“Dingbat-style” apartments, the charmingly boxy and quirky post WWII apartments which define the architectural character of the San Fernando Valley, are getting a boost from a new earthquake law passed by the Los Angeles City Council, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Lawmakers this week passed a sweeping new ordinance requiring property owners to pay for seismic upgrades to all pre-1978, wood-frame residential buildings.

While the city put safety ahead of design when they passed this law, strengthening seismic protections for these 50s and 60s-era buildings offers a side benefit of preserving thousands of dingbat buildings in the event of a major quake.