> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Skaters turn up volume - URL: https://www.smdp.com/skaters-turn-up-volume/ - Published: 2007-02-14T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T00:03:18.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Business, Main St, #archive-import CITY HALL Months of frustration and emotion over the potential demolition of a historic surf and skate shop finally boiled over here on Monday. Close to two dozen people spoke out, both pro and con, before the Landmarks Commission in regards to the preservation of the old Zephyr and Jeff Ho Productions building at 2001-2011 Main Street. The former business is often credited with helping to usher in a revolutionary period of skateboarding in the 1970s. The building was thrust into the public spotlight when the commission began to consider nominating it as a historic landmark in October, following public outcry that resulted from a demolition permit filed by the owner. It was in and around the Zephyr shop where a group of street kids from Dogtown helped revolutionize skateboarding, introducing an aggressive style that has come to define the sport. The building’s owner is planning to replace it with an environmentally friendly, 14-unit mixed use development. It was an emotional meeting on Monday, filled with pleas from advocates to save the Ocean Park neighborhood, a neighborhood that has seen many changes in the past decade with bigger developments coming in, such as directly across the street from the building in question. To bulldoze the Horizons West Surf Shop, once home of Zephyr, and two artist studios run by famed artists John Baldessari and Annie Sabroux, would be a step in the wrong direction, advocates said. “You’ll be doing a great disservice to the city if you bulldoze it,” said Paul Hoffman of Orange County. This week marked the first time the Landmarks Commission had discussed the building since December, when it continued the motion for two months to give Juli Doar, the granddaughter of the owner, time to reach out to the community. Two months later, the commission decided again to continue the motion for two months, in order to gather more information about the developer’s plans and the cultural history at the site. Several Landmarks Commissioners said they were opposed to nominating the building for landmark status at this point, since the building is not in imminent danger. “I think we have a real honest attempt by a property owner to come up with a real model project that could be a landmark in its own right down the road,” said Commissioner Roger Genser. Both Commissioner Ruthann Lehrer and Chairwoman Nina Fresco spoke in favor of nomination. “It’s a dog of a building, but it’s Dogtown, so maybe it’s the right building for this,” Fresco said. ALL SIDES OF THE STATUS The audience was filled with both young and old, current and former residents of Ocean Park, and opponents and proponents of preserving the building through a landmarking process. Some in the audience proudly wore their Zephyr Competition Team T-shirts and jackets, including Jeff Ho himself. “I don’t blame the owner for trying to develop the property, but if you do tear it down, it would be a loss to the community and to the world,”said Ho, the original owner of Zephyr. The speakers appeared to be split into three groups. First, there were those who wanted to save the building at any cost, arguing that it is vital to preserve the old character of Santa Monica in a rapidly changing neighborhood. “There is something that is different from an actual historical landmark versus something that is meant to commemorate it,” said Shannon Leavey, an Ocean Park resident who has been a vocal proponent for landmarking the building. A 30-year resident of Ocean Park, Chris King talked about how his neighborhood has changed over the past three decades. He cringes whenever he sees the “eyesore” that is developing across the street from the Horizons West Surf Shop. “To deprive other kids to grow without that culture and influence that Jeff Ho and others provided for me... would be a huge detriment to this town,” King said. Others in the audience said that a compromise is possible, as long as the owner decides to incorporate a proper homage to skating history in the new development. Doar is planning to do so by incorporating an art installation into the new building. “What we would really like to do is continue on with our project and integrate some art and to ask for guidance now as to which direction to go,” Doar said. More important than the building itself is the cultural history that occurred in the building, said Blair Calderhead, who grew up in Ocean Park. Calderhead feels the property owner is “getting hung out to dry.” “Something like a surfing reef would be an awesome thing that we could all use,” Calderhead suggested. Then there were the ones who say they respect the history, but are in favor of more affordable and green housing and would like to see a new development. An advocate for workforce housing, former City Council candidate Jenna Linnekens argued that while history is important, so is the future. “Character and spirit are not defined by walls,” Linnekens said. Landmarking the building would set a dangerous precedent, according to Richard Wexler, who has lived in Ocean Park since 1975.Wexler, who started surfing in the 1950s with two of his friends who became skate-boarding pioneers, is concerned with the practice in America of people telling other people what they should do. “To declare this a historical landmark would be demeaning to the landmark process,” Wexler said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 14, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)