The Living Memorial to the Artist Tom of Finland
(Born Touko Laaksonen, Finnish, 1920–1991)
Tom of Finland House
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1135
1421 Laveta Terrace, Los Angeles (Echo Park), California
A Monument to Community Resilience
Tom of Finland House, affectionately called TOM House, is more than a historic residence. It is the living memorial to the artist Tom of Finland, whose extraordinary work helped transform the visual culture of the twentieth century and became an enduring symbol of LGBTQ+ identity, freedom, and self-expression. Recognized as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, the House holds profound artistic, historical, and cultural significance.
Why We Must Save TOM House
The purpose of this site is to save TOM House and preserve the legacy of Tom of Finland. The House is an important part of our cultural heritage and a place where artistic expression, LGBTQ+ history, and community memory converge.
Preserving TOM House means protecting more than a historic building. It means safeguarding a living connection to the artist, the people who carried his vision forward, and the generations whose lives, histories and artwork are reflected in this legacy. TOM House deserves a future. Its history must not be lost.
Saving TOM House Means Preserving A Living Legacy for Future Generations
When Tom and Durk Dehner established Tom of Finland Foundation at their Echo Park residence in 1984, their mission extended beyond preserving one artist’s work. In the years that followed, against the devastating backdrop of the AIDS epidemic and its profound toll on the Gay community, the preservation of erotic art took on an even greater urgency. TOM House became a place where art, memory, identity, and community could endure in the face of loss, stigma, and cultural erasure.
Today, TOM House stands as more than a monument to one man’s drawings. It is a living testament to a community’s survival, kinship, creativity, and defiance—a place where lives, art, and Queer legacies continue to be remembered, preserved, and celebrated.
A Monument to Community Resilience
Tom of Finland House, affectionately called TOM House, is more than a historic residence. It is the living memorial to the artist Tom of Finland, whose extraordinary work helped transform the visual culture of the twentieth century and became an enduring symbol of LGBTQ+ identity, freedom, and self-expression. Recognized as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, the House holds profound artistic, historical, and cultural significance.
Why We Must Save TOM House
The purpose of this site is to save TOM House and preserve the legacy of Tom of Finland. The House is an important part of our cultural heritage and a place where artistic expression, LGBTQ+ history, and community memory converge.
Preserving TOM House means protecting more than a historic building. It means safeguarding a living connection to the artist, the people who carried his vision forward, and the generations whose lives, histories and artwork are reflected in this legacy. TOM House deserves a future. Its history must not be lost.
Saving TOM House Means Preserving A Living Legacy for Future Generations
When Tom and Durk Dehner established Tom of Finland Foundation at their Echo Park residence in 1984, their mission extended beyond preserving one artist’s work. In the years that followed, against the devastating backdrop of the AIDS epidemic and its profound toll on the Gay community, the preservation of erotic art took on an even greater urgency. TOM House became a place where art, memory, identity, and community could endure in the face of loss, stigma, and cultural erasure.
Today, TOM House stands as more than a monument to one man’s drawings. It is a living testament to a community’s survival, kinship, creativity, and defiance—a place where lives, art, and Queer legacies continue to be remembered, preserved, and celebrated.
What Has Happened to TOM House?
“Over the last forty years, TOM House has stored Tom’s art and Tom’s library, hosted countless events and tours, and hosted artists-in-residence working with and on behalf of Tom of Finland Foundation. Historically, TOM House has also served as the Foundation’s office.
Last June everything changed. The Foundation ceased all correspondence with me personally. It stopped paying the monthly rent, which allowed me to preserve TOM House and continue the work of preserving Tom’s legacy. Prior employees of the Foundation informed me that they had recently been fired at almost the same time.
This past month I was contacted by an artist who thought he was coming to TOM House to participate in the Foundation’s Artist-in-Residence Program. He told me he had received notice that he would no longer be hosted, and he asked me if this was true as he had sublet his apartment and bought his round-trip ticket. I had not personally received any notice that the Program had been canceled.
Checking on the Foundation’s website, there was no information as to the Artist-in-Residence Program being canceled, or contact information for the current officers, board, or executive director, and so on.
Now, in response to community outcry and the open letter signed by 42 artists, Tom of Finland Foundation issued a public statement announcing their decision to leave TOM House. This decision has left TOM House without funding or any support. Since the Foundation’s inception what I have earned, I have always used to preserve and improve the House for the benefit of Tom’s Foundation.
As a nonprofit, Tom of Finland Foundation has a duty to the public and to the community it serves to be transparent. Hopefully, with your presence here, and with the board of directors, we can once again have the Foundation we so rightfully value as part of our community.”
— Durk Dehner
Call to Action
- Read, engage, and post on this website.
Click to Submit Your Letter - Please post, share, and promote this website to your social media.
- Demand accountability and email the Tom of Finland Foundation’s board of directors to insist they honor our community and to express your urgent concerns regarding the future of TOM House—a monument to Queer survival, kinship, and defiance—and ask them about their plans for the Foundation.
Robert Knox Hayes, Chairman
[email protected]
Joshua Hauth, Vice Chairman
[email protected]
David Aldea, Treasurer
[email protected]
Nolan Feng, Secretary
[email protected]
Brooke Wise, Curator
[email protected]
What Has Happened to TOM House?
“Over the last forty years, TOM House has stored Tom’s art and Tom’s library, hosted countless events and tours, and hosted artists-in-residence working with and on behalf of Tom of Finland Foundation. Historically, TOM House has also served as the Foundation’s office.
Last June everything changed. The Foundation ceased all correspondence with me personally. It stopped paying the monthly rent, which allowed me to preserve TOM House and continue the work of preserving Tom’s legacy. Prior employees of the Foundation informed me that they had recently been fired at almost the same time.
This past month I was contacted by an artist who thought he was coming to TOM House to participate in the Foundation’s Artist-in-Residence Program. He told me he had received notice that he would no longer be hosted, and he asked me if this was true as he had sublet his apartment and bought his round-trip ticket. I had not personally received any notice that the Program had been canceled.
Checking on the Foundation’s website, there was no information as to the Artist-in-Residence Program being canceled, or contact information for the current officers, board, or executive director, and so on.
Now, in response to community outcry and the open letter signed by 42 artists, Tom of Finland Foundation issued a public statement announcing their decision to leave TOM House. This decision has left TOM House without funding or any support. Since the Foundation’s inception what I have earned, I have always used to preserve and improve the House for the benefit of Tom’s Foundation.
As a nonprofit, Tom of Finland Foundation has a duty to the public and to the community it serves to be transparent. Hopefully, with your presence here, and with the board of directors, we can once again have the Foundation we so rightfully value as part of our community.”
— Durk Dehner
Call to Action
- Read, engage, and post on this website.
Click to Submit Your Letter - Please post, share, and promote this website to your social media.
- Demand accountability and email the Tom of Finland Foundation’s board of directors to insist they honor our community and to express your urgent concerns regarding the future of TOM House—a monument to Queer survival, kinship, and defiance—and ask them about their plans for the Foundation.
Robert Knox Hayes, Chairman
[email protected]
Joshua Hauth, Vice Chairman
[email protected]
David Aldea, Treasurer
[email protected]
Nolan Feng, Secretary
[email protected]
Brooke Wise, Curator
[email protected]
Photographs by Andrew Lyman © 2026