Irving J. Gill: Alice Lee and Katherine Teats houses (San Diego, Calif.)
Alice Lee (a San Diego socialite and second cousin of Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife) and Katherine Teats commissioned two distinct house groups from Gill. In 1905 Gill designed a house for Lee and Teats on Seventh Avenue, with adjacent rental houses, all in the Prairie style, on land purchased from George Marston, another client who built a significant house nearby, currently a museum and historic landmark. Hazel Waterman, then working in Gill’s office, did the drawings. The landscape was by Kate Sessions. In the period photographs, the streets are unpaved and the upper stories of the houses contain sleeping porches-- open air rooms with ample cross-ventilation in a time before air conditioning.
Irving John Gill papers, 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
Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. University of California Regents.
Irving J. Gill: Wangenheim house (San Diego, Calif.)
Hebbard and Gill designed an English cottage for Wangenheim, a civic leader, owner of a grocery store business, and the father-in-law of Melville Klauber, another Gill client. San Diego was a small town and Hebbard and Gill worked with most of its prominent citizens, reflecting the significance of the firm in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Irving J. Gill: South Bay Union School (San Diego, Calif.)
Gill designed a number of schools. A 1913 article about his concrete public school for the City of Fontana praised the large outdoor playground and quoted Gill as saying that the basement playroom is “the most glaring evil in school room construction today.”
Irving J. Gill, architect John S. Siebert, architect
Irving J. Gill: Laughlin Park Casa Grandes development (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The Los Angeles Herald published several articles announcing the luxury housing development at Laughlin Park. A 1912 article announced that Gill was in charge of all planning for this Hollywood Hills development on a site of three acres. Another article, attributed to Gill, describes the planned development. By 1913, Laughlin had sold the land and Gill was no longer involved. Laughlin Park remains an exclusive neighborhood but none of the homes were designed by Gill.
Irving J. Gill, architect Lloyd Wright, landscape architect
This early photograph of Irving Gill, from circa 1898, shows him soon after he moved to the San Diego area from Chicago. Gill is dressed in a suit with a bow tie and is looking away from the camera. It is one of a series of posed studio portraits taken of Gill in various poses.
Irving J. Gill, architect Unknowm photographer
Irving J. Gill: Barker house (San Diego, Calif.)
Gill used simplicity, symmetry and strategic asymmetry in his landscapes and buildings. Garden walls extend the building volume across the site, while also enclosing gardens and terraces. In this series of drawings of graphite and gouache on board for the Nelson Barker house, the white planes of the house and garden walls stand out against the faintly-sketched backdrop.
Irving J. Gill: Gill office (San Diego, Calif.)
The photograph in the reception area of the office depicts the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, the first Franciscan mission in New Spain. William Hebbard and Irving Gill (Hebbard and Gill partnership, 1896-1907) stabilized the building in 1899-1900 for the California Landmarks Club. According to his nephew Louis Gill, Irving studied the building closely to understand its simple dignity. The second image shows brushes, paints, and smocks, as well as photographs of Hebbard and Gill designs on the wall, including the Ellen Mason house (1903) and the First Methodist Episcopal Church (1905-07), and a 1914 issue of House and Garden, which includes an article about Gill’s work. Gill’s fascination with concrete as an inexpensive, fireproof building material prompted his intensive experiments with concrete formulations, using the bags of sand, water jug, scales, and other instruments for testing concrete mixtures.
Irving J. Gill: Klauber house (San Diego, Cailf.)
This house had a simplified exterior form, with a slight Japanese flavor in the tilt of the roof, and a warm Arts and Crafts interior. Melville Klauber was from San Diego’s growing merchant class, and married to the sister of Julius Wangenheim. Klauber made room in his house for a studio for his own sister, Alice Klauber, a painter who had studied with American artist, Robert Henri. Alice was friends with Natalie Curtis, the ethnomusicologist and collector of Native American songs; Frank Mead; and Charles Douglas and Wheeler Bailey. Alice was later the chairperson for the Panama Californian Exposition’s Art Exhibition section.
Irving J. Gill: Laughlin house (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This is the first Los Angeles building that Gill designed on his own. The house has a classic center hall plan and an enclosed outdoor court. He typically oriented his plans so that one was drawn toward the light and landscape at the back of the house. Abstract Doric columns supported unfinished logs to create vine-covered pergolas. Modern conveniences included a garbage disposal, vacuum cleaner outlets in each room, and a car wash in the garage. Laughlin also commissioned the Laughlin Theater (Long Beach) and planning for Casa Grandes (the Laughlin Park development, Los Angeles) from Gill.
Irving J. Gill: Miltmore house (South Pasadena, Calif.)
The austere Miltmore house is generously “ornamented by nature.” Gill sited the house to preserve the many trees on the sprawling lot and placed long loggias alongside the front and rear elevations. The interior is gracious though simple, designed to be easy to keep clean. Gill raised the floors of the closets to keep out dust, and eliminated all moldings. The roof holds a solar hot water heater and skylights. The master bathroom includes a newly popular feature: a shower.
Irving J. Gill: Dodge house (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The Dodge house was located on Kings Road, just north of the future site of Schindler’s own 1921 house. Considered Gill’s masterpiece, the design was widely praised for, as historian Leland Roth wrote," revealing a functional asymmetry whose ornament was derived solely from the studied geometry of the sharp openings in plain walls." The house was bulldozed, after a long preservation effort, on February 9, 1970. The shock of that loss helped launch the Los Angeles Conservancy, founded in 1978. Gill assembled his own crew to build this and other houses in the L.A. area, in order to get exactly what he wanted. The house was built of reinforced concrete, with metal windows and had many modern conveniences. The layering and piling of cubes and rectangular forms in the Dodge and Clarke houses resembles Native American pueblo buildings. Schindler and Wright consciously borrowed from these native structures, but it’s not clear what Gill’s immediate sources were.
Irving J. Gill: Timken house (San Diego, Calif.)
This 18-room house built for the steel manufacturer, Henry Timken, was Gill’s largest to date. Gill placed the house close to the street, leaving room for enclosed courts and a large garden. Eloise Roorbach’s contemporary article noted that the “court is the center of the home life,” and praised the design for, “not a single ornament mars the pure symmetry of [the house].”
Irving J. Gill: Clarke house (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.)
Built on 60 acres of orange groves, the Clarke estate was Gill’s last major residential project. Constructed of poured in place reinforced concrete, the house measures 8,000 square feet. Gill’s drawings note that Gill and Pearson built the house using the “Gill System.” The Clarkes called their “ranch house,” Krankhaven (in German, a healthy haven). The Clarke house plan bears a remarkable similarity to that of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock house (1917-1921) in Los Angeles for Aline Barnsdall, on which Lloyd Wright and Rudolf Schindler worked. When oil was discovered on their land shortly after they moved in, the Clarkes moved elsewhere, including to land in the Coachella Valley where they established a date farm. Marie Rankin was a patron of the arts in Los Angeles and, among other efforts, donated the land for the Hollywood Bowl, for which Lloyd designed two shells, in 1927 and 1928.
Irving J. Gill: Ellen Scripps house (La Jolla, Calif.)
A book could be written about Gill’s women clients, and Ellen Scripps would be a significant chapter. She helped her brothers build a successful newspaper business and moved to La Jolla in 1897, when the town had “cow paths in lieu of streets.” The success of the Scripps newspaper syndicate allowed her to live independently and to make significant contributions to La Jolla. When her first house burned down, she asked Gill to design a fireproof house for the site. In a 1915 diary entry, Scripps described visiting Gill in his LA office to see the plans for her new house. He took her to his Banning, Dodge and Laughlin houses to see things, “Mr. Gill wants to introduce into my building.” Later, in a 1916 letter to her sister, she wrote: “The two Gills have been busy all day…in shirtsleeves and overalls down on their knees ‘surfacing’ the cement floors. I don’t know if you will like the effect, but to me it is ‘a thing of beauty and a joy forever.’”
Irving J. Gill: La Jolla Women's Club (La Jolla, Calif.)
Gill’s notes about the concrete work for the Club and the sequential construction photographs provide unusual detail for one of Gill’s significant civic designs. Robert H. Aiken is usually credited as the tilt-up pioneer in the U.S; he constructed several building in the Midwest between 1905 and 1910. When Aiken went bankrupt, Gill purchased the jacks and tilt-slab table in 1912 and used them to construct the Sarah Clark house (1913), Mary Banning house (1913-14), the Woman’s Club, and the La Jolla Playground Community House. Gill put great faith in concrete and this system and founded the Concrete Building and Investment Company. Although he kept the equipment at least until 1923, his venture lost heavily. It was in the end an expensive way to build.
Irving J. Gill: Holly Sefton Memorial Hospital (San Diego, Calif.)
Gill’s intention was to make his buildings as efficient as possible, and that is certainly true for this hospital, funded by Joseph Sefton and built on the grounds of the Children’s Home. The hospital was built of concrete to make it easy to keep clean and free of infestation. The operating area was well lit by natural light through the use of large skylights in the roof and a wall of windows. The accompanying photographic image from the period remind us how modern Gill’s buildings looked in comparison to what existed, and how much land close to cities was still undeveloped. At far left is the Sefton Hospital, with the Gill-designed Children's Home Association boys dormitory in the middle, and a typical building for the time, on the right.
