Thornton Abell: LeBrun house (Malibu, Calif.)
The house was designed for Rico LeBrun, an artist and teacher. LeBrun requested a large art studio with an outside work area, inside work area, drawing room, metal shop, sculpture room, and large studio with darkroom and plentiful storage. The house also originally contained three bedrooms, an office, atrium, and expansive living/dining/kitchen area that opened onto a patio.
Thornton Abell, architect Julius Shulman, photographer
Thornton M. Abell 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.
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Thornton Abell: Bakos house (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This one-story house in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles is sited on a flat lot, with a private pool and outdoor living area. Built with a distinctive roof line, the house allows for indoor/outdoor living through glass walls and atriums.
Thornton Abell, architect; Julius Shulman, photographer
Thornton Abell: Siskin house (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This house was built in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles for a young family with many children, live-in maids, and a need to entertain large groups. The International Style house that Abell designed also worked well for the Siskin's need for indoor/outdoor living, a pool, multiple storage and workshop areas, and separate wings of the house for children and parents.
Thornton Abell, architect; Richard Fish, photographer
Thornton Abell: Abell house (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Thornton Abell designed this house on a very steep lot in the hills of Santa Monica for himself and his family. The three story home featured a rooftop deck, main level terrace, lower level drafting room, and a garden with a pool and guest house.
Thornton Abell, architect; Victor Haveman, photographer
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.
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
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: 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: 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: 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: 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
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Bailey house (La Jolla, Calif.)
Frank Mead worked in the Hebbard and Gill office beginning about 1904. He and Gill formed a seven-month partnership in 1907, when the H & G partnership ended. Before joining the office, Mead, though trained as an architect, worked actively, and successfully, for the repatriation of lands to the Mohave-Apache (Yavapai) Indians in 1904. He was helped in his efforts by his friends: Charles Fletcher Lummis, the founder of the Landmarks Club and editor of Out West magazine; Natalie Curtis, ethnomusicologist of Indian songs and friend of Alice Klauber, Charles Douglas and Wheeler Bailey. Douglas and Bailey were sympathetic to the plight of displaced Native Americans and collected their art and crafts. While this house had gas lighting, there is a note on the plan regarding telephone service near the kitchen.
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: 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 J. Gill: Cositt house elevations (Coronado, Calif.)
The designs from the Hebbard and Gill partnership were eclectic, leaning toward English cottages with Arts and Crafts influence, but included Neo-classical, Gothic, Queen Anne, Mission Revival, and Prairie School styles. In this drawing of a house for Mrs. F.B. Cossitt, the exterior elevations are annotated to include faint red lines indicating the level of each floor and stairwells. Small drawings of specific details and sections are squeezed in between the elevations, to add clarification to certain portions of the drawing.
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.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, floor plans
The first floor plan and basement plans shown on this sheet are the basic construction plans. The owner, Eastern Columbia Outfitting Company used their own designers to complete the interiors beyond what was outlined here. The first floor plan shows the delivery entrance on 9th Street, with a turn-table for delivery vehicles to be turned around and face forward to return to the street. The basement plan shows the build-out for men's and women's restrooms and locker rooms, as well as stariwells, elevators, and other mechanical and electrical equipment.
