LACA

Summary
Chestnut Lodge was a venue located in Highland Park, Los Angeles. The items include a demolition notice, flyers, photographs, cassette tapes, and a vinyl record.

Historical Note
Chestnut Lodge was a music and performance venue that operated from 2014–2017. It was located in a house at 812 Chestnut Ave in Highland Park, Los Angeles. Its first event featured live performances along with installations including "a dead fish, a decrepit mattress, fecal matter, cheez whiz, a saxophone, and assless chaps for an S&M spa class." On August 29, 2016, the tenants were issued a notice that an application had been filed through the City of Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety for the demolition of the house. Chestnut Lodge hosted its final sendoff show on August 26, 2017, just prior to the house’s scheduled date of demolition. The following evening, the tenants were forced outside at gunpoint by unknown perpetrators, who then set the house ablaze. The founders of Chestnut Lodge suspect the arson was an intentional act of insurance fraud and tenant eviction. The collection was donated by Kane Lafia.

Scope and Content
The collection features materials from the event history of Chestnut House, some of which were recovered from the fire that destroyed the venue. Salvaged items sustained minor to significant damage.
Documents: Several event flyers for “Ape Mutation Celebration: The Awakening”, “Sleaze O Rama”, and “THE END”. One large flyer featuring an obituary of the venue. One notice of demolition.
Objects: A set of photographs from 2014–2017 taken at Chestnut Lodge. Two cassette tapes and a vinyl record.

Timeline
The property was listed at $399,000 in August 2014 and sold in October 2014 for $420,000. Chestnut Lodge opened as a venue in December 2014. In August 2016, an application for the demolition of the house was submitted to the City of Los Angeles and posted on the fence of the property. By at least February 2017, a plot plan had been drawn, indicating an intention to construct five parcels of single-family housing on the property, each standing four stories tall. The plot plan for the original house’s removal was marked as “ready to issue” two days before the arson attack in August 2017, when the tenants were violently evicted by unknown individuals. The City of Los Angeles issued a permit for demolition in September 2017 and a building permit for the new residential complex in February 2018. As of January 2022, estimates have valued the property at roughly $950,000 (RE/MAX, Zillow). [Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]