Irving J. Gill: Scripps Biological Station (La Jolla, Calif.)
Gill’s austere clarity was especially suited to pragmatic building programs, such as the concrete Biological Station. Ellen Scripps funded the building, now part of the University of California, in honor of her brother George.
Irving J. Gill: Bishop's Day School (San Diego, Calif.)
Bishop Johnson lived in Pasadena and the Episcopal Church originally planned to build a preparatory school in Sierra Madre. When Ellen Scripps and her sister Elizabeth Virginia Scripps offered to be benefactors, the decision was made to build a day school in San Diego and a boarding school in La Jolla. Ellen recommended Irving Gill for both projects, pleased with his work on the Scripps Biological Station, 1908.
Irving J. Gill: Bishop's School for Girls (La Jolla, Calif.)
In the Woman’s Club, the La Jolla Playground Community House, and here in the Bishop’s School, Gill used an arcaded screen wall as a unifying element, and to articulate his austere geometry with rhythmic voids. Scripps Hall was built in 1910, Bentham Hall in 1912, and Gilman Hall in 1916-17. Louis Gill continued to add to the school’s building program, and Carleton Winslow, who was brought to California by Goodhue to work on the 1915 San Diego exposition, replaced Gill’s tower, put a dome on Bentham Hall, and added St. Mary’s Chapel and the Wheeler Bailey Library in the 1920s.
Irving J. Gill: Darst flats (San Diego, Calif.)
Gill designed two identical buildings bisected by a walkway from the street to the rear of the property. The floor plan for both buildings shows the mirror image of the first and second floors. Each building contained two two-bedroom apartments, with large living room (with fireplace), dining room, bathroom, kitchen with screened porch, and balconies on the first floor (with a lightwell above on the second floor).
Irving J. Gill: Lewis- Bella Vista Terrace court (Sierra Madre, Calif.)
Gill’s site planning was especially successful in this project. He pushed the cottages to the outside edge of the plot to leave a large public area for shared gardens and a loggia. He also placed each L-shaped cottage so that its arcaded porch and small garden had privacy from its neighbors. Though the cottages appear to be made of concrete, the walls are plastered hollow clay blocks. Fred B. Lewis was a jeweler from Cleveland. On a 1910 trip to California, he spent a vacation at the Cypress Court in Sierra Madre (owned by Frank Fraiburg, also a jeweler from Cleveland), located just north of where Lewis would decide to build his own house court for tourists such as himself. Gill planned 12 cottages for Lewis but only eight were built. In 1913 the Sierra Madre News announced that Lewis had purchased three acres, adjacent to Bella Vista Terrace, for a hotel being designed by Gill. The hotel was not built; Lewis sold Bella Vista Terrace in 1914 and moved to Long Beach, Calif.
Irving J. Gill: Rancho Barona Resettlement project (near Lakeside, Calif.)
The architect and planner Frederick Gutheim worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1930s. His letters to architectural critic Esther McCoy and to Louis Gill describe his friendship with Irving Gill and the Barona Resettlement project they worked on together. Letters in the Gill archive from agents in Washington D. C. refer to the clay block construction and the task of finding a proficient contractor for the Magnesite, which Gill specified for the interiors. Gutheim reported that Gill worked alongside the new residents to build the church and 12 cottages of handmade clay bricks. He was convinced that Gill’s work was important for being “a truly native style of modern building in California.”
Irving J. Gill: Daily Blade-Tribune building (Oceanside, Calif.)
In the last year of his life, with the Depression still strong, Gill designed at least four buildings, of which only the Blade-Tribune newspaper building and a beauty parlor in Redondo Beach were built. In 1936 he was working on a theater with Zara Witkin, a civil engineer for the City of Los Angeles who had worked on the Hollywood Bowl with Lloyd Wright, 1927-1928. In a 1936 letter to Gill, Witkin notes that he visited the Dodge house on Gill’s recommendation and was eager to discuss the “possibilities of mutual work.”
Irving J. Gill: Gill cottages (San Diego, Calif.)
Gill designed approximately eight cottages for parcels of land he purchased in San Diego. There is little documentation for these, but all or most of the houses seem to have been built on Albatross, Front, Robinson Mews, and Hawthorne streets.Gill proudly wrote to his father that he built his small houses, “so as to work out some new ideas I had for a cheap, semi-fireproof cottage for working men’s families. They have been a great success and I am building several others of similar construction.” Gill and his nephew Louis lived at 3719 Albatross in 1912. Lloyd Wright and his brother John lived in another of the cottages, down the lane. Gill reused the plan of his Cleveland Heights house in his preliminary design for the Bella Vista Terrace cottages, several years later.
Irving J. Gill: Horatio West court (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Gill helped Schindler and Claude Chase form and raise the tilt-slab walls for the Schindler house on Kings Road, 1921. Invoices in the Schindler archive show that Schindler rented some of Gill’s equipment for the concrete work. Chase assisted Gill on the construction of Horatio West, which has concrete floors and roof, and walls thinly constructed of plaster covered lathe. The building permit for this project was announced in 1922. The Horatio West and Lewis Courts are among the best examples of Gill’s intentions and compositional strategies. Richard Neutra was sufficiently intrigued when he first saw Gill’s buildings in 1925 that he included Horatio West, and several other Gill buildings,in his 1930 book, Amerika.
J.R Davidson: Rabinowitz House (Bel Air, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs of the interior and a floor plan of the Rabinowitz House. The design featured a panoramic view of Bel Air from its secluded position on a hill.
J. R. Davidson, architect Martin Rand, photographer
Julius Ralph Davidson papers, 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.
SBCAA: Mrs. Cate's house (Carpinteria, Calif.)
A well manicured lawn and garden surround a single story stucco house
Santa Barbara Community Arts Association records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Thomas Mann House: side view- exterior of house
Southern California Architecture California Modern Architecture
A photograph of the side of the house, taken from the driveway. The garage and service areas are to the left, with the terrace and balcony above to the right. A portion of the terrace was covered and enclosed by the Lappen family in the 1970s.
An architectural drawing of the north, south, and west exterior elevations of the house. Both the west and south elevations contain specific instructions for grading of the land and footings for the terrace.
A non-technical first floor plan of the house. The plan shows a large south-facing terrace, a motor court at the north side of the house with covered walkway connecting the service entrance and main entrance. Thomas Mann's study is located in the southeast corner, down a short hallway from the public areas of the house.
A non-technical plan of the second floor. This plan shows three small bedrooms which share one bathroom on the west side of the house, with access to the large south-facing balcony, which stretches the length of the house. The east half of the house contains Mrs. Katia Mann's bedroom and bath room, and the adjoining Thomas Mann's bedroom and bathroom (which can also be reached via a staircase from the first floor study).
Thomas Mann House: elevation and sections
An architectural drawing of the east elevation, details, and sections for the Mann house. The east elevation shows the balcony adjacent to Mann's bedroom, and the sections show the east and west sides of the house. There are also details of the staircase in the entrance hall.
This photograph of the front of the house with trees and landscaping was altered (possibly by Davidson himself) to add vines and leaves to the exterior walls and balconies of the house. In this view, the first floor terrace is not yet enclosed, and the second floor sun deck is on the upper right, prior to an addition by the Lappen family in the 1970s.
J. R. Davidson: The Golden Lion Inn, Sheridan Plaza Hotel (Chicago, Illinois)
Photographs of the exterior entrance, bar, and lunch counter of the Golden Lion Inn. The facade echoed tavern aesthetics, yet the inside was incredibly spacious and well lit.
J.R. Davidson, architect Hedrich-Blessing Studio, photographer
J.R. Davidson: Gretna Green apartments (Brentwood, Calif.)
Photographs of the exterior of the apartments. The plans reflected the Bauhaus concept of utilizing limited space. Each of the four apartments has an exterior space such as a patio or sundeck to provide private outside access- a luxury usually only available to single-family homes.
J.R. Davidson, architect Julius Shulman, photographer
© J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10) Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. University of California Regents.
J.R. Davidson: Feingold and Harris medical building (Los Angeles, Calif.)
These photographs document the narrow medical building that housed the practices of Dr. B.F. Feingold and and Dr. J.M. Harris. The spaces were designed to be modern and expansive, with scattered lighting and noise insulation.
J.R. Davidson: Sardi's Restaurant (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Davidson was commissioned to refurbish Sardi's Restaurant, which originally had interior design work done by Rudolph Schindler. Davidson reorganized the inside and added new features, opening up the space by cleverly incorporating partitions and changing the color scheme.
J.R. Davidson: Maitland Residence (Bel Air, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Davidson retrofitted this Georgian home to better house the owner's modern art collection. He replaced wall space with larger windows and a glass enclosed porch to allow more light in and open up the space.
J.R. Davidson: Joseph Kingsley House (Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Calif.)