Curlett & Beelman records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, details
This sheet of very specific upper-floor terra cotta details highlights the specific measurements and design decorations used on both the tenth floor specifically, and on the upper floors in general. The sheet contains details, sections, and elevations for specific corners, spandrels, and window details.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, clock tower
This sheet of drawings shows the clock tower face, section view of the tower, as well as the structural supports. The top of the building, with the word EASTERN emblazoned on all four sides along with the clock and its' distinctive blue and gold colors, have showcased the building as a landmark on the downtown Los Angeles skyline. The clock had been inoperative for many years prior to the renovation of the building into loft apartments. In 2005, the clock was ceremonially re-started to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the building. As part of the condominium conversion, a pool and spa were added to the roof-- with views of the famous clock and sign.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, north elevation
The north elevation of the building also abutted another tall building at the time of construction, so the detailed terra cotta workmanship along the north side only extends for two window bays before a plain blank wall is indicated on the plans. However, on this view, the set-backs on the floors just below the clock tower are indicated with additional gold details. Lines along the side of the drawing denote the height in feet and inches for each of the floors and the clock tower. The total height of the building is 235 feet, well above the 150-foot limit imposed on buildings by the City of Los Angeles.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, western elevation
With other tall buildings flanking the Eastern Columbia building along the west and north sides, the detailed exterior elevations were not needed along the entire face of the side. In this western elevation, only the first three bays are noted as needing to be finished with terra cotta tiles and gold accents, whereas the rest of the side was a plain wall.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, Ninth Street elevation
This view of the Ninth Street side of the building shows the second entrance to the lobby, just to the right of the Delivery entrance ramp. This ramp was a motorized vehicle entrance to the two-level basement, which was a delivery access point and parking for the building's tenants. The horizontal lines of the street-level shop windows indicate movement, while the vertical lines and patterns of the upper floors highlight the size and volume of the building.
Curlett & Beelman: Eastern Columbia, Broadway elevation
This exterior elevation of the Broadway side of the building displays the detailed calculations involved in designing and constructing a building of this size and complexity of exterior details. The exterior stonework is not specified for each window bay, but shown once or twice, then noted to repeat.
Soule & Murphy: bird's eye view of campus
In 1950, Santa Barbara architecture firm Soule and Murphy developed a master plan for the campus. Initially, the college was to be a small liberal-arts college (with a maximum enrollment of 3500 students), not a large research university. The Soule and Murphy master plan shows a large semi-circle of buildings facing an amphitheater near the lagoon, with another wide plaza surrounded by buildings also facing south. In addition to these structures, there were recreational fields on the northern end of the mesa overlooking the airport, following an existing running track and adjacent road. Soule and Murphy took advantage of the oceanfront site by orienting the campus toward the ocean in a series of Beaux Arts-style quadrangles and plazas, which were to be surrounded by academic buildings.
University of California, Santa Barbara Campus Building records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
This early plan from Charles Luckman Associates shows a greater density of buildings in the central campus core, with multiple buildings surrounding the central and north quadrangles. Physical and Biological Science buildings are grouped on the east side of campus, along with the Social Sciences. The Humanities, Arts, and Music are in the center of the area, with "Professional Schools" near the western edge, closer to Isla Vista. Large parking lots are scattered throughout campus, though the central area is free from roads and vehicles.
Charles Luckman Associates, executive architects
Master Plan- Progressive Development, Stage 1, 1952
This is a copy of an image which shows the layout of Marine Air Base Santa Barbara buildings (in yellow), with the addition of the first two University of California, Santa Barbara College buildings (in red). Roads and parking lots are shown in brown, and the rows of eucalyptus trees are shown in long rows along the roads and boundary with Isla Vista. The two new university buildings, Webb Hall and the original library, would have been under construction at the time this map was made in 1952.
Santa Barbara, Calif.; Goleta, Calif.; Isla Vista, Calif.
Location Map of the New Santa Barbara Campus
This early map shows the existing county roads and the roads on the former Marine Air Base. Hand-drawn arrows indicate traffic flow from Goleta and Santa Barbara towards the new campus. This map shows many of the roads that are still in use today, as well as a few which no longer exist (especially the roads on airport property).
In this 1968 version of the long range development plan, the campus footprint expanded to include the Storke Campus area along El Colegio and Los Carneros Road, and the West Campus area around Coal Oil Point and the Devereux Slough.
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.
Julius Ralph Davidson papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
George Washington Smith: Douglas house (Montecito, Calif.)
The Malcolm Douglas house on Sycamore Canyon Road in Montecito was completed in 1929, and is also known as Los Suenos ("The Dreams"). Douglas, a New York doctor, and his wife, Rachel Peabody Douglas, had Smith design a house to showcase the view of the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands, with a long curving driveway and many landscape features including a pool and lily pond.
George Washington Smith, architect Lutah Maria Riggs, architect and renderer
George Washington Smith papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Montecito, Calif.; Santa Barbara, Calif.
