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“I first heard about the Conservancy through friends who invited us to Last Remaining Seats, “says Bob Vogt. “Getting to see these beautiful theatres in various stages of restoration inspired me to join.”

The couple’s interest in preservation began when they were searching for their first home to buy together in 2000. “We were looking at a different house on the street we now live on,” Joel explains, mentioning that they backed out of that deal but noticed an interesting house down the street. “It caught our at- attention for multiple reasons,” adds Bob. “There was a tree growing through the middle of it!”

As luck would have it, three weeks later, their realtor mentioned that the eye-catching house with the tree was for sale, and they wound up purchasing it. “The seller handed us a Ralphs grocery bag and said, ‘Here are some papers that came from the builders of the house,’” Joel relates. The bag sat in a closet for six months. “When we did start looking through it, we found that the house had significance. It was built in 1953 by John Lloyd Wright,” he adds. A Google search revealed that John was the second son of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and was also the creator of “Lincoln Logs.”

This spurred the couple to learn more about the house and its style, causing them to fall in love with mid-century modern design. They started going to meetings of the Conservancy’s Modern Committee (ModCom) and other events to learn more about modernism. “The Conservancy has done an exemplary job of highlighting Mid-Century Modern homes,” says Bob. “These homes are complete works of art in themselves.”

When asked what aspect of the Conservancy’s mission has the most meaning for them, Bob said “When I first moved to L.A. in 1997, I read about all these historic structures being torn down, like The Gardens of Allah – built by silent movie star Alla Nazimova.

Where we grew up (Bob in upstate New York, Joel in Colorado), they wouldn’t tear down historic places like that. In Los Angeles, it was not as much of a priority to try to retain the places that made Los Angeles and Hollywood spe- cial. So I felt it was important to save what was here.”

Through their planned gift, Pillar Society members provide the Conservancy with sustained, long-term financial support, and leave a lasting legacy that preserves L.A.’s cultural heritage, which is why Bob and Joel made the decision to become members. “We don’t have children, but even if we did,” says Bob, “we want our legacy to be promoting the values that we think are important and supporting the organizations that promote them.”

Joel added, “We put the Conservancy in our estate plans because you have to know where you come from to know where you’re going.”

JOIN THE PILLAR SOCIETY

Are you interested in joining the Pillar Society or learning more about putting the Conservancy in your estate plans? Visit laconservancy.org/pillar-society

OR contact Liz Leshin, director of development, at lleshin@laconservancy.org