Today we visited Felix Chevrolet to get a better sense of how much of the 100-year-old auto dealership has been demolished, and to confirm that the 1950s sign, which was converted from neon to LED in 2012, is undamaged. It is a little rusty, but fine.
The dealership, not so much. Note the damage to the east wall and roof of the dealership. Everything past this point has been demolished. The annotated aerial photo below shows the location of the Felix sign at the corner of Jefferson and Figueroa, with the demolished buildings noted.
Approaching the site from the East, most of the city block has been cleared for new construction.
At least the crew is saving the old bricks for reuse.
Gee, Felix... hope you've got some extra powerful magic in your bag of tricks, because your familiar world is shrinking fast. This is a feeling all too familiar to Angelenos who love Los Angeles history and architecture. Make it stop! (Signed, your pals, Kim & Richard, Esotouric - read more about what the problems preserving Felix can teach us here.)
I feel bad seeing this, and hearing about the typical political drama of preservationists versus deep-pocketed developers & their political friends. On my very first vacation to L.A., I literally got the rental car from L.A.X. and visiting Felix Chevrolet was the first thing I did. I love Felix and read about the dealership, and was enchanted by the multiple signs (I hope the other little round sign of his head is still there), giant fiber glass Felixes that I got to push around on the dollies in the show room, and Felix banners everywhere. I will make a point to check out the damage, and bring Felix with me, within the week. Thanks for keeping us posted, and let us know if there is anything we can do.
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