After supposedly being turned down by Richard Neutra to design their home, clients Joseph and Lore Kingsley commissioned Davidson to design a unique home to fit their needs. This design was then mirrored next door in the house built for Joseph Kingsley's mother. Both houses provided southern exposure to a lemon grove and beyond, the ocean.
J.R. Davidson: Hotel Knickerbocker Bar and Tavern (Chicago, Illinois)
Photographs of the remodeled bar and tavern of the Hotel Knickerbocker. The resulting shape of the space results from the combination of "several existing odd rooms".
J.R. Davidson, architect Kaufman-Fabry, photographer
J.R. Davidson: Cocoanut Grove, Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs of the interior of the coconut grove courtyard and lamp details. Davidson emphasized unique lighting designs, with the lamps here incorporating vegetal or "oriental" star elements.
J.R. Davidson, architect Mott Studios, photographer
J.R. Davidson: Davidson House (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Floor plan and photographs of the residence Davidson designed for himself and his wife on South Barrington Avenue in Los Angeles.
J.R. Davidson, architect Robert Cleveland, photographer
J.R. Davidson: Bilicke-Satyr Books (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs of the exterior and interior of the Bilicke-Satyr Bookstore, featuring special strip lights. Many of Davidson's early commercial projects incorporate Art Deco elements, calculating geometric shapes, sleek forms, and straight lines.
J.R. Davidson, architect Willard Morgan, photographer
J.R. Davidson: Hi-Hat Restaurant (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs of the interior of the Hi-Hat restaurant. The owner originally requested an English style tavern, to which Davidson created a design that reflected his wishes but through a modernist's sensibilities.
J.R. Davidson, architect Willard, Morgan, photographer
Davidson, J. R. (1889-1977): Case Study House #1
Case Study House Art & Architecture Magazine
Case Study House #1 was the first design to be shown in the 1945 edition of Art and Architecture magazine, but due to wartime restrictions, it was not the first house built. J.R. Davidson was known for building large houses for wealthier clients, and he adapted his experience to fit the Case Study House program. His smaller house (only around 1100 square feet), went through a few floor plan iterations, but maintained a few higher-end luxuries such as separated bedrooms, each bedroom designed with its own bathroom and private patio, and large living areas which flowed onto outdoor living/dining rooms. It was finally constructed in North Hollywood in 1948 as a single family home, though in his early plans, Davidson had designed the house to allow for additional rental units to be built on the same property.
Los Angeles, Calif.; North Hollywood, Calif.
Davidson, J. R. (1889-1977): Case Study House #11
Case Study House #11 shows the progression of thought in the program since J.R. Davidson designed CSH#1. This house is smaller, more efficient, and is sited at an angle on the lot to still provide ample outdoor living areas. Both Davidson and Art and Architecture Magazine were hampered in their design and building of the CSH program by continued building supply shortages in the immediate post-war years. They were, however, able to use some of the new modern conveniences like plywood and in-floor radiant heating. The house was built in 1946 on South Barrington Avenue in West Los Angeles, but has since been demolished.
Davidson, J. R. (1889-1977): Case Study House #15
Case Study House # 15 is a modified version of CSH #11, also by Davidson. This particular version was changed slightly to conform to the site in the suburb of La Canada Flintridge. Changes include the shape of the patio, adding a basement, and adding a two car garage. The south-facing main rooms of the house promoted the indoor-outdoor lifestyle, with ample garden space and sliding doors.
J.R. Davidson: Stothart House (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Photographs of the exterior of the Stothart House; one of the driveway entrance and one of the side patio. The design emphasis on horizontal and flat forms, along with uniform windows and parapets echoed the International Style.
J.R. Davidson: Foster Project (Bishop Calif.)
Built in the single-story"ranch style", the Walter Foster House project was one of Davidson's new designs bearing a departure from the International Style in favor of Soft Modernism. The house's plan incorporated local building styles and materials, a hallmark of the related concept of Regionalism. Sadly, it was never built.
J.R. Davidson: California Sport Magazine cover
Davidson's design for the cover of California Sport Magazine.
J.R. Davidson: Vigeveno #1 (Ojai, Calif.)
Exterior photograph of the Vigeveno #1 House, a ranch-style vacation home for art dealer James Vigeveno and his family. Another design was made for Vigeveno alongside the first, although this second house featured a completely different architectural style.
J.R. Davidson: Office (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photos and plan of the entrance to Davidson's office in Los Angeles. The facade echoes the stylistic influences of Rudolph Schindler and Frank Lloyd Wright.
J.R. Davidson: Schilling's Flower Store (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photograph of the interior and front entrance of the Schilling's Flower Store. It was later replaced by Bachelor's Haberdashery Shop.