George Washington Smith: Bryce house (Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Calif.)
The unincorporated community of Hope Ranch was developed in the early 1920s by the Santa Barbara Estates Inc. company, which was owned by Harold Chase, and Peter Bryce was one of the main stakeholders. Bryce was also one of the early residents, with this house designed by GW Smith in 1925, and built in 1926-1927. The property, a 12000 square foot house on 52 acres of oceanfront land, was also known as "Florestal" due to the Bryce's being avid horticulturalists.
Rudolph Schindler: Barnsdall house exterior (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This photograph of the exterior of the house shows the growth of landscaping along the front and patio areas.
Rudolph Schindler, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, architect
R. M. Schindler papers, Architecture & Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Architecture & Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Rudolph Schindler: Barnsall house interiors (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Some of the hallmarks of Schindler's later works can be seen in these interior photographs. The built-in furniture, focus on natural light, and the use of wood on the walls and ceiling are architectural details seen throughout his career in various residences.
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 E. Woolf papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Rudolph Schindler: Barnsdall Director's House floor plans (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The original idea for the Barnsdall site was that it was to have an on-site theater, housing for actors and staff, as well as the main house. The Director's House, also referred to as House A was designed by Wright and built with Schindler as the on-site project manager, along with FLW's son, Lloyd Wright. The Director's House is located on a corner of the property and is currently undergoing renovations.
Rudolph Schindler: Barnsdall bedroom and bathroom alterations (Los Angeles, Calif.)
In 1925, Schindler altered Aline Barnsdall's bedroom and ensuite bathroom in the Hollyhock House. He altered the layout of the bathroom and paneled the walls and ceiling in oak. Schindler also altered the bedroom for Aline's daughter. These interior photographs are from the Schindler collection.
Rudolph Schindler: Barnsdall pool and pergola (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This Schindler drawing of a wading pool and pergola on the Olive Hill grounds dates from 1925. Schindler continued to work for Barnsdall after she fired Wright, and the pool and pergola are examples of the ongoing work on the property.
Rudolph Schindler: Barnsdall Director's House elevations (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The blueprints for the elevations of the Director's House (House A) show the Prairie influence on Wright's design. With a long row of clearstory windows, concrete walls, and horizontal lines, the house clearly shows the Wright design. Wright brought Rudolph Schindler out to Los Angeles from his home in Chicago to manage the construction of the Hollyhock House and the rest of the buildings on Olive Hill. The Director's house is currently undergoing renovations.
Rudolph M. Schindler, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, architect
George Washington Smith: Gavit addition (Montecito, Calif.)
The E. Palmer Gavit residence was originally built in 1919 by Reginald Johnson; Smith designed an addition to the main house, as well as outbuildings. The property was originally named "Cuesta Linda," then "Tanglewood," and eventually Madame Ganna Waleska gave it the name "Lotusland." The gardens, originally designed by Ralph Stevens, with alterations and additions by Lockwood de Forest, have made the property an internationally famous garden site.
George Washington Smith, architect Reginald Johnson, architect Ralph Stevens, landscape architect
George Washington Smith: Steedman house (Montecito, Calif.)
George Fox Steedman was a manufacturing executive from St. Louis who commissioned Smith to work with him on designing and constructing Casa del Herrero (House of the Blacksmith) on East Valley Road in Montecito. They created a house and gardens (designed by Ralph Stevens) on eleven acres, along with associated servants quarters, garages, and gardeners cottages. The estate was designed in the Andalusian style of Spanish Colonial Revial, with white stucco walls, small windows with wrought iron grilles and red tile roofs.
George Washington Smith, architect Lutah Maria Riggs, renderer and architect
George Washington Smith: Lobero Theater (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
The Lobero Theater on Canon Perdido and Anacapa Streets in downtown Santa Barbara, got its start in the 1870s as a vaudeville house. By the early 1920s, it had fallen into disrepair and Smith was asked to design and build a new theater in the Spanish Colonial style he was best known for. With it's white stucco walls and red tile roof, the theater was a pre-cursor to the architectural style that has dominated downtown Santa Barbara since the earthquake of 1925. Smith's associate, Lutah Maria Riggs, was one of the first women to receive her architectural license in the state of California, and she worked for Smith until his death in 1930. She was a skilled renderer, and many of Smiths' works were rendered by Riggs.
