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Lincoln Place Apartments
Lincoln Place Gardens brochure from 1959 (detail).jpg
Lincoln Place Gardens on a 1959 brochure
Lincoln Place Apartment Homes is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Lincoln Place Apartment Homes
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Lincoln Place Apartment Homes is located in California
Lincoln Place Apartment Homes
Location in California
Lincoln Place Apartment Homes is located in the United States
Lincoln Place Apartment Homes
Location in the United States
Location Lake & Penmar Aves., Frederick St. & alley on the south, Venice, Los Angeles
Area 38 acres (15 ha)
Built 1951
Architect Wharton & Vaughn, Associates
Architectural style Modernist
NRHP reference No. 15000911
Added to NRHP December 22, 2015

Lincoln Place Apartment Homes is a special apartment community in Venice, California. It was built between 1949 and 1951. This community was designed to be like a "garden city." This means it has lots of green spaces and a friendly neighborhood feel.

Lincoln Place is located on a large 35-acre area, about a mile from Venice Beach. It's a historic place that has been important for housing families in Los Angeles.

Original Lincoln Place Gardens brochure front, 1951
Lincoln Place Brochure from 1951: front
Original Lincoln Place Gardens brochure, inside 1951
Lincoln Place Brochure from 1951: inside

History of Lincoln Place Apartments

Lincoln Place Apartment Homes was built after World War II. It was created to help people who had served in the war. These apartments were a type of "workforce housing." This means they were made for regular working families.

Why Housing Was Needed

After World War II ended, many soldiers came home. A new law called the G.I. Bill helped them go to college and buy homes. This led to a big shortage of places to live across the United States. Many families, especially those with average incomes, found it hard to find affordable apartments.

The area around Santa Monica Bay in Los Angeles was especially busy. A large airplane factory, Douglas Aircraft, opened in 1940. The Los Angeles Airport also grew in 1947. These new jobs meant even more people needed homes.

To help with this problem, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) stepped in. The FHA is a government group that helps people get loans for housing. They made it easier for builders to get money to build new homes. This encouraged developers to create places like Lincoln Place.

Lincoln Place Gardens brochure from 1959
Lincoln Place Brochure from 1959

Who Designed Lincoln Place?

The architects who designed Lincoln Place were Ralph A. Vaughn and Heth Wharton. They formed a team called Wharton & Vaughn Associates. Ralph Vaughn was a talented architect who studied at the University of Illinois. His father was also a well-known architect. Together, Vaughn and Wharton created the unique design for Lincoln Place.

For many years, from 1951 to 1986, Lincoln Place was owned by a family. Later, a company called Aimco became the full owner of the apartments.

Saving Lincoln Place

In the 1990s, there were plans to tear down Lincoln Place and build new condos. However, many people wanted to save the historic apartments. They believed Lincoln Place was an important part of history and a great example of its design style.

Becoming a Historic Landmark

On August 4, 2005, a special group in California decided that Lincoln Place was important enough to be a historic site. They said it was a great example of a "garden city" and "Modernist architecture." They also noted its special layout and how it was one of the few remaining examples of housing built for middle-income families after the war.

Because of this, Aimco asked the National Park Service to add Lincoln Place to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of places that are important to American history. In December 2015, Lincoln Place was officially added to this list!

Agreements to Restore the Homes

After many discussions, agreements were made to protect and restore Lincoln Place. In 2009, Aimco agreed to follow special rules for fixing up historic buildings. This meant that 696 apartments would be carefully restored. Also, 99 new apartments would be built on empty parts of the land.

An agreement also allowed some of the families who used to live there to move back into their homes. About 50 former residents chose to return to Lincoln Place.

In 2010, the city of Los Angeles also approved an agreement with Aimco. This agreement helps Lincoln Place become a model for how to save historic places and build in a way that is good for the environment.

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