Do you De-Stucco?

Do you De-Stucco?
Originally uploaded by Historic Echo Park.

Yeah! The members of the EPHS have waged a long, and often losing,battle against the "stuccoing" of wood sided houses. This unfortunate remodeling ruins the appearance of many of our oldest, homes by smothering their wood siding and shingles under a coat of stucco. This effort to "modernize" a home also leads the homeowner, prodded by a contractor trying to make a buck, to rip out wood windows and replace them with cheap aluminum sliders. But, as in the case of this house on Effie between Lakeshore and Lemoyne, a few homeowners have reversed the process by removing the stucco and restoring the wood underneath. It's a relatively simple process. Check out the "de-stucco" primer in the Preservation section of www.HistoricEchoPark.org Very few people de-stucco, and the owners of this place are certainly deserving of an Echo Park Preservation Award for taking such action.