HBCSD Corruption
Lie #18
The Misinformation:
(1) Historic Resource Assessment Report of The North School Campus Hermosa Beach City School District, by Pamela Daly, M.S.H.P., Daly & Associates slide presentation, presented by Superintendent Pat Escalante at the May 25, 2016 Measure S Informational Presentation.
NOTE: This presentation, and the misinformation contained in it, was downloaded to the HBCSD website prior to the $59 Measure S bond vote.
(2) Historic Resource Assessment Report of The North School Campus Hermosa Beach City School District, by Pamela Daly, M.S.H.P., Daly & Associates, 4486 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501, dated May 2016.
NOTE: Pam Daly & Associates was hired by Placeworks and HBCSD using taxpayer money. Even after five significant errors in Pam Daly’s first Historical Resource Assessment Report of North School were reported to HBCSD and Placeworks in March 2017 in a letter submitted for the Environmental Impact Report NOP [Notice of Participation], Pam Daly was not replaced by Placeworks or HBCSD. Instead, she was allowed to continue reporting misinformation for the draft EIR in her FINAL Historical Resource Assessment Report, Appendix E.
1. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Page 5:
…“As such, the buildings and structures located the North
School campus are not under the jurisdiction of the City of Hermosa
Beach Municipal Code or its Historic Resources Preservation
Guidelines.”
NOTE: The misinformation was also contained on slide 3/page 3 in the
slide presentation by Superintendent Pat Escalante at the May 25,
2016 Measure S Informational presentation.
COMPETING INFORMATION:
Hermosa Beach Preservation Ordinance (Ord. 98-1186, Section 4,
11/10/98) Chapter 17.53 (http://www.hermosabch.org/index.aspx?
page=462)
17.53.020 Purpose and intent:
“The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health,
safety, and general welfare by providing for the identification,
protection, enhancement, perpetuation, and use of historic resources
such as buildings, structures, sites, and places within the City that
reflect the special elements of the City’s architecture, artistic,
cultural, historical, political, and social heritage…”
17.53.030 Area of application:
“This chapter shall apply to all historic resources, publicly and
privately owned, within the corporate limits of the City of Hermosa
Beach.”
2. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Page 15:
…”the construction company of Johnson and Hansen was
awarded a contract to reconstruct the sole building of North School
for $9,066 [in 1934]. According to architectural drawings on file
with the Hermosa Beach City School District, the rebuilding of North
School was designed by the architectural firm of Marsh, Smith & Powell (MSP).”
CORRECT INFORMATION: Green Bill document [the earliest version of
DSA documents] for Application 382 AND the architectural drawings
on file at the Division of State Architects CLEARLY shows that the
construction company of Johnson and Hansen along with architect
Samuel E. Lunden, NOT MSP as Pam Daly states above, was the team
that reconstructed North School after the 1933 Long Beach
earthquake.
NOTE: How did Pam Daly miss the fact that renowned architect
Samuel E. Lunden reconstructed the main building at North School?
Was she told NOT to identify Samuel Lunden as the true architect
by someone at HBCSD so the school district could justify to Hermosa
Beach residents the demolition of the North School campus?
3. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Page 20: Re:1930s
Main Kindergarten and Classroom Buildings.
“When the North School building was badly damaged from the
Long Beach earthquake in 1933, the firm of MSP [Marsh, Smith and
Powell] was retained by the District to rehabilitate the existing
North School Building.”
CORRECT INFORMATION: All documents for North School Application
#382 AND the architectural drawings on file at the Division of State
Architects CLEARLY show that architect Samuel E. Lunden, NOT MSP as
Pam Daly states above, was the architect that reconstructed North
School after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.
NOTE: There is no excuse for Pam Daly to get this information
wrong, other than for her purposely lying on this taxpayer paid
report.
4. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Page 21: 1. North School
Main Building.
… “During the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, the building was
substantially damaged and the District was required to have the
building repaired and reconstructed. The architectural firm of MSP
[Marsh, Smith & Powell] (David D. Smith, architect) was responsible for
the design and reconstruction of the building.”
(Attributed to the Hermosa Beach City School District. “Board of
Trustee, Volume 2 (1928-1934)”, page 44.)
CORRECT INFORMATION: Samuel Lunden was the architect for the
reconstruction of North School in 1934. The reconstruction of North
5. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Slide presentation, slide
#9, Historic Context.
NOTE: Pam Daly omits Samuel Lunden’s name from the Rebuilding of North School. However, she lists the names of the other architects in the Historic Context. Was this an oversight or intentional omission?
6. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Page 22: 1. North School
Main Building.
“The Pier Avenue School had also been severely damaged from
the earthquake, and one of it original architects, Samuel Lunden, was
given the job of rebuilding that school building.”
COMPETING INFORMATION: Samuel Lunden was born in 1897. According to Pam Daly’s report, Pier Avenue School was built in 1911 by Richard D. King in the Neoclassical style of architecture, similar in design to the original Pier Avenue School building.
NOTE: Samuel Lunden was 14 years old in 1911 when Pier Avenue School was built. Therefore, Samuel Lunden was NOT one of Pier Avenue School’s original architects. Why is Pam Daly just making up
"information” in her Historic Resource Assessment of North School?
7. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates:
Slide presentation: Slide #10, Post Long Beach Earthquake
Reconstruction of North School.
Pam Daly incorrectly names architect Norman Foote Marsh of Marsh,
Smith, Powell architects as the architectural team that reconstructed
North School. Further down on the slide, Pam Daly ALSO names David D. Smith as the architect for the reconstruction of North School after the Long Beach earthquake.
CORRECT INFORMATION: Neither Norman Foote March nor David D.
Smith were the architects for the reconstruction of North School.
According to the blueprints for the reconstruction of North School
and DSA application 382, the principal architect for the
reconstruction of North School was renowned architect Samuel
Lunden. However, MSP were also a renowned architectural team
specializing in cutting-edge design for public schools in the 1930s
– 1950s. MSP were the principal architects on two other buildings
at North School that were built in the Le Corbusier architectural
style in 1939.
8. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates:
Slide presentation: Slide #10, Post Long Beach Earthquake
Reconstruction of North School.
Pam Daly also states that:
“[MSP was] responsible for the design and reconstruction of the
North School building after the Long Beach earthquake”.
COMPETING INFORMATION: Pam Daly incorrectly attributes the design
and reconstruction of the original North School building after the
Long Beach earthquake to MSP and architect David D. Smith. Samuel
Lunden was the architect who was responsible for the "design" and
reconstruction of the North School main classroom building. The
significance of this statement by Pam Daly is that even though she
identified the wrong architect for the reconstruction of North School
in 1934, she however admits that there was “design” involved in the
reconstruction of North School.
NOTE: Pam Daly's statement above contradicts HBCSD Attorney Terry Tao's statements at the May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting
of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members.
Time Stamp: 02:28:10. At the May 31, 2016 presentation, Terry Tao states that North School was not "designed". He claims that the architect only did a "renovation" of North School. Whereas, although Pam Daly incorrectly attirbutes the design to MSP, she does say that North School was "designed" not just "renovated".
HBCSD attorney Terry Tao states:
“So if you, if you go to the DSA and you get the application, um,
from 1934, that what it looks like, and you’ll see up here that, it is also
for reconstruction. So, remember that number? 382? That’s the
number right there for the DSA application, 382. So, it was just a
six-page renovation of an earthquake damaged building. It is not a
Lunden design.”
9. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Page 22: “1. North
School Main Building.”
“Lunden had chosen to rehabilitate the Pier Avenue School in a
Modern style. MSP [architects] may have been asked by the District to
use the Moderne style of architecture for rebuilding of North School, so
that it reflected the style of architecture used on Hermosa Beach’s
most prominent school building.”
CORRECT INFORMATION: Pier Avenue school (1935 DSA applications
numbers #692 & #882) was reconstructed AFTER the reconstruction of North School (1934 DSA application number #382), not before.
Therefore, the Art Deco/Moderne style of architecture was used in
the design of North School before it was used for the design of Pier
Avenue School. Again, Pam Daly seems to be just making up
“information” in her Historic Resource Assessment of North School.
Why? Did someone tell her to lie? Is that how she got her job
with HBCSD – because she was willing to lie for the school district
and downplay the facts of North School for money?
CORRECT INFORMATION: All documents for North School Application
382 AND the architectural drawings on file at the Division of State
Architects CLEARLY show that architect Samuel E. Lunden, NOT MSP as
Pam Daly states above, was the architect that reconstructed North
School after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Pam Daly repeats her
earlier misinformation.
(3) Final Historic Resource Assessment Report of The North School Campus Hermosa Beach City School District, by Pamela Daly, M.S.H.P., Daly & Associates, 4486 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501, dated July 2017, was used as an Exhibit for the 2019 Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was accepted by school board members in February 2019.
"As a professional paid with taxpayer money to write an important Historic Resource Assessment for an important and highly impactful draft-EIR, Ms. Daly’s fabrications, omissions and errors ae inexcusable.” letter from Miyo Prassas to Place Works.
