Architecture

#233: Highland Park Masonic Temple

#233: Highland Park Masonic Temple

September 13, 2024

Built in 1923, this handsome brick and terracotta building witnessed 60 years of ritual and fraternity as the Highland Park Masonic Temple. Since 2017, it's housed the music venue the Lodge Room and an adjoining restaurant, Checker Hall. All the original Masonic symbols are still intact, and EVERYWHERE.

#231: Villa Carlotta (Altadena)

#231: Villa Carlotta (Altadena)

August 23, 2024

Villa Carlotta is a fine example of architect Myron Hunt's residential work, and one of Altadena's first homes designed for electricity from the get-go. It was built for Francis R. Welles, who oversaw European operations for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone company for over 30 years.

#224-229: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 4 (Pasadena)

#224-229: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 4 (Pasadena)

August 11, 2024

The bungalow court blossomed in Pasadena between 1910 & 1930. For part four of my tour of all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register of Historic Places, we're focusing on six that are known only by their addresses. I call them: THE NAMELESS.

#220: Winona Boulevard Mid-Century Modern Historic District (Los Feliz)

#220: Winona Boulevard Mid-Century Modern Historic District (Los Feliz)

June 28, 2024

The Winona Boulevard Mid-Century Modern Historic District includes 13 apartment complexes in a grab bag of MCM styles, built from 1950-1964. Collectively they offer a snapshot of a neighborhood in transition during the post-WWII population boom.

#214-219: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 3 (Pasadena)

#214-219: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 3 (Pasadena)

June 22, 2024

The bungalow court flourished between 1910-1930, especially in Pasadena. For this third batch in our exploration of all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register, we’re looking at six courts clustered around the historic section of South Marengo Avenue.

#212: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (East Hollywood)

#212: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (East Hollywood)

June 8, 2024

Completed in 1921, Hollyhock House was Frank Lloyd Wright's first LA commission, and a departure from the prairie style that made him famous. This was one part of a planned theater complex for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall. And while their grand vision was never carried out, the house still stands as one of Wright's most significant buildings.

#211: Washington Building (Culver City)

#211: Washington Building (Culver City)

June 2, 2024

The wedge-shaped Washington Building is one of the few remaining structures from downtown Culver City's heyday in the 1920s. It was commissioned by Charles Lindblade, a real estate developer who, alongside Harry Culver, built Culver City in the 1910s through the early 1930s.

#209: Charmont Apartments (Santa Monica)

#209: Charmont Apartments (Santa Monica)

May 17, 2024

Santa Monica's Charmont Apartments were designed in a unique combination of Spanish colonial & art deco styles by Max Maltzman, one of LA's first Jewish architects. It was lovingly rehabilitