Southern California Architecture California Modern Architecture Urban Planning
California City was chosen as a building site because of its' proximity to highways, railroads, military bases, and mining. It also was purported to sit on top of an underground aquifer that would never run dry. Smith and Williams, along with landscape architect Garrett Eckbo, designed parks, golf courses, swimming pools, and green spaces into a desert community, based on easily accessible water.
Smith & Williams records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
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California City, Calif.; Kern County, Calif.
Despite all of the city planning and marketing of California City, the population did not increase at the rates hoped for by the investors. The marketing of California City was aimed at people in the greater Los Angeles area who wanted to escape the smog and congestion of the urban city and live in a completely planned and organized city. With gold, silver, and borax mines, as well as a military base, jobs were available. The advertising brochure shows how narrow the marketing focus was on a specific type of homebuyer.
California City was designed as a master-planned community, with all of the necessities of life close by: home, work, recreation, and shopping. Smith and Williams were able to start with a blank canvas-- literally the open desert-- to create multiple planned communities within the California City city limits. Aerial renderings show the abundant green space around and between homes and businesses, as well as recreational centers.
The main recreation area at the center of town was the Central Park. It contained golf courses, swimming pools, and a large lake for boating and fishing. Smith and Williams designed this distinctive shade structure for the end of the boat ramp.
As city planners, Smith and Williams designed many different types of buildings used by various parts of the community. The Congregational Church in California City utilized the same stylistic roof and shade structure motif of the recreation building in the park to provide continuity to the public spaces.
In order to attract a wide variety and number of prospective home owners to this planned community, Smith and Williams designed a variety of neighborhood plans to fit different demographics. Some neighborhoods featured wide, park-like lots without fences, others were to be standard suburban lots with equal-sized lots, still others were 'atrium houses' which featured an interior courtyard, as well as townhomes, high rises, and senior living facilities. All would be within easy walking or driving distance of work, school, shopping, and recreational facilities.