J.R. Davidson: Bachelor's Haberdashery Shop (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Photographs of the entrance and interior of the Haberdashery (a men's clothing store). This business replaced the earlier Schilling's Flowers.
J.R. Davidson: Drive-in Curb Market (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Renderings and floor plan of the Drive-in Curb Market. Designs like this clearly anticipated the increasing importance of automobiles in the modern age.
Schematics of lamp designs. Davidson was inspired by Bauhaus furniture, which were streamlined, stainless steel constructions.
J.R. Davidson: Blake G. Smith House (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
Sketches of the vacation house designed for Blake g Smith. The house was situated on the top of the cliffs, with a staircase leading down to a "natural sea pool".
J.R. Davidson: View of Klopstockstrase (Berlin)
Watercolor sketch of Davidson's hometown of Berlin.
J.R. Davidson: Sketches of Objects in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs (Paris, France)
An early sketchbook of Davidson's studies of furniture and other objects from a decorative arts and design museum in Paris. Note the attention to detail and pattern.
J.R. Davidson: Church Steeple (Posen, Poland)
Watercolor sketch of a church steeple when Davidson probably still lived in Posen, Poland.
J.R. Davidson: Sketch of Sommer im Schutzengraben
Watercolor sketch from one of Davidson's sketchbooks.
J.R. Davidson: Converted Apartment (Berlin, Germany)
Photographs of the former servants' quarters that Davidson retrofitted into his five-bedroom apartment in Berlin.
J.R. Davidson: Tierney and Co. Restaurant and Cafe-Bar (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Concept for the Tierney and Co. Restaurant. Note the bold Art Deco inspired interior.
J.R. Davidson: Bransten House (San Francisco, Calif.)
Davidson was asked to design a family home for Richard Bransten, son of a wealthy coffee manufacturer from San Francisco. The window design reflects De-Stijl sensibilities, focusing on large geometric shapes. The three story residence was built on a slope to provide abundant opportunities for sunshine, outside terracing, and views of the city. The multiple levels also provided more locations for social and family interaction.
J.R. Davidson: Cellarette on Wheels (Chicago, Illinois)
Davidson's furniture and restaurant supply designs expressed both Art Deco and modernist sensibilities. His "cellarette" concept for a pullout bar on wheels echoes the same simple, functional design of his patent for an easy open cigarette container.
J.R. Davidson: Berlin Armchair Design (Berlin, Germany)
Originally designed in Berlin, Davidson brought this drawing with him to America. The slightly curved armrests are reminiscent of Bruno Paul's own armchair designs.
J.R. Davidson: Crosby House (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The plan of the Floyd D. Crosby Residence is actually the same floor plan Davidson used for the design of his own home, though the interior design choices of the homes differed widely.
J.R. Davidson: Taylor House (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This house was designed not unlike the Crosby residence and Davidson's own home, although in the Taylor house the kitchen plan is more open and a glass vitrine provides views into the living room.
J.R. Davidson: Rattan and Bamboo Furniture
Davidson designed a whole line of outdoor furniture crafted from rattan and bamboo materials, which are flexible and durable enough to withstand the elements. He was inspired by Asian modes of craft-making, classic wooden furniture, and the designs of Paul T. Frankl, an industrial artist.
SBCAA: Hoffmann house (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Exterior view of "Casa Santa Cruz" designed by architect James Osborne Craig for client Bernard Hoffman.
James Osborne Craig, architect Obert's Photoshop, photographer
Interior view of library with fireplace and desk
Exterior view of house with patio and landscaping
James Osborne Craig, architect photographer unknown
Jock Peters: Peters house project (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The renderings for a proposed Jock Peters residence along College View Avenue in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles show a very modern house, sited on a hill, with a studio and garage at street level. As with his other residential works, this house was to have multiple outside decks, patios, and balconies, as well as ample entertaining space, and a view of the city.
Jock Peters papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Jock Peters: Shepard house (San Marino, Calif.)
This house for L.E. Shepard in the Los Angeles suburb of San Marino is one of the few houses designed by Peters. The style is a Streamline Moderne, with some hints of International Style and Art Deco. The images highlight the indoor-outdoor living, with patios, decks, and sliding doors.
Jock Peters: Gilks house (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This two-story modern house for the cinematographer Alfred Gilks is in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, just a short distance from Griffith Park. The house features multiple decks, an outdoor fireplace on the patio, and a mural in one of the bedrooms by Buckley MacGurrin.
These undated portraits of Peters highlight his personal style and attitude in line with his interior designs.
