Browse Items (856 total)

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.

The Thornton Abell archive contains a number of studio portraits of the architect.

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.

The Thornton Abell office building in Santa Monica highlights his architectural style for clients. The use of clean lines, indoor/outdoor living, and sliding partition doors were all features showcased in the photos by architectural photographer…

This house for L.B. Adelman is sited on a portion of the former Charlie Chaplin estate in Beverly Hills (the tennis court on the property is the original Chaplin Estate court). The post and beam design was designed by Abell and O'Neil Ford, a…

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.

In addition to private homes, Abell also designed schools, stores, and other commercial buildings such as this bank on Larchmont in Los Angeles. The clean and simple facade, overhanging roof, and ample off-street parking have survived the 40+ years…

This house in the Bel Air Hills section of Los Angeles, was built for Dr. William S. Beck. Sited on a steeply upwardly sloping lot in a canyon, the house was placed close to the road to take advantage of the only flat portion of the lot.

This elementary school was one of many schools designed by Abell. Located in the Culver City area of Los Angeles, this school is now a 'gifted magnet' school. The photographs by Julius Shulman were thoughtfully staged.

The site plan for the Charnock Road Elementary School shows how additional buildings could be added to the site as enrollment grew during the population boom of the 1950s. This was a project for the Los Angeles City School district in the Mar Vista…

The Art Building complex at California State University, Fullerton is actually a grouping of four buildings connected by courtyards, loggias, and water features. The classrooms in the Art building were designed to be wide and long, to permit many…

For this shopping center in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, Abell designed the business block for Philip M. Gordon and the Los Feliz Investment Company.

For this axonometric drawing, Abell shows a cut-away of the Paramount Television Productions studio plant on North Bronson Avenue in Hollywood. Klaus Landsberg, a pioneering electrical engineer for the early television studios, is listed as the 'West…

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…

This commission from the Los Angeles School District for a classroom building at Mt. Vernon Junior High, was located in the West Adams neighborhood. It is now named the Johnnie Cochran Middle School.

This house was built for the Los Angeles Seventh National Home Show and Building Exposition. Abell designed a model home named "The Californian."

Abell designed side-by-side duplexes for sisters Mary McKeen Niedringhaus and Christine Reber. Both houses had private views of the mountains and each side of the duplex also contained a rental unit.

The steel magnate Gustav Rich commissioned this house from Abell in 1966. The steel frame with stucco also contained long walls of glass and interior walls of walnut.
The house was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2006, after…

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…

This rendering for a shopping center was commissioned by M. Russell Davis and Philip Mackay Gordon, builder and business property developers. This early work shows influences of Streamline Moderne as well as a more Modern aesthetic.

Magazine advertisement by Frojen Advertising Inc. showing five architects of the Trousdale Estates, including Rex Lotery, Richard Dorman, William Stephenson, Edward Fickett, and A. Quincy Jones. The advertisement describes the combined work of the…

This brochure is for the Assistance League of Southern California's benefit showing of the "Trousdale Quintet," a set of 5 estate homes by the Trousdale Development Company in Los Angeles, California. This brochure features four homes located on…

A rendering of the original University Center design. The UCen is situated with a view over the lagoon and towards the ocean, south of, and between the Music Building and the Arts Building. The UCen has had multiple additions and alterations, though…

The on-campus home for the Chancellor and his/her family, the University House is located at the edge of the lagoon, close to the original residence halls. With an enclosed courtyard, wide roof overhangs, and a patio with a view of the lagoon, the…

An aerial view of the campus looking west towards Isla Vista. Campbell hall is in the center, with North Hall and Robertson Gymnasium in the distance. Cheadle Hall is under construction due west of Campbell Hall. Some of the WWII era buildings seen…

An aerial view of the campus looking towards the northwest, with the foot hills in the distance at the top of the photograph. The residence halls Anacapa and Santa Cruz appear to be under construction in the front of the photograph, as well as the…

An aerial view of the campus from the early 1950s, looking towards the ocean in a southwesterly direction. The first two University buildings constructed are seen in the middle-lower-right (the Carjola-designed library) and immediately to the left of…

An aerial view of the campus from the early 1950s, the Carjola-designed library is in the center of the image. Numerous World War II era buildings are seen in the lower right corner of the photograph. This photograph also highlights the lack of…

A view of Campbell Hall, looking towards the northwest, from the library. The photograph highlights the landscaping and outdoor patio space for studying. This view no longer exists, due to the building of Ellison Hall and the expansion of the…

Photo of the exterior and patio of the A.K. Bourne house by architect Wallace Neff in San Marino, California.

Photo of exterior of the A.K. Bourne house from the lawn.

