Kurt Cobain's Hollywood Home Doesn't Make The Cut For Monument Status

LOS ANGELES, CA — The historic preservation of the famous homes of famous people is a longstanding tradition in this country, but in Hollywood, it can be a challenge to narrow down the list.

That was the case Thursday when an effort to designate the Hollywood home where Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love and Korean-American actor Philip Ahn once lived as a historic-cultural monument failed. The effort was part of a bid to spare the now-boarded-up home at 6881 Alta Loma Terrace from demolition by its current owner, artist Arthur Jafa.

"One of the big issues that we have ... in Los Angeles, is someone famous lived somewhere at some time in their career pretty much everywhere," explained Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission President Barry Milofsky.

Ultimately, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously Thursday to reject an attempt by the Los Angeles Conservancy to have the city designate the 1921 home an historic-cultural monument. Jafa, a prominent artist in his own right, recently bought the house with plans to demolish and rebuild. He opposed the effort to designate it a landmark because it would have made it difficult for him to tear it down.

The L.A. Conservancy sees the home as a special part of the city's history. Cobain and Love lived in the home between 1992 and 1993 when Nirvana's fame exploded and enveloped the late rock legend. Ahn, a character actor in nearly 200 films is considered one of Hollywood's first Korean-American stars, lived there from 1952 to 1958. According to the Los Angeles Times, it's also where the 1973 Robert Altman thriller “The Long Goodbye" was filmed.

The Conservancy also noted the home's craftsman architectural style with Japanese influences, as well as being an early home in the High Tower neighborhood of Hollywood, which is accessible to residences by elevator instead of vehicle.

Margarita Jerabek, a representative for Jafa, opposed the designation by arguing that the property wasn't associated with Ahn during the most productive part of his career, and that Cobain's residence in the home was short-lived.

Jafa gave an impassioned speech to commissioners in opposition of the designation. Jafa bought the house, his first to own, for $1.5 million in 2021. The house was "boarded up" and uninhabitable, and he has plans to demolish it to build a new home. Instead, L.A. Conservancy attempted to get the property added to the Historic-Cultural Monument list in an effort to have it restored.

"I've wondered so many times how any of you would feel if some entity just identified your home, came up, made some designation irregardless of your wishes and just tried to dictate to you how you're supposed to -- at your expense, at your expense -- what you're supposed to do with the property," Jafa said to commissioners. He added that he wouldn't have bought the house if he had any idea it would be targeted for monument status.

Mashael Majid, a representative for Council District 4, called in to support the owner and call for the designation to be rejected. She noted that the property, like other vacant and abandoned homes, has become an issue in the neighborhood due to people breaking in.

"The current owner, Mr. Arthur (Jafa) Fielder, a famous and culturally significant African American artist purchased the site last summer in an effort to activate it safely and expeditiously so that these issues don't persist," Majid said. "He purchased it prior to any nominations being made and is understandably upset, since he was not aware that anyone would be pursuing HCM designation here."

When a property is designated an Historic-Cultural Monument, the commission has to approve proposed exterior and interior alterations. According to the city Planning Department, the commission also is able to object to the issuance of a demolition permit, delaying the demolition for up to 180 days, plus another possible 180-day extension, if approved by the City Council, to allow time to evaluate preservation alternatives.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.