Lost: Bunker Hill Houses, Los Angeles, California

Bunker Hill Houses, Los Angeles, California.  Photo by unknown photographer, but found at NPS'
Heritage Documentation Programs Facebook page.

The Castle just prior to demolition.  Found at On Bunker Hill.

Listed as Gone but not forgotten on the National Parks Service's Heritage Documentation Program's Facebook page, these extraordinary homes fell from their foundations to make way for circa 1960s skyscrapers and parking lots.  The losses are stunning, including the Victorian mansion at left awaiting its doom.  Note the high rise representing downtown L.A.'s future. In an uncanny juxtaposition, the photo below depicts a house on the move in nearly the same location as the Victorian.  A few may have been relocated, but at the time of this posting, no information on their whereabouts has been found.

Perhaps one that was saved?  Found at the 1947 Project.

Writer Jeremy Rosenberg summarizes how the demolitions were in response to Housing Act of 1949.  Published by KCET, Rosenberg finds that "the Housing Act wound up contributing to the gutting of established residential neighborhoods located in urban centers throughout the United States."  This one law altered neighborhood and urban landscapes forever.  Say nothing of the displaced people that resided in this unique L.A. neighborhood.

Victorian mansion in the way of progress.  Find this and other dramatic
photos at KCET's Departures.

Threatened: Historic Wintersburg, Huntington Beach, California

Wintersburg Presbyterian Church, Huntington Beach, California.  Photo found at O.C. Roundup.

California's agrarian landscape is steeped in diverse community histories that tell of immigration, perseverance, and sacrifice.  Leaving one's homeland for a strange land has always been met with trepidation, but for those who survived, their stories are priceless. Historic Wintersburg has become an invaluable resource for telling the story of Japanese emigrants adjusting to a new land, yet its survival is threatened by rezoning and demolition. "It is the sole remaining Japanese-owned, pre Alien Land Law property," writes Mary Urashima of the Historic Wintursburg's Blogspot, "and one of the rare Japanese historic properties left in Orange County." 
Supporters of its preservation have started YouTube and Facebook pages for public awareness.  Even the City of Huntington Beach is encouraging its preservation.  Despite state and nationwide interest, Historic Wintersburg's fate is uncertain.
UPDATE: The Orange County Register recently announced that the owner of the property will not demolish the buildings, at least for now.  The property owner, Republic Services, is working with local preservationists to consider possible options.  The work begins, as reported by the Huntington Beach Independent.