Photograph of the side exterior of the A.K. Bourne house in San Marino, California.

Photo of the interior of the entrance hall.

Photo of tiled courtyard at the A.K. Bourne House in San Marino, California.

Photograph of the exterior of the A.K. Bourne house from the street.

Round display room hallway in E.L. Doheny Memorial Library.

These photos feature the main garden space in St. John's Seminary, modeled after the garden at Edward L. Doheny's Chester Place home in Los Angeles, California. The south-facing facade of the E.L. Doheny Memorial Library overlooks this garden space.

Photos of main entrance to the library. The carved stone arch surrounding the entry door is modeled after the carved stone on the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, Mexico. At the top of the arched entrance is a statue of Our Lady of Miraculous…

Floor plan of the Eaton House in the Hope Ranch by architect Wallace Neff. Hope Ranch is an affluent suburb on the coast between Goleta and Santa Barbara.

Photo of exterior of Eaton house with landscaping, located in Hope Ranch neighborhood of Santa Barbara, California.

Photograph of the exterior and porch of Eaton House, located in the Hope Ranch neighborhood of Santa Barbara, California.

Photograph of the exterior of Eaton House with landscaping.

Photograph of exterior of Eaton House and driveway, located in Hope Ranch neighborhood of Santa Barbara, California.

Photograph of patio at Eaton House, located in the Hope Ranch neighborhood of Santa Barbara, California.

Photograph of patio at Eaton House with landscaping.

Photograph of the fountain and archway in the house built for scriptwriter-actor couple Frances Marion and Fred Thomson by architect Wallace Neff in Beverly Hills, California.

Photograph of entrance court in the Marion and Thomson House located in Beverly Hills, California. Architect Wallace Neff built this home for screenwriter Frances Marion and her actor husband Fred Thomson.

Photo of exterior of house with chimney.

Photograph of exterior stairwell with driveway

Photograph of loggia with cherub fountain.

Photo of staircase in the house of film director Vidor King and actress Eleanor Boardman in Beverly Hills, California by architect Wallace Neff.

The Walter White archive contains a few photographs of White at various stages in his career.

The house White designed for Miles Bates in Palm Springs was never built, but would have been a much larger residence than the one built for Bates in Palm Desert. The plan for the house included an experiment in overlapping circles and half circles,…

In 1944, White built a 'Desert Dwelling' for his mother-in-law, Esther Breedlove in La Quinta. This small house is one of the earliest examples of White's work in the desert, and shows how his style was shaped by the environment. White used stand…

For office buildings for the Calor Gas Service company, White used simple corrugated metal sheets, which he folded around corners and edges of the buildings. White designed buildings in Merced and Susanville for the company, as well as designing…

The Coachella Valley Farms development was initially designed to be the largest small-farm development in the world. With each homestead located on their own long and narrow two acre plots, the houses (with backyard pool) were near the road, with the…

In this design for a drive-in and restaurant (unbuilt) by White and his friend Harry Webster, the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright can be seen by the use of horizontal lines and the linear design of the building.

The floor plan for the William Durham house in Palm Desert highlights the thoughtful planning behind a Walter White design. The plan shows, through a series of arrows, the view lines from each section of the house, as well as the specific angles of…

The White Energy Integration System (WEIS) was designed as an alternative energy power plant, which pulled air upwards and powered turbines to generate energy. The large structure (496 feet tall and 880,000 square feet of land) would also have…

Walter White began designing homes in Colorado in the mid-60s, but it wasn't until 1968, when he received his Colorado architect license, that he was able to work on larger civic and commercial projects. The First Assembly of God Church in Colorado…

Palm Desert developers Al and Margaret Hill purchased land overlooking the Garden of the Gods park, outside of Colorado Springs, and created a private club. White designed the two-story guest rooms-- a complex of three buildings with forty guest…

This early design by White has been called his "ideal home design." The long, narrow house plan shows a solid wall facing the street, with an open, glass-enclosed side facing a private backyard. Both the plan and elevation highlight the influence of…

The Philip Johnson house in Indio, was a large house with a Y-shaped plan. This splayed plan allowed for each room to have views in many directions.

