By Crosby Doe Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I was conditioned to a strong belief in a brave new world—the promise of Tomorrow! Every week, the Sunday Los Angeles Times featured a new modern house on the cover of its magazine and celebrated its clean lines, indoor-outdoor aesthetic and popular use of materials such as cinder block, plywood and steel. Disneyland opened in 1955, reinforcing...
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By Crosby Doe In a perfect world, it might seem, any piece of real estate on the market that is showcased in an architecture magazine like this one would still be available for sale when the issue reaches the reader. But after only a few issues of architectureforsale quarterly, I’ve found that the publishing process is so intensive – between researching, writing, acquiring rights to photos, to...
By Crosby Doe How many times have you gone to a movie with friends and left the multiplex scratching your head? You didn’t hate the film; it was mildly entertaining, and though it wasn’t very nourishing, it was a harmless way to pass a few hours munching popcorn in a pleasant, air-conditioned room. But dare to expect more and argue that it could’ve been better, that the plot didn’t add up, and...
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...
by Crosby Doe As summer approaches, and this latest issue of ArchitectureforSale, Quarterly is about to go to press, I find myself ensconced at New York’s Palace Hotel en route to France with Docomomo to study the work of Le Corbusier. My room has a view, or should I say, views: The spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, each capped with the Christian symbol of hope that life is not in vain, point to the...
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...
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...
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...
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...