George Washington Smith, architect Lutah Maria Riggs, renderer
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
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, architect and designer
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: 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.
Kem Weber continuously designed and re-designed his furniture pieces to fit changing consumer needs and updating with new materials. One of his most innovative designs was the Airline Chair. With sleek, modern lines, a streamlined and cantilevered seat, and easy assembly, the chair was not a commercial success when it debuted in 1934. The lightweight curving sides and gently rocking seat and back of the chair were designed to be comfortable in a variety of seating positions. It was also designed to be sold unassembled, in a flat 27 pound box, and assembled at home by the consumer. The concept was many years ahead of its' time.
Kem Weber, designer Will Connell, photographer
Karl Emanuel Martin (Kem) Weber papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
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: 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 (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.
Kem Weber: Palace Theater (Chicago, Ill.)
The 2500 seat Palace Theater was part of the Bismark Hotel complex on West Randolph Street in downtown Chicago. Weber worked with the owners to refresh the building into a more modern design. Weber re-imagined not only the theater, but the hotel room furniture, coffee shop, multiple on-site restaurants, and exterior facade of the building.
Kem Weber: Colburn Fur Store (Los Angeles, Calif.)
The Colburn Fur Store on Wilshire Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles, was an up-scale shop specializing in women's fur coats. The large windows brought in lots of natural light, and the full-length mirrors allowed the customers to view themselves from all angles while shopping for a new fur. Weber designed the interiors, the furniture, and the exterior of the existing building for Colburn.
Kem Weber: Kerr Sport Shop (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
The Kerr Sport Shop on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, catered to the rich and famous celebrities who were also avid outdoorsmen. For image-conscious Hollywood celebrities, the store catered to their desire for high-end sporting equipment and suitable outdoor-style clothing. The store contained a custom gunsmith shop as well as apparel and high-end fishing equipment. Weber designed the street facade, retail cases, and furniture in a rustic-yet-modern style which uniquely defined the shopping experience.
Beverly Hills, Calif.; Los Angeles, Calif.
Kem Weber: Friedman house (Banning, Calif.)
Both the house and interiors were designed by Weber for the physician Dr. Joseph C. Friedman in the dry high desert of Banning, Calif. Friedman specialized in lung diseases, and the dry air of Banning was thought to help alleviate symptoms of tuberculosis and other ailments. The house was designed to have an attached doctor's office, a central patio, and an insulated roof with screened louvers to help regulate the temperature in the house. Weber employed many modernist design elements, and fused them with a modified hacienda-style to create a very Modern residence.
Kem Weber: Bixby house (Kansas City, Kan.)
The Walter E. Bixby house in Kansas City, Kansas was designed by local architect Edward W. Tanner, and the interiors of the large house were designed by Weber. With sleek Modern, even Moderne, lines on the outside, and a large budget, Weber designed furniture, interior room dividers, walls, and other furnishings with his signature 'flowing' lines. The 15,000 square foot house allowed Weber to design furnishings for a number of large rooms, including the living room, dining room, and basement 'rumpus' room, which featured a bar and over sized mural.
Gregory Ain: Leshing Apartments (Hollywood, Calif.)
This 20-unit apartment building project (never built), was written up in Arts & Architecture Magazine alongside the Case Study House program, but was not part of it. The "Garden Apartments" as they were described, were a series of townhouse-style apartments, each opening onto their own private garden space, with windows looking onto the garden and shared walkway. Garages for each of the units were on the adjoining lot, with studio apartments with large decks on the second floor. The design allowed for each apartment to have it's own outdoor space, but windows and walls were sited such that privacy was of utmost importance, and each unit only overlooked their own private garden patio.