After working for the movie industry for a few years, in 1927 Peters began working with his brother George as Peters by Jock, Brothers Modern American Design Office. They designed furniture and other interior pieces.
Jock Peters: Bullocks Wilshire store (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The Bullocks Wilshire department store was one of the first to cater to customers in automobiles. The large Art Deco edifice was easily recognizable, and customers were able to drive up, have a valet securely park their car at the rear of the building, then shop or dine inside the 230,000 square foot building. The building was designed by father and son architecture firm Parkinson and Parkinson. Jock Peters and Eleanor Lemaire worked for the Fiel & Paradise Company as interior designers and were responsible for the first few floors of the store. Each of the departments was designed to be a luxurious retreat, where live mannequins and low display cases featured items for sale, not racks of clothes, which would obscure the architecture and interior details of the room. Bullocks department store was eventually bought out by Macy's, which rebranded the location as an I Magnin store. By the early 1990s, the chain had folded and the building was purchased by the Southwestern Law School.
Jock Peters, designer Eleanor Lemaire, designer Parkinson and Parkinson, architects Mott Studios, photographer
Jock Peters: L.P. Hollander store (New York, NY)
Jock Peters worked with Eleanor LeMaire on the interiors of the women's clothing store. The architectural firm who designed the building was Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, and it is located on East 57th Street in Manhattan. The store was laid out 'boutique style' with many different areas or shops for the customer to browse. LeMaire was a New York based interior designer, and had worked with Peters on the Bullocks Wilshire store
Jock Peters, designer Eleanor LeMaire, designer
After working with an architect in Germany, Peters emigrated to the United States in 1922 and settled in Los Angeles. By 1924 he was working with Famous Players- Lasky Corporation, one of the largest silent film production companies in the city. Peters worked on set designs until 1927 when he opened a design company with his brother George.
This presentation drawing is similar to other Byers drawings-- with a Spanish Colonial Revival house set amongst lush landscaping. The house features a loggia running the length of the front of the house, with a second story balcony, and all under a classic red tile roof.
John Byers papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
The McLaughlin house, though its location is unknown, is very similar to many of the adobe and Monterey Revival houses Byers designed in the Santa Monica area. With an exterior staircase leading to a second floor balcony, red tile roof, and colorful landscaping, the house is a good example of the Byers style. The design of the house allowed for it to be sited either on a suburban or rural property.
John Byers papers, 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
John Byers: Unitarian Church (Santa Monica, Calf.)
The two very different renderings of the Unitarian Church of Santa Monica highlight the range of styles that John Byers was capable of designing. The first image, a more Spanish Colonial style, was the ultimate choice of the building, which is shown in the third image, a photograph taken after construction. The second image shows a much more traditional church, with high pointed steeple, instead of the smaller tower with bell.
John Byers: Frederick Laue Restaurant (Santa Monica, Calif.)
The rendering for the Frederick Laue restaurant is an example of Byers' commercial work. While known specifically for residences, he did design a few commercial and civic buildings. A Laue Restaurant was located near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue from 1927 until 1936. This rendering, circa 1932, might have been a possible expansion in another location, or an unbuilt project rendering. The street view poses a facade very close to the sidewalk and street, while the back view highlights a patio with grassy area, and a two story massing.
John Byers: John Byers house (Santa Monica, Calif,)
These images are for the first and second floor plans for an early house for Mrs. John Byers. The plans are not dated, and there is no address listed anywhere on the sheets. The thick-lined walls for the living room and first floor bedroom indicate this house might have been partially constructed from adobe. The second floor bedrooms open onto a balcony, which would have assisted with cross-breezes and done away with the need for a sleeping porch.
In the John Byers collection, many items are unidentified. Some of the drawings have dates or locations, however the vast majority do not. This pair of images shows the front of an adobe-style house in the first image, and the back of the house in the second. Both drawings bear the hallmarks of the Byers style-- red tile roofs, lush landscaping, and an exterior staircase leading to a second floor balcony.
The Woolf archive contains quite a few portraits of John Elgin Woolf, including these color photos.
John E. Woolf papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
John Elgin Woolf: Guasti house (Montecito, Calif.)
The Guasti residence, perched high in the hills of Montecito, was designed and built by Woolf. With sweeping views of the Santa Ynez mountains to the rear of the property, and views from downtown Santa Barbara out to the Channel Islands from the front of the house, the placement was regal. A wide driveway leads up to a motor court and the main entrance of the house, with a mansard roof, oversize Pullman door, and symmetrical wings with shuttered windows-- all classic Hollywood Regency architectural features. A sculpture garden overlooks a wide lawn, and a pool with pool house and cabana sit sheltered on the north side of the house.
