Can't Hardly See That Cat

By getting then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to halt landmark efforts for the iconic neon sign, then replacing tubes with LED, Felix Chevrolet could redevelop with no preservation restrictions. Lost is the great 110 Freeway vista. Here kitty kitty...

What's Next For Felix The Cat?

Over on Instagram, @purelycoincidental had some good questions about where we stand on preserving the no-longer-neon Felix the Cat sign, and if we are advocating for the property to remain a low rise car dealership. We're sharing our answer here, since this is such a complicated preservation issue, without simple answers.

Every preservation campaign reveals different facets of public policy, land use, cultural legacies and how the law works, or doesn’t work. 

Felix is a preservation failure, but we think an important story that reveals in stark relief how money can buy City Hall and the fundamental dishonesty of developers. 

We don’t have a particular interest in preserving the Felix sign in its current state—although if dealership owner Darryl Holter wanted to try to redeem himself and pay for a full neon restoration, then donate it to the Museum of Neon Art, that would be okay. And we don’t have the bandwidth to get involved in discussion of highest and best use for this parcel. 

We do care about the fact that Angelenos love this sign, and that most of them don’t know or aren’t too bothered that it’s now LED. So the fact that the buildings are being demolished with no public announcement of what’s going on, and photos circulating that make it appear that the sign might be coming down next makes amplifying the true story of how we got here matter to us. 

If the Felix sign was landmarked, the public would know what was planned, and would have a voice. We don’t, and it’s messed up. That’s our position.

Documenting the Partial Demolition of Felix Chevrolet

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.) 

A Shocking Scene at Felix Chevrolet

 

  

Gary Leonard captures the long anticipated demolition of Felix Chevrolet. 

As documented on this blog, the neon sign was to be landmarked, but the owners got then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to halt the process, made false preservation promises and put in LEDs. 

It is an important reminder that Los Angeles city government has different rules for citizens and for powerful business leaders who donate to keep politicians in power. Felix Chevrolet's long range development plans were protected, and Angelenos lost a great neon sign and got an LED copycat in return. If they want to, the property owners could tear it down at any time.

In the first two weeks of October 2020, multiple demolition permits were pulled for buildings on the Felix Chevrolet property at 3330 South Figueroa. What this means for the un-landmarked Felix the Cat sign is, at this moment, a mystery. 

We believe that even with the non-historic LED lights that replaced the original neon tubes, the sign is a cultural landmark that should be preserved in place. Stay tuned for more information, and opportunities to get involved.

From Bad To Worse

Four years on since the landmark Felix the Cat neon sign was destroyed and replicated in LED, and we were shocked to see how bad it looks from the northbound lanes of the 110. The cat, which has long been outlined in white, is now a nasty shade of yellow, with a pair of sinister froggy green eyes floating in the haze.

A Cautionary Tail

We regret to report that there has been no response to our petition which was submitted on February 11, 2013, asking then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that he work with Felix Chevrolet, General Motors and then-Councilwoman Jan Perry to undo the damage that was done to the historic Felix the Cat neon sign in transforming into a partially burned-out LED sign.

While we are dismayed that the Mayor would ignore the wishes of hundreds of constituents, and go back on his own written promise that this community landmark would be preserved and protected, we do see one positive thing about the loss of this beloved landmark.

Historic preservation happens when official policies are followed. In this case, politicians made special provisions on behalf of a powerful donor, and stopped the Cultural Heritage Commission from proclaiming Felix the Cat to be an official landmark of the City of Los Angeles. The community was asked to trust the politicians and the powerful donor, whose promises were proven to be worthless within five years. Felix was permanently altered, with no public notice and no legal recourse.

Los Angeles, and preservation-minded people everywhere: remember the tail of Felix the Cat, and don't get fooled again.