Long Beach Heritage aounces wiers of this year's coveted awards

Noted Long Beach contractor and restoration expert Jan Van Dijs will be presented with Long Beach Heritage’s Preservationist of the Year award at the group’s aual banquet Feb. 25 on the Queen Mary, officials aounced this week.

Van Dijs has done iovative restoration and preservation projects throughout the city, with clients including the Art Theater, the Ebell Theater and Lofts, the Berlin/Fingerprints building and the American Hotel/Psychic Temple. He is known for his extensive research of the historical elements and his careful recreation or restoration of the damaged parts of his project buildings.

Several rehabilitation/restoration awards will also be presented to property owners at the aual banquet:

• The American Hotel on Broadway in downtown Long Beach, one of the oldest remaining commercial buildings in the city. After standing vqacant for many years, it was recently restored by van Dijs and is being reused as an advertising agency.

• The building at 237 Long Beach Blvd., which has been restored and adapted for reuse as a restaurant and events facility.

• The Ray Vines Chrysler Building on Willow St., distinguished by its twin Googie-style projected pointy roofs, it has been repurposed as a restaurant.

• Dunkin’ Donuts, which is being honored for the restoration of the giant doughnut which has topped the Seventh Street doughnut shop since it was a Mrs. Chapman’s Angel Food Donuts in the late 1950s.

• The Hafley House in Park Estates, a residence designed by Richard Neutra in 1952. The house was restored, retuing all of its elements to their original appearance, using original plans and old photographs.

• The Salcido home in Los Cerritos, a Mid-Century Mode home built by the Long Beach architectural firm Killingworth, Brady and Smith in 1956-1958.

• The Hyman Home, another Killingworth, Brady and Smith-designed residence, located on East Ocean Boulevard, has been restored to its original appearance. It was designed as a display model unit for a never-completed high-rise.

A special award will be presented to architect Gordon Powers, of the Mid-Century Mode firm of Powers, Daly and DeRosa, known for their Googie designs, most notably the former Java Lanes on Pacific Coast Highway. Other projects include the Whaley Park Community Center, the Los Altos Medical Center and several Mid-Centery Mode residences.

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Cost for the fundraising event event is $125. Money goes toward Long Beach Heritage’s efforts to promote public knowledge and preservation of significant historical and architectural resources and the cultural heritage of Long Beach.

To order tickets, call 562-493-7019, or visit www.lbheritage.org.

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