The Miltimore House in South Pasadena is classic Irving Gill — basic in design, grand in thought. No wonder it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Written by Jocelyn Gibbs Photography by Marvin Rand and Cameron Carothers Architectural historian Esther McCoy once called Irving John Gill one of America’s “few wholly original architects.” Though he was nearly forgotten in the decades...
Cliff May’s childhood spent on an early Golden State ranch developed his gift for building classic Spanish-style houses throughout Los Angeles and San Diego. by Jocelyn Gibbs Cliff May’s prolific career as a designer and builder of modern California ranch houses and haciendas began in San Diego in 1931, but his legacy continued to grow long after his 1989 death. Although an untrained designer, May had...
ArchitectureforSale, Quarterly presents an archival interview by a noted novelist with self-educated architect Herman Koller, who built a fantastical Southwest home in Pasadena that remains a marvel. by Kay Haugaard Herman Koller is a slight man who looks at you like an old prospector squinting into the sun. But don’t let his unassuming style fool you. He has accomplished an enormous feat. It required a...
Michael Rotondi’s collaboration with Clark Stevens and two adventurous clients inspires an iconic constructivist dwelling. by Pierluigi Serraino, AIA Buildings are like cats. Sometimes they can have many lives, although rarely, if ever, nine as the proverb goes. The Carlson-Reges house in downtown Los Angeles is the story of one of those lives, an architectural permutation of how a structure can morph...
by Alan Hess The names of countless modern architects have faded into the mists of time. Once in a while, however, one of these forgotten architects will reemerge, becoming part of a larger conversation, especially if one of his or her buildings is fortunate enough to have survived and has captured our attention with its remarkable character. Webster and Wilson are among such architects; and the Wade...
The case for identifying and preserving houses with true architectural merit. by Nicholas Olsberg “Frank Lloyd Wright designed our house,” announce the parents of the teenage characters in the 1959 Sandra Dee film, A Summer Place. After establishing their home’s pedigree, these same parents walk visitors from the entry of Wright’s Della Walker house in Carmel into an interior set...
In conversation with Mark Morrison, architect Phillip Jon Brown recounts the challenges he faced in 1984: designing an elegant and surprising two-story modernist residence on Errol Flynn’s former ranch, a parcel of land as wild as its former owner’s social life. by Mark Morrison In 1984, Philip Brown was an emerging USC-trained architect and urban planner who had only designed six houses—two of...
Understanding Underwood Known for his rustic lodges and grand depots, Gilbert Stanley Underwood changed the architectural landscape of the American West—and his rambling 1928 Hollywood Knolls home is just as modest as he was. by Ann Scheid Gilbert Stanley Underwood was a quiet man who preferred to live a quiet life. Aloof and serious about his work, he was prolific in his Los Angeles practice, yet unsung...
With his see-through Bay Area home, Donald Olsen proved that a glass house can be as private and practical as it is aesthetically pleasing. by Pierluigi Serraino, AIA Mies Van Der Rohe may have coined the architectural aphorism, “Less Is More,” but it didn’t stop him from living in an unremarkable apartment on a historic block in downtown Chicago. Likewise, the equally celebrated Finnish-American...
On the occasion of Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday, a new look at his textile-block homes shows they were more than modern wonders—they were hotbeds of cultural exchange in an emerging City of Angels. by John Crosse Much has been written about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mayan-inspired Southern California architecture of the early 1920s. Yet, relatively little is known about his West Coast sojourns and...
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