Gregory Ain papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Gregory Ain: Hacienda Village Extension (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Gregory Ain, along with his partners Johnson and Day, designed this never-built extension for Hacienda Village for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. The Extension of the original World War Two era housing project, would have extended from 103rd Place down to 107th Street, and from Compton Avenue to Grandee Avenue. The original Hacienda Village was designed by Paul R. Williams (chief architect), along with Adrian Wilson, Richard J. Neutra, Walter Wurdeman, and Welton Becket as housing for defense workers during the War. The area is now known as Gonzaque Village, and this particular tract is the current site of Markham Middle School.
Gregory Ain 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
Cliff May: Evans house (Solvang, Calif.)
The Evans house and property in the Rancho Alisal golf community just outside of Solvang, Calif., in the Santa Ynez valley, is a good example of the Cliff May custom ranch style. A large lot, motor court with covered garage/carport, indoor/outdoor patios, and a semi-enclosed pool with a shaded roof with skylights are all signature custom features in this house.
Cliff May papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Lutah Maria Riggs: Erdman house (Montecito, Calif.)
The Erdman estate of approximately 3 acres, is located in the Birnam Woods area of Montecito and features views of the mountains. The long driveway leads to a large motor court; a separate outdoor area includes a large pool and garden. The low, flat roof and post-and-beam style exterior are stylistically very modern and streamlined.
Lutah Maria Riggs papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Lutah Maria Riggs: Kiler house (Montecito, Calif.)
The house for Leslie Kiler and family overlooks the Santa Ynez mountain range, which rises from the oak-covered hills of Montecito. With simple, clean lines, the house is clad in redwood and features a 10 foot ceiling in the living room, which lines up and frames the view of the mountains. Riggs gave the living room and dining room a wall of windows facing the view, as well as extended the eaves for an overhang to partially shelter an outdoor dining area.
Paul Laszlo (1900-1993): Hertz bomb shelter
Rental car company founder John Hertz commissioned Laszlo to build a bomb shelter in the backyard of his Woodland Hills, Calif. ranch, due to Hertz' concern over a possible nuclear attack on the Los Angeles area. Laszlo spent years designing the structure, as well as researching the building codes and discussing the effects of nuclear fallout with experts. According to archival material, Laszlo even tried to witness a nuclear blast through contacting the Office of Civil Defense for permission to travel to a military base. The Hertz shelter was equipped with sleeping areas, kitchen, bathroom, elevator, stairs, and an escape hatch. The Architecture and Design Collection also houses the Roland Coate archive, which includes plans for the Hertz house and bomb shelter addition.
Paul László papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Los Angeles, Calif.; Woodland Hills, Calif.
These drawings display the level of detail and engineering that was put into designing a bomb shelter for home (backyard) use. The specifications take into account any large-scale shockwaves that might hit the entrance and air vents above ground, and the slope of the ground around the shelter.
With Cold War hysteria growing, architects, engineers, and designers in the post-World War Two era created small bomb shelters for single families, as well as large-scale underground shelters for entire communities. The Atomville design was specifically for air bases and military installations-- to house personnel and equipment.
Killingsworth, Edward A. (1917-2004): Case Study Apartments #2
This is the second Case Study Apartment project, and it was never built. Killingsworth designed the 10 unit apartment complex to be a mix of four standard two bedroom apartments and six 'studio' two bedroom apartments which were two stories tall, and arranged in townhouse style. Both types of apartments were to be approximately 1300 square feet in size and each had a private courtyard entrance. This grouping allowed for garages to face the back of the property, a large swimming pool in the center of the complex, and a courtyard facing the main street.
Edward A. Killingsworth papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara
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.
Killingsworth, Edward A. (1917-2004): Case Study House Triad #23
The Case Study House Triad (#23) was designed by Edward Killingsworth, of Killingsworth, Brady, and Smith, as part of a larger never-built planned community in La Jolla, Calif. House A was sited across the street and downhill from Houses B and C, which face each other across a shared driveway and motor court. Each house is sited so that it takes advantage of the view either towards the distant Pacific Ocean or inwards to a garden or pool. Each house in the Triad is different from the other two, though for economy and simplicity of building, the same materials were used in all three houses to varying degrees. The three houses were all built in 1960, and all three still exist today, though House B has been remodeled beyond recognition.