The Paulette Herbert Johnson house in Palm Desert was one of White's last houses in the desert before he moved to Colorado Springs. The house was originally designed with a hypar (hyperbolic paraboloid) roof, but was constructed with a flat roof, for…

The unbuilt George Kanrich house at the Tamarisk Country Club is a luxurious curved house facing a circular pool. The concave side of the house faced the driveway and contained the utilities and service sections of the house. The convex side faced…

White designed eighteen guest cottages for the Kissing Camels Golf Club. These one story one- and two- bedroom cottages utilized many of the hallmarks of the California Desert Modern design-- breezeblock entryways, floor to ceiling glass walls, and…

Walter White designed and built the four houses which are considered the La Quinta Units (or Bungalows) on land adjacent to the Breedlove house, which he built for his mother-in-law. The four T-shaped houses were designed as middle-class dwellings…

The plans for unbuilt duplex and triplex units wee commissioned by Pearl McCallum McManus. She inherited a large amount of land in and around Palm Springs and was a major proponent for the development of tourism in the area. McManus and her husband…

White worked with the Metro Homes company to design small homes for subdivisions throughout California. In Palm Desert, the Metro Homes (also known as "Palm Desert Homes") were one- or two- bedroom homes (either oblong or T-shaped) with and without…

The long, low house for Charles Milliken sat on a corner lot with an imposing front of stucco, masonry, and wood, while the back of the house featured much more open and airy glass walls to enjoy the view and outdoor living.

For the Pearson, Scott & Company building, White worked with architect Leopold Fischer to design the offices for the mortgage company. The building is no longer extant.

Walter White designed a number of Prefabricated Mountain Cabins through the years with the first one being The Yellowstone in 1965. The design started out as a small weekend home, with eventual designs encompassing permanent mountain residences. By…

The first Herbert Pritzlaff house was designed by Cliff May, in 1947-1948, and was one of the earliest houses in the Palm Desert / Shadow Mountain region. The home burned to the ground in 1949, and White designed and built the replacement.

White designed this house for Truman and Marie Susan Ratliff; she was a school teacher and he farmed the property, growing alfalfa and citrus fruits. The sweeping roof was S-shaped, with a higher roofline above the dining and living rooms to take…

The office building for Safari USA, a boat building company, utilized steel beams and corrugated sheet metal to provide visual interest and help shade portions of the building from the desert sun.

The Shadow Mountain Club was one of the first resorts in Palm Desert; the Sun Lodges were bungalows which could be purchased by individuals and then rented out when not in use. The land was owned by the corporation, making the Sun Lodges one of the…

For the Carroll and Dr. Marlene Smith house in the Black Forest area near Colorado Springs, White designed the house to utilize passive solar architecture in a domestic setting. The house is curved, to take advantage of the view, and contains many…

For the Newt and Lillian Stafford house in Escondido, the clients built the original frame house, and White designed a shed-like roof, which was shaped like a butterfly's profile. With the angled roof, some of the interior walls did not reach up to…

The house in Palm Desert for E.W, Stewart is one of the best examples of White's large residential commissions. The interior of the house is clearly divided into public and private zones, with a massive circular fireplace at the center of the living…

The Wayne Turner house in Calhan, Colorado is one of White's passive-solar houses with Heat Exchanger Windows. The houses were designed to trap heat inside during the cold winter months, and shade the house from the sun in the hot summer moths. The…

For the Valley Lumber Company in Palm Desert, White designed an addition to the store and office building.

After World War II, Walter White designed small cabin-like houses for returning service members in the Hollywood Hills, along Valevista Trail. White and his family lived in one of the cabins for a short time.

The large house White designed for his family at the Kissing Camels Estates outside of Colorado Springs, was the first large house White built for himself. With sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains, the house contained two bedrooms, a study…

The Max E. Willcockson house in Indio is notable for White's first use of the hyperbolic-paraboloid roof. This dramatically sweeping feature appears from a distance to hover over the house (which was sited on a high sand dune to increase the drama).…

Photograph of the living room and window with view outside in the David Greggory house.

Photo taken in 1978 of William Levy Alexander, on the right, with Eric Lloyd Wright (grandson of architect Frank Lloyd Wright), on the left.

Photo of architect William Levy Alexander in a store.

Photograph of architect William Levy Alexander at a drawing table.

Photograph of architect William Levy Alexander with his portrait sculpture.

Photograph of the living room with furniture in the David Greggory house by William Levy Alexander, located on Rancho Street in Encino, California.

Photograph of the kitchen in the David Greggory house on Rancho Street in Encino, California.

Photograph of the living room in the David Greggory house on Rancho Street in Encino, California.

Photo of bookshelves in the David Greggory house in Encino, California.

Photo of the living room and fireplace in the David Greggory house.

Photo of the hallway in the David Greggory house.

Photograph of the kitchen cabinets and sink in the David Greggory house.

Photograph of the dining table and buffet in the dining room of the David Greggory house in Encino, California.

Photograph of the list of client requirements for the David Greggory house in Encino, California

Photograph of the table in the kitchen of the David Greggory house in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.