Angeles’s historic streetcar corridors, this Spanish Revival commercial building had stood largely dormant for years before its restoration. Manola Studio worked in collaboration with Site Specific to return the property to active neighborhood use while preserving the architectural character that had endured nearly a century of change.
The restoration began with the existing fabric. Ornamental plasterwork, carved details, original openings, tile, hardware, and other surviving elements were carefully repaired or recreated where they had been lost.
New interventions were deliberately restrained, allowing the craftsmanship and eccentricity of the original building to remain legible while adapting its spaces for contemporary use.
The project was conceived not as a recreation of a particular moment, but as a continuation of the building’s civic life. Today, the property is home to independent restaurants and businesses, including Dunsmoor, returning the building to its role as a neighborhood anchor along a boulevard that has connected this part of Los Angeles for more than a century.
Year of Completion: 2022
Location: Glassell Park, Los Angeles, California