John Elgin Woolf, architect and designer
John Elgin Woolf: Marrakesh Country Club (Palm Desert, Calif.)
The community of Palm Desert was the desert retreat for many Hollywood celebrities, and the Marrakesh Country Club was one of many golf resorts that catered to that clientele. John Woolf was commissioned by John Dawson, an amateur golfer and real estate developer, to design 364 Hollywood Regency style condominiums, grouped into 14 separate communities within the club, each community had its own pool and pavilion, all designed by Woolf. Each villa and pool house was painted pink and white, with a mansard roof, tall Pullman door, symmetrical designs, and airy, spacious rooms.
John Elgin Woolf (1908-1980): Case Study House #17 alterations
Case Study House #17 was built in 1956 by Craig Ellwood on a lot along Hidden Valley Road in Beverly Hills. It was a modern design, of plywood, steel, brick, and glass, like many of the other Case Study houses. But in 1962, John Woolf purchased the house and remade it into his signature Hollywood Regency style. The post and beam vertical elements were wrapped in Doric columns, the large glass front door was replaced with an oversized solid 'Pullman' door, and the interior rooms were also changed.
John Elgin Woolf, designer Craig Ellwood, architect
Los Angeles, Calif.; Beverly Hills, Calif.
John Elgin Woolf: Pendleton house (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
The house for Pendleton in Beverly Hills was one of the first and most complete realizations of Woolf's Hollywood Regency style. With the large front entrance door, mansard roof, and symmetrical oval windows flanking the front door, the residence contains all of Woolf's signature style. John B. Pendleton and his wife, Mary Frances, requested Woolf design a single-story house, since Mary was unable to climb stairs. They also requested a pool, cabana, entertainment space, and plans drawn up within one week. The house became Woolf's first major commission in Los Angles, and led to many of his other projects.
John Elgin Woolf: Menefee house (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
The Menefee house, near Santa Monica Boulevard, is another example of Woolf's signature front facade. With a tall entry door, large covered windows flanking either side, and a circular driveway, the alterations to the house are classic Hollywood Regency style. The shutters covering the windows provide a wall of privacy facing the public street, which is another signature of Woolfs' designs.
John Elgin Woolf: Hornburg house (Bel Air, Calif.)
With a front entrance relatively close to the public street, the Hornburg house allowed Woolf to create a walled entrance area, with a large imposing front wall, private courtyard, and then a classic Hollywood Regency front door, with a symmetrical centered door knob. The semi-circular driveway allowed for parking of cars, an important feature since Hornburg was the first dealer to import Jaguar cars to the United States. As a former advertising executive, Hornburg marketed the cars to Hollywood celebrities and movie executives.
John Elgin Woolf: Vance house (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
The house for James Vance on Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills is considered another residence with significant Hollywood Regency style and attributes. With a tall brick privacy wall, leading to an oversize entry door, topped with an octagonal standing seam copper roof, along with the single-story layout surrounding a pool, the house has all of the classic Woolf hallmarks. Vance was a dentist, who had a successful practice in Beverly Hills. With it's classic pool and cabana, the exterior of the house was used for celebrity photo shoots in the 1950s.
John Elgin Woolf: Potts house (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
The design work on the Jack and Effie Potts home on Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills consisted of detail work in the living room, and exterior work to the house and front gate.
John Elgin Woolf: Petri house (San Francisco, Calif.)
Winemakers Louis and Flori Petri commissioned Woolf to design a house in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Woolf also designed an apartment in San Francisco, a house in Napa, and a condominium in Palm Springs for the couple.
John Elgin Woolf, designer and architect George de Gennero, photographer
John Elgin Woolf: Beal house (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
The L. Wayne Beal house in Scottsdale, Arizona highlights the stark contrast between the white house and the darker desert hills. The house is perched on the side of a hill, with a view of the valley.
John Elgin Woolf, designer and architect Max Eckert, photographer
John Elgin Woolf: Gershwin house (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
Lyricist Ira Gershwin commissioned Woolf to remodel the house on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills in the Hollywood Regency style. The house was torn down in 2013.
John Elgin Woolf: Office (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The personal office and studio of John Elgin Woolf on Melrose Place in Los Angeles, was a multi-building compound with an imposing entrance door, secluded courtyards, and light-filled rooms. The office allowed Woolf to bring his specific design aesthetic for his clients' homes into view in his office space. Designing in an image-conscious city for celebrity clientele allowed Woolf to bring many of those details to life in this space to show clients his ideas.
John Woolf, designer Robert C. Cleveland, photographer