Top O' Topanga

The L.A. Conservancy Modern Committee is holding their monthly general meeting tonight at Top O' Topanga Clubhouse in Topanga Canyon.  Come for the meet and greet at 6:30 to admire the sweeping views of the valley and city lights.  Then, stay for all the latest details on endangered buildings in L.A. County.  Find out how you can help save them from being completely demolished or remodeled beyond recognition!  Just a few of the items on the agenda are the Marina-style Safeway grocery stores (now Vons - yes, that includes the one on PCH that most of you have likely admired while driving through the Palisades), the Home Savings Buildings murals by Millard Sheets, and the Julius Shulman Residence, a home by Raphael Soriano that just recently hit the market.  Hope you can join us!

Oh, and don't forget to vote for your top ten 1960s churches in celebration of the Sixties Turn Fifty!

Photo via ModCom.org

MAK Tour

Yesterday I went on a house tour marathon!  Eight fantastic homes in six short hours is a new personal best for me.  The tour, sponsored by the MAK center, featured the Silver Lake/Los Feliz architecture of R.M. Schindler, Harwell Harris, Gregory Ain, Raphael Soriano, and Craig Ellwood.

Included in the tour was access to Schindler's home on Kings Road in West Hollywood.  So, we started the day off there.  Next up was Schindler's McAlmon House (1935).  Check out that view from the McAlmon House living room!

Two homes by architect Harwell Harris were featured.  This is the Hansen House (1950-51) and has been beautifully maintained with interior design that complements the architecture very well.

The newly restored How House (1926) by Schindler was recently added to the National Registry.  It's one of only three Schindler homes that uses concrete.

This is the second Harwell Harris home, the Alexander House (1940-41).  It had a lovely view of the Hollywood Hills, Hollywood sign, and Griffith Observatory.

Craig Ellwood's Moore House (1964-65) was the youngest house on the tour.  This glass box has architectural concepts that were also utilized in Ellwood's 1976 design for Art Center College of Design. I loved the doors between the kitchen and living/dining areas that swing open to connect the spaces or can be closed for more formal occasions.

Raphael Soriano's Schrage House (1952) was built right after his groundbreaking use of steel in residential construction in his 1950 Case Study House.

Last but not least, four of the ten units at Gregory Ain's Avenel Homes Cooperative were open to tour.  These approximately 900 square foot homes have exterior sliding doors that open the living room to the outdoors and flexible partitions that divide the space to work best for the inhabitants.  For example, in the second photo, the movable divider is seen partially closed to create a bedroom, while in the last photo, it is open so that space functions as a den.  Another partition allows the two rear bedrooms to be opened up to one large space.  Very smart!    

I took many, many more photos and you can see them all right here.  Enjoy!