Edward Killingsworth, Architect Julius Shulman, Photographer
Killingsworth, Edward A. (1917-2004): Case Study House #26
This un-built Case Study House #26 is also known as the Nugent Pavillion, for the original client who had chosen a site overlooking the ocean near San Diego, Calif. The house was to be built using prefabricated construction system, designed by the client, William Nugent, who was an engineer. The house was to be partially surrounded by water, in the form of a reflecting pool, and an interior courtyard garden was to be roofed in plastic. This house, while part of the CSH program, was not featured in Arts & Architecture Magazine.
Killingsworth, Edward A. (1917-2004): Case Study House #25
Case Study House #25, also known as the Edward Frank house, was built in the Naples area of Long Beach, Calif., and sited on a narrow lot, facing a canal. The main entrance to the house is on the canal side and enters into an enclosed, two story courtyard, with all of the rooms facing the courtyard have glass walls. This gives the rooms in the narrow house a feeling of expansiveness, due to the glass walls and filtered sunlight from the courtyard., but on the narrow city lot, this design also provides needed privacy.
Smith, Whitney (1911-2002): Case Study House #12
Case Study House #12 was an un-built project from architect Whitney Smith. This house, similar in some ways to his previous house project (CSH #5), was designed by Smith to house horticulturists. As such, a lath house was attached to the house, and the X shape of the house allowed all rooms to have access to the garden areas surrounding the house. This design, while particular in this instance to gardeners, could also be adapted and modified to include different rooms for an array of hobbies and home-based professions. The recognition that large scale tract housing filled a need, but was not an exact fit for every family is exemplified in this design.
Smith & Williams records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
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.
Smith, Whitney (1911-2002): Case Study House #5
Case Study House #5 by Whitney Smith was an un-built project-- also known as the Loggia House. The central feature of this 1800 square foot house was the living room which could be expanded or contracted with the use of sliding glass walls and sliding screens. The walls of the house were to be constructed of adobe brick, framed in steel to make the walls light, insulated, and strong. The materials and design of the house were specifically created to showcase the indoor-outdoor living potential of the Southern California climate.
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.
Lutah Maria Riggs: San Ysidro Ranch cottages (Montecito, Calif.)
Lutah Maria Riggs' work at the San Ysidro Ranch in the early 1950s is indicative of her work in Montecito at that time. She utilized the mid-century vernacular for her additions and alterations to the cottages, restaurant, and on-site manager's office and apartment. The Ranch itself was originally a working ranch that was part of the Santa Barbara Mission. One of it's buildings is an adobe house dating from 1825. Once the property became a hotel in the 1880s, it became a site for Hollywood elite to stay from the 1930s until the 1970s.
Lutah Maria Riggs: Vedanta Temple (Montecito, Calif.)
Riggs designed the main temple building, as well as the gate house, shrine room, carport, and pavilion on the Vedanta grounds. Riggs studied the architectural forms of China, Japan, and India before building the temple, and applied classic forms to the shape of the building. The temple building is situated in such a way as to provide views south towards the Pacific Ocean, and north to the Santa Ynez mountains.
Lutah Maria Riggs: Ludington house (Montecito, Calif.)
This house, built for art collector Wright Ludington, was his second house in Montecito. For this house, Ludington wanted to showcase his art collection and commissioned Riggs to create a house around his art and sculpture.
Lutah Maria Riggs: Erving house (Montecito, Calif.)
With the Erving house in Montecito, the goal was to provide privacy for the owner and a view up towards the mountains and down to the ocean. Riggs achieved this by designing a large triangular wall of glass facing north (towards the mountains) and a similar, but smaller wall of glass facing south, with a large roof overhang, to protect the interior of the house from direct sunlight. A large fireplace divides the main room into living and dining without blocking the views in either direction.
Cliff May: Smith house (La Habra, Calif.)