NOTE: Despite proof of misinformation sent to HBCSD administration about the rampant and inexcusable misinformation contained in Pam Daly’s Historic Resource Assessment Report of North School the district seemed to double-down on, and simply ignore the misinformation. There seemed to be no concern or attempt by HBCSD to correct or prevent misinformation contained in their reports and meetings.
NOTE: Page E-57 of Appendix B states: *P10. Survey Type: CEQA Intensive-level. Can this report really be defined as an "intenstive-level" report with all the misinformation and misleading information contained in Pam Daly's Historic Assessment of North School?
NOTE: Pam Daly’s Historic Resource Assessment Report of North School was posted on the worldwide web for years by HBCSD despite the numerous mistakes in the report that were pointed out to HBCSD administration.
NOTE: At the May 31, 2016 Joint City and School District meeting, HBCSD attorney Terry Tao states that: “We are working on the one over in Torrance right now, in case you’re interested. That one is also being done by Pam Daly, um, the same person whose evaluation you’re looking at, um, but that’s not the reason I’m here.” May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members. Time Stamp: 02:00:55 Did Pam Daly make as many “mistakes” in her Historic Assessment for Torrance as she did for Hermosa Beach?
NOTE: Was Pam Daly one of HBCSD attorney Terry Tao’s “go-to helpers” to provide misinformation to taxpayers? Is that why she was hired by HBCSD?
1a. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Environmental Impact
Report page E-26 and E27:
“[Samuel] Lunden and [Paul] Jeffers did require that the four
chimneys of the classrooms fireplaces/stoves be removed, and that
the main entrance to the building, a character-defining feature of
school architecture, be walled off to provide greater structural
stability to the front elevation. Except for the sealing-off of
the front vestibule…” …”this resulted in the cross-gable roof, in
the center of the south roof plane, becoming a “ghost” architectural
feature for the center entrance that no longer exists.”
1b. Pam Daly, M.S.H.. of Daly & Associates: Environmental Impact Report, Appendix B, page E-59:
"Additionally, when the Main Building was rehabilitated [by Samuel Lunden], the original, centrally-located, formal front entrance portal was filled-in and covered over with a small window unit. This resulted in the building losing one of the most character-defining architectural feature of a 1920's school building."
CORRECT INFORMATION: Samuel Lunden’s architectural blueprints for
the reconstruction of North School after the 1933 Long Beach
earthquake, sheet 2 of 6, clearly shows that Lunden DID NOT wall-off
the entrance to the building as Pam Daly claims.
To support her intentional misinformation, Ms. Daly does not include
Sheet 2 out of a total of six sheets of blueprints in the appendix of
her report. Sheet 2 clearly shows the front entrance of the
reconstructed North School building that Samuel Lunden redesigned
after the 1933 LB earthquake.
NOTE: The front entrance to North School was believed to have been altered in the 1960s remodel of the campus. Department of State Architecture, application #17780. There are photos of Hermosa Beach residents that were taken in front of the main central door of North School 1934 building proving further evidence that Samuel Lunden did NOT wall off the front entrance to North School in his renovation of the building in 1934.
NOTE: Why would Pam Daly intentionally lie to the people of Hermosa
Beach? Did she do it for money? Who at HBCSD told her to lie? Did
Pam Daly lie because the cabal wanted her to lie so they could justify
tearing down North School? It is believed that part of the quid pro
quo for HBCSD denying their contractual provisions to temporarily use
the Community Center for students was a brand-new campus at North School, whether the district needed it or not.
Pam Daly’s “mistakes” are obvious intentional deception of Hermosa Beach taxpayers and the Coastal Commission
condoned by HBCSD Superintendent Pat Escalante, HBCSD School Board members and Placeworks
2. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Final Historic Resource Assessment Report of the North School Campus, July 2017. Environmental Impact Report page E-30 and E31:
“The same style of window sash is found along the rear
(north) elevation, in groupings of four, three-sash tall units,
with two, two-sash tall units in one combined unit at the east
end of the building;… and a six-wide, three-sash tall unit at
the west end of the façade.”
CORRECT INFORMATION: In her description of the north elevation of
the main building, Daly is using the photo on page E-31 for reference.
In the photo on page E-31, the bottom portion of the east end of the
building is covered by a large piece of plywood – left in front of the
windows by someone. Ms. Daly incorrectly and inexcusably describes
the windows that are behind the large piece of plywood as being a
group of “four, three-sash tall units with two, two-sash tall units in
one combined unit”, when in actuality the windows at both the east
and west ends mirror each other and are both six-wide, three-sashed
tall units.
Ms. Daly seems to have no first-hand knowledge of the actual building she is describing in her report.
NOTE: Is Pam Daly trying to minimize the design of the 1934 main classroom buildings at North School in order to claim that it has no real architectural value in her report? Pam Daly used the ugliest photo she could find for her report on North School. There are nice photos of North School that Pam Daly could have used in her report.
3. Pam Daly, M.S.H.P. of Daly & Associates: Final Historic Resource Assessment Report of the North School Campus, July 2017.
Environmental Impact Report for North School, Appendix B: California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR Series 523 Inventory Site Forms for North School.
"The main building was damaged from the effects of the Long Beach earthquake in 1933, and was extensively rehabilitiated when the exterior brick walls of the building were strengthen with the installation of a suport system of steel webbing." page E-55.
"The original North School building was rehabilitated with an Art Deco/Moderne influenced facade covering over the original 1924 Neo-Classical brick facade,"... page E-55.
"The exterior facade of the building was substantially altered in 1934..." page E-57.
NOTE: Page E-58 of Appendix B states: 89a: Architect: Richard D. King (1924), *B10 Significance: None, Period of Significance:1924.
COMPETING INFORMATION: Pam Daly compares the current reconstructed 1934 North School main building to that designed in 1924 Neo-Classical North School main building. The current 1934 designed building no longer looks anything like the original 1924 designed building.
Instead of evaluating the newer 1934 design by renown architect Samuel Lunden in a Art Deco/Moderne architectural style on it's own merits, she claims it no longer looks like the 1924 built school, therefore it has no value. However, this same criteria was NOT used when evaluating Pier Avenue School that also no longer looks like the original 1911 building. Pier Avenue School was also renovated after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake by Samuel Lunden. Today, Pier Avenue School is deemed to be a registered historic building. Unlike Pam Daly's assessment of the 1934 reconstructed North School, the 1935 reconstructed Pier Avenue School is NOT compared to the original 1911 designed Pier Avenue School. Pier Avenue School has been evaluated as a 1935 designed campus by renown architect Samuel Lunden and deemed to be historically important part of Hermosa Beach history.
NOTE: Debi Howell-Ardila, Senior Architectural Historian with SWCA and vice-chair of the Cultural Heritage Commission in South Pasadena with a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Historic Preservation from USC and eleven years’ experience in historic preservation email to the Hermosa Beach City School District and the City of Hermosa Beach, email sent May 31, 2016.
NOTE: In comparison, Pam Daly, HBCSD’s hired taxpayer paid “expert”, received her master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont and her undergraduate degree from Elmira College.
From Debi Howell-Ardila's email sent May 31, 2016:
“In my opinion, and based on the dozens of schools I’ve
surveyed throughout So Cal, North Elementary appears eligible for
the City of Hermosa Beach Register under local criteria A (“It
exemplifies or reflects special elements of the city’s cultural,
social, economic, political, aesthetic engineering or architectural
history”) C (“It embodies distinctive characteristics of a style,
type, period, or method of construction”), and D (“it is
representative of the notable work of a builder, designer or
architect,” in this case renowned architects Samuel Lunden and
Marsh, Smith and Powell).
“In terms of the California Register, it appears eligible
under Criteria 1, as a highly representative example of a 1930s
school, as well as Criteria 3, as an outstanding example of WPA
era-Art Deco institutional building.”
NOTE: School Board members and City Council members promptly ignored Debi Howell-Ardila's email regarding the historical importance of North School. It seems that School Board members and City Council members routinely ignore information brought to them by community members. They only seem to pay attention to what they want to hear.
NOTE: Debi Howell-Ardila's email to Hermosa Beach regarding the historical significance of North School was NOT included in any of the several iterations of Environmental Impact Report for North School.
(4) Terry Tao, HBCSD Attorney (2002 -):
“So, North School was completed on September 10, 1924, the
earthquake occurred March 10, 1933. And then there was a remodel
of North completed in December of 1934.”
May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council
and HBCSD School Board. Time Stamp: 02:28:10
MISLEADING STATEMENT: Department State of Architecture (DSA) documents for Application #382 specify that North School was reconstructed, NOT remodeled.
(5) Terry Tao, HBCSD Attorney (2002 -): Slide: North School Blueprint Sheet #2 from Samuel Lunden.
"The reason I included this slide, is because I happened to
look at the drawings. I’m a licensed California architect, so this
is kind of what I do. So, um, here are the drawings. It’s actually
only six pages”
May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council
and HBCSD School Board. Time Stamp: 02:28:10
DECEPTIVE STATEMENT: The kindergarten building designed by the famous architectural team of Marsh, Smith and Powell (MSP) which is located next to the Main North School building had five pages of blueprints, yet Terry Tao is not denying that that wasn’t an actual MSP Architect’s designed building.
NOTE: The North School main building had six pages of hand-drawn blueprints and 61 pages of hand-typed detailed design and construction notes by renown architect Samuel Lunden in 1934.
6. Terry Tao, HBCSD Attorney (2002 -):
“So if you, if you go to the DSA and you get the application,
um, from 1934, that what it looks like, and you’ll see up here that,
it is also for reconstruction. So, remember that number? 382? That’s
the number right there for the DSA application, 382. So, it was just
a six-page renovation of an earthquake damaged building. It is not a
Lunden design.”
May 31, 2016 presentation to the Joint meeting of the HB City Council members and HBCSD School Board members. Time Stamp: 02:28:10
FALSIFICATION: Terry Tao states that North School was "just a six-page renovation".
1. North School was a RECONSTRUCION NOT a renovation.
2. The 1939 classroom building done at North School by Marsh,
Smith and Powell (MSP) contained only five pages, but Terry
Tao does not dispute that those buildings were original
designs by MSP.
3. Samuel Lunden included 61 pages of hand-typed instructions
and six pages of architectural drawings in his application to
the DSA for the reconstruction of North School in 1934.
4. The before and after photos of the original classroom building
designed by Richard D. King in the Neoclassical Revival style
and the reconstruction done by Samuel Lunden in the WPA
Moderne style are completely different.
CORRECT INFORMATION: State of California Division of Architecture, Application No. 382, Filed 6/21/34: Application for Approval of the Plans and Specifications for the Construction, Reconstruction, Alterations of or Additions to a School Building. “Herby make application for the approval of the plans and specification for the Reconstruction of North School. Architect Samuel E. Lunden, Structural Engineer Paul E. Jeffers. Specification sheets: 61 sheets."
COMPETING INFORMATION: At the 02:45:55 mark, Terry Tao has no problem admitting that Samuel Lunden is a “very significant architect” when it comes to the reconstruction of Pier Avenue School which Samuel Lunden reconstructed at about the same time as North School.:
[Terry Tao] “Oh, you know what? I, um, I had thought about that a
little bit when I was wandering around the school the other day, or
the Community Center, the other day. Um, this is a very significant
architect [Samuel Lunden] that actually worked on this school, so more likely than not it would be considered a cultural resource.”
NOTE: North School should have also been considered a cultural resource as is Pier Avenue School. Both North School and Pier Avenue School are excellent examples of WPA Moderne architecture by renowned architect Samuel Lunden.
NOTE: Samuel Lunden was also a person of significance to South Bay history and culture. Example: Samuel Lunden was instrumental in getting the Pacific Coast Highway routed close to Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach in the 1930s, he designed the Doheny Library at USC (1933) and the Southern California Stock Exchange building in 1929.
NOTE: A significant associate and colleague of Samuel Lunden was Roger Hayward. Roger Hayward and Samuel Lunden were friends from early in their careers in Boston, MA. Lunden had brought Hayward to California in 1929 to do design work on the 1929 Los Angeles Stock Exchange building. However, after the Great Depression, Hayward had difficulty finding work. It is believed that Lunden, in order to help his friend Hayward out during the Great Depression, had him design the decorative inset at North School of the lamp of learning sitting atop a stack of books and the Greek alaphabet letters, alpha and omega representing learning subjects from "A to Z".
A. Roger Hayward was a renown sculptor, artist, inventor and
architect. In 1934 he sculpted a 38-foot model of the moon
for the Griffith Park Planetarium
(http://astronomy.snjr.net/blog/?p=698). He collaborated with Linus Pauling, recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, on several books including the Architecture of Molecules and drew 57 pastel panels of molecules for the book.
B. Roger Hayward designed much of the exterior of the USC Doheny
C. It is very likely that the inset decorative panel above the
original entrance at North School of the lamp of learning
signifying the burning desire to learn, sitting a top three
books with the Greek symbols of Alpha and Omega signifying the
sum of all knowledge was a contribution by Samuel Lunden’s
friend and business partner, Roger Hayward.
D. The decorative inset at North School has a similar motif as
on the arch entrance to the Doheny Library at USC, which Lunden
with assistance from Hayward had finished the year prior to
building North School.