Annual Highlights

2024 Highlights Continued to publish monthly Trail maps, which, over the past year, have included entries on Mail Order Homes, the buildings of Edith Northman, and mansions from Columbo. Continued to publish monthly Frames experiences, including short documentaries about Neutra’s Kelton Apartments and Ain’s Mar Vista Tract, as well as a playlist inspired by a visit to Ed Killingsworth’s Seeley House. Hosted in-person events, including conversations about 1960s gay literary Los Angeles at the Central Los Angeles Public Library, a talk about Sugar Hill at Village Green, and a conversation about ED-1 at the Neutra Institute. Hosted our third in-person fundraising event, Music and Mimosas at Arroyo del Rey, which was overseen by a newly formed host committee of volunteers, and raised over $40,000. Launched Architecture! Trails, Trivia, Topics and Wine Tasting, a quarterly event at Barnsdall Art Park. Received grants from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural fellowship project, Stories of Sugar Hill. Named two new fellowship recipients: Luke Leuschner for a study of Harold J. Bissner, and Heather Goers for a project about Jean Roth Driskel. Spearheaded Every School Has a House, a project that connects every school in the Los Angeles Unified School District to the closest historic home. The complete document (an entry for every school) is over 1000 pages long. Our audience includes over 9,300 mailing list subscribers and over 4,800 Instagram followers. Our website received 1:45. Affairs and California Humanities. Oversaw the completion of Madelene Dailey’s over 47,000 pageviews , with an average visit duration of Continued to release dispatches from Federico the FORT Flamingo, a sporadic newsletter informing our audience about architecturally significant open houses in the greater Los Angeles area.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS Continued to publish monthly Trail maps, which, over the past year, have included the entries on over-the-top houses in Trousdale Estates, the buildings of Roy Sealey, and surfside 70s structures. Continued to publish monthly Frames experiences, including short documentaries about Koenig's Beagles House and Neutra's Plywood Demonstration House, as well as a playlist inspired by a visit to Schindler's Rodriguez House and a tarot reading of Oakridge. Hosted in-person events, including conversations about Myron Hunt at Pasadena Heritage and at the Pasadena Museum of History, a talk about surfside architecture at Sossego | Modern Brazilian Design, and a webinar on Delightful Houses with team members from Frederick Fisher and Partners. The Witch Houses 4 Trail received attention from Time Out Los Angeles, NBC LA, Angeleno Magazine and other media outlets. Executed our second in-person fundraiser, An Afternoon at George Ehling's Mosaic Mansion, which raised over $50,000. A newly formed host committee of volunteers oversaw the event. Received a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs for our Fellowship program. Oversaw the completion of two Fellowship projects: "A Women's Project: Mary Louise Schmidt and the 1936 House and Garden Exhibition," and the "Five Homes by Myron Hunt" documentary series. Named two new Fellowship recipients: Madelene Dailey for her project, "Stories of Sugar Hill," and Frances Anderton, who is currently researching "Awesome and Affordable Housing." Continued to release dispatches from Federico the FORT Flamingo, a sporadic newsletter informing our audience about architecturally significant open houses in the greater Los Angeles area. Named three new members to our board of directors. Over 8,500 mailing list subscribers, over 4,200 Instagram followers, the Trails landing page was accessed over 5,200 times, and our website received over 30,000 unique pageviews with an average duration of over 2 minutes.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS Continued to publish monthly Trail maps, which, over the past year, have included entries about the houses of architect Greta Magnusson Grossman, R.M Schindler's multi-family housing in Silver Lake, and homes to visit along the 266 bus line. Continued to publish monthly "Open House" experiences, including short documentaries about Greene and Greene's Bolton House and Paul R. Williams's Angelus Funeral Home and Apartments, as well as a playlist inspired by a visit to Alexander Zelenko's Hodel House. Hosted in-person events, including Hollyhock Hot Dog: Enjoy Wright with a Wiener, in celebration of the reopening of the Hollyhock House. Completed our three-year strategic planning process with the help of Executive Service Corp of Southern California. The Witch Houses 3 Trail received attention from the Los Angeles Times, KCAL 9, NBC LA, Time Out Los Angeles, LAist and other press outlets. Executed our first in-person fundraiser, An Evening at the Candle Castle, which raised over $35,000. A newly formed fifteen-member host committee oversaw the event. Received grants from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Brotman Foundation. Oversaw the completion of two Fellowship projects: A Women's Project: Mary Louise Schmidt and the 1936 California Home and Garden Exhibition, and The Lasting Effects of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation Redlining Map. Continued to support in-progress Fellowship projects including Curtis McElhinney's 5-part documentary series on Myron Hunt. Launched Federico the FORT Flamingo Visits Open Houses, a sporadic newsletter informing our audience about architecturally significant weekend open houses in the greater Los Angeles area. Website traffic statistics for the year are as follows: 16,350 unique visitors to the site, viewing over 42,000 pages. Subscriber list of 8,500+. Instagram followers currently over 3,100. The Trails landing page was accessed over 5,200 times.
2021 HIGHLIGHTS Received both LA Conservancy and California Foundation for Preservation awards. Continued to publish monthly Trail maps, which, over the past year, have included entries about houses of the Hollywood Regency style, about the Case Study House program, and about the work of Greene and Greene. Continued to publish monthly “Open House” experiences, including Liza Richardson Hears Arroyo del Rey and The Hollyhock Haikus, read by legendary actor Stephen Fry. Formed an Open House advisory committee of leaders, including representatives from Neutra’s VDL House, The Gamble House, and Philip Johnson’s Glass House. Three new members joined FORT: LA’s governing board, including two members of the Latino community, reaffirming the organization’s commitment to diverse leadership. Hired Executive Service Corp of Southern California to develop a long term strategic plan. The Witch Houses 2 Trail gained press attention from the Los Angeles Times, Spectrum News, NBC LA, Time Out Los Angeles, Discover LA and other outlets. Launched and executed our first fundraiser, raising over $10,000 from the Secret Trail event, at $125 per ticket. Received grants from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the City of West Hollywood, and more. Named two new Fellowship recipients: Anthony Fontenot for his project on African American architect James Homer Garrott, and Jackson Loop for his project on the effects of the Homeowners Loan Corporation Redlining Map. Website traffic statistics for the year are as follows: 60,000 pageviews, 45,000 unique pageviews, 25,000 visits, 9,500 visits to the PDFs hosted on Google Drive. Subscriber list of 6,500+