As one of Cliff May's first large-scale custom ranch houses for his benefactor and business partner John Arnholt Smith, this rendering and floor plan show how grand May's early work could be. The U shaped house was accentuated by the diagonal living room and dining room placement on each corner. Each room opened onto the central courtyard through a covered porch. This large-scale "ranchos de luxe" was a fitting residence for the land and oil financier Smith.
Cliff May: Trenchard house (La Jolla, Calif.)
In this early hacienda style version of the ranch house, Cliff May creates privacy with a patio that is surrounded by the house and garage on three sides, with a walled-off fourth side, as well as a gated motor court. Each room in the house opens onto the inner courtyard, and the property is shown in the rendering facing out towards the Pacific Ocean. The living room is off-set and protrudes from the corner of the house to take advantage of the view in three directions.
Cliff May: Philbin house (Woodside, Calif.)
With this house in Woodside, Cliff May showcases the custom style he is known for. With a central enclosed courtyard, patios extending the living spaces, and the single-story, asymmetrical house on a large lot with pool, this rendering fits the custom style. Woodside, a small wealthy suburb of San Francisco, was the site of a few commissions for houses in the late 1950s and early 1960s, as the cost of land rose and the market for large, custom homes also increased.
Cliff May: Lear house (Los Angeles, Calif.)
In this birds-eye view of the William Lear house in Los Angeles, the sprawling multi-winged house is seen perched on a hill overlooking the city. With a large circular motor court and pool with patio enclosed on all four sides by the house, it has some of the common features for May's custom houses. But as with some of his later custom homes, the scale of the patio and pool are increasingly grand, the motor court is larger, and the scale of the house has grown dramatically over his early ranch houses of the mid-30s.
Cliff May: Hauser house (Borrego Springs, Calif.)
The Hauser house in Borrego Springs is one of Cliff May's earlier custom ranch houses, but it has all of the elements of some of his larger designs. With a U-shaped floor plan, the house has one wing with master bedroom and smaller bedrooms, another wing with service rooms and garage, then the bottom of the U forms the living room and dining room, along with a large patio. With desert heat being an issue, the patio has a canvas 'skyshade' and a covered patio adjacent to the kitchen, which overlooks the pool. Another unique feature is the walled off 'play yard' outside of the children's bedroom-- a separate area from the parents' patio, so that each group can enjoy their separate outdoor space.
Southern California Architecture California Modern Architecture
Frey House 2 is perched on the side of the mountain, just above the Palm Springs Art Museum. Frey stipulated in his will that the house was to be given to the Art Museum after his death. The house is occasionally open for tours, usually during Palm Springs Modernism Week.
Albert Frey (1903-1998), Architect Julius Shulman, Photographer
Albert Frey papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Frey House 2 is also a small house, perched on a steep slope above Palm Springs. The main feature on the interior of the house is a large boulder, which divides the dining area from the sleeping area. Frey used metal channels on the rock and had the glass walls cut to fit around the rock and seal in the air.
Albert Frey (1903-1998), Architect; Julius Shulman, Photographer
In 1960, Frey sold Frey House 1 to a developer who tore the house down, subdivided the two acre lot, and built a few standard stucco houses on the newly subdivided lots. The developer subsequently went bankrupt.
The house was built in 1940-1941 as a very small house, only 16x20. Frey added on to the house in 1948 and 1953. The first addition consisted of an additional living/sleeping area and an indoor/outdoor wading pool surrounded by corrugated metal walls and planted with many tropical plants. The 1953 addition was for the unique second floor sleeping area-- a circular room with porthole-style windows and a hanging staircase. Frey also added a curved metal and fiberglass wall surrounding the main pool.
This portrait of Albert Frey later in life was taken in Frey House 2, leaning against the large boulder, overlooking downtown Palm Springs.
This section drawing shows the steep slope of the building site. The carport is on the lowest level, with pool directly above. The house sits farther up the slope, with the large boulder represented by the dotted line on the upper right.
This floor plan shows the original plan for the house, with no separate bedroom, just a sleeping area adjacent to the living room. The large oval next to the dining room table is a large boulder, which is the centerpiece of the house.