The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named The Factory in West Hollywood to its 2015 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.This annual list spotlights important examples of the nation’s architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. More than 250 sites have been on the list over its 28-year history, and in that time, only a handful of listed sites have been lost.

The building now known as The Factory is a Truscon Steel Company-designed industrial building built in 1929 to accommodate the booming success of the Mitchell Camera Corporation. Mitchell Cameras revolutionized filmmaking and fueled the growth of the film industry in Hollywood and around the world. By minimizing noise and maximizing functionality, these cameras enabled films to go from silent to “talkies,” and continued to influence camera technology until the digital era arrived in the early 2000s. Today, The Factory is one of the last remaining industrial buildings in West Hollywood built specifically for the technical aspects of the film industry.

Following the camera company’s move to the suburbs in 1946, The Factory was converted to serve a series of new uses, including a cosmetics warehouse, a furniture showroom, a private, celebrity nightclub, an antique market and an experimental theatre. It is most famously known as the home of Studio One, a pioneering gay disco that opened in 1974. Hosting the likes of Patti LaBelle, Joan Rivers and Liza Minnelli, Studio One and its Backlot Theatre were open seven days a week, had cutting edge sound and light systems, and a dance floor that regularly drew more than 1,000 people a night. Founded by a Beverly Hills optometrist and openly gay man, Studio One became a place for gay men to socialize and proudly and openly celebrate their identity. As such, it was associated with the gay rights movement throughout its history. When the AIDS epidemic hit in the early 1980s, for example, one of the nation’s first major fundraisers for AIDS research took place at Studio One.
Now The Factory’s legacy is threatened with demolition by a large-scale hotel project—one of the many new developments now jeopardizing West Hollywood and Hollywood’s LGBTQ heritage and early film industry history. The Robertson Lane Hotel project calls for a pedestrian “paseo” or walkway to run directly through a portion of the site on which The Factory now sits, a route that could easily be realigned to spare this landmark from the wrecking ball.

“The Factory is a trove of important and multi-layered history that simply cannot be replaced,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The Factory has proven many times over its history that it can successfully evolve with changing times to serve a variety of uses. As West Hollywood plans its future, this is just the type of place to protect and preserve, not destroy."

Members of the public are invited to learn more about what they can do to support these 11 historic places and hundreds of other endangered sites at www.SavingPlaces.org/places.

The 2015 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places (in alphabetical order):

A.G. Gaston Motel - Birmingham, Ala. This motel played host to Martin Luther King Jr. and served as a “war room” for leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Now vacant and badly deteriorating, it can be restored as part of a new Civil Rights center.

Carrollton Courthouse – New Orleans, La. Built to serve Jefferson Parish before the city of Carrollton was annexed by New Orleans in 1874, this is one of the most significant landmarks outside of the French Quarter. After decades of use as a school building, it is now vacant and for sale with no preservation protections in place.

Chautauqua Amphitheater – Chautauqua, N.Y. A beloved National Historic Landmark that has occupied a special place in American culture for well over 100 years, the “Amp” is threatened by the Chautauqua Institution’s plans to demolish it.

East Point Historic Civic Block– East Point, Ga. East Point City Hall, City Auditorium, City Library and Victory Park form a contiguous block that has been the heart of downtown East Point since the 1930s, but is currently suffering a potential fate of demolition by neglect.

Fort Worth Stockyards – Fort Worth, Texas. This historic district attracts millions of visitors each year to experience Fort Worth’s emergence as a center of the American livestock industry. A large-scale redevelopment project would forever alter the character of the stockyards historic district.

The Grand Canyon – Ariz. A beloved international icon and a sacred place for several Native American tribes, the Grand Canyon is threatened by development proposals ranging from tourist resorts to mining.

Little Havana – Miami, Fla. A symbol of the immigrant experience and the American melting pot, Little Havana’s scale and character is threatened by zoning changes and lack of protection for its many historic buildings.

Oak Flat – Superior, Arizona. A sacred site to the San Carlos Apache and several other Native American tribes, Oak Flat is threatened due to a land exchange provision included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 that would open the site up to mining.

Old U.S. Mint – San Francisco, Calif. A National Historic Landmark built in 1874 and one of the very few downtown buildings to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire, the Old U.S. Mint is increasingly at risk as decades of neglect and inattention take their toll

South Street Seaport – New York, N.Y. The focal point of the early maritime industry in New York, the South Street Seaport today features some of the oldest architecture in the city. A tower and other development proposals threaten to dramatically alter a historic neighborhood that has endured for generations.

The Factory – West Hollywood, Calif. The Factory was built in 1929 to house the Mitchell Camera Corporation. After being adapted to serve many other uses, The Factory re-opened in 1974 as Studio One, an influential disco for gay men that became a hotbed for celebrity performances and AIDS activism. It is currently threatened by a development proposal.

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America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has identified more than 250 threatened one-of-a-kind historic treasures since 1988. Whether these sites are urban districts or rural landscapes, Native American landmarks or 20th-century sports arenas, entire communities or single buildings, the list spotlights historic places across America that are threatened by neglect, insufficient funds, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy. The designation has been a powerful tool for raising awareness and rallying resources to save endangered sites from every region of the country. At times, that attention has garnered public support to quickly rescue a treasured landmark; while in other instances, it has been the impetus of a long battle to save an important piece of our history.