Restorations

Restoration of the historic Reyes Adobe in Agoura Hills moved a step closer to reality with the announcement Tuesday of a $400,000 grant approved by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The funding, from voter-approved Proposition 40, will likely be combined with city funds to cover the estimated $500,000 needed to fix up the 1820 adobe residence and barn, said Agoura Hills City Councilwoman Louise Rishoff. "We'll find a way to make it happen.

Under an ambitious restoration project now being refined, the ecologically battered San Joaquin Marsh would be transformed within several years into an urban wildlife sanctuary. Once renovated, the marsh, one of Southern California's largest freshwater wetlands, is expected to provide numerous species with much-needed habitat as well as offer the community an opportunity to view wildlife that thrives in a relatively rare environment, proponents of the plan said.

A $220,000 restoration project of the upper San Luis Obispo Creek is nearing completion. "This is the culmination of two years of work," said Brian Stark, deputy director of the county's Land Conservancy. The project in Reservoir Canyon is intended to restore steelhead habitat and reduce the risk of flooding downstream. Floods and runoff had caused damage to the banks and bed of creek.

The Santa Monica Mountains is a wilderness filled with natural dangers. On Saturday, a group of volunteers will try to tame it. They will help restore a 2 1/2-mile stretch of the Backbone Trail in Upper Solstice Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, part of the National Park Service. The project involves the removal of brush and debris from the trail to help keep it clearly marked.

The arrival of warm weather has people thinking of visiting one of the Antelope Valley's most popular water recreation spots--the Littlerock Dam. Problem is, the dam and its recreation area are closed to the public and will remain so for up to a year pending completion of a $22-million restoration project aimed at strengthening the dam and nearly doubling its water storage capacity. The work, which began more than 10 months ago, will also result in improved recreational amenities at the dam.

An art restorer working to expose 18th century Mexican craftsmanship on a church altar unmasked something even older and more exotic: a panel believed to have been hand-carved in France in the 1500s. The altar at La Purisima Mission was furnished by the Civilian Conservation Corps when the mission was rebuilt in the 1930s, officials said. Its front piece was thought to be a 200-year-old Mexican gold-leaf panel.

The first phase of a $2-million restoration of the historic City Gym and Pool has been completed. The project included renovating the men's and women's showers, women's restroom, game room and office; and upgrading the 1931 facility to accommodate disabled people. Federal and state grants paid for the $600,000 first phase of the restoration.

Italian director Sergio Leone's 1968 western classic "Once Upon a Time in the West," like so many films stashed away in storerooms for decades, has not aged well. The common signs: scratches, fading colors and a generalized reddish hue. But by next fall, the film -- starring Henry Fonda and Claudia Cardinale -- will be restored to its desert blazing glory and ready to be shown at the second Rome Film Festival.

The city and the Irvine Co. hope to restore a rare freshwater habitat for amphibians, shrimp and plants at Fairview Park, officials said. One of the park's four vernal pools, seasonally occurring wetlands with special ecosystems, will be revitalized by the developer, which must do the work in exchange for building over a pool at another site.

The winds and rains came along, huffing and puffing so hard that the landmark gazebo in Palos Verdes Estates was blown down five years ago. It took time to raise the money to reconstruct it, but the Torrance Beach gazebo is back up on Paseo del Mar, replacing the 1930 gazebo that used to stand there. "I think a lot of people missed it," said Dorothy Flood, treasurer of Palos Verdes Beautiful, one of the groups that paid for the renovation. "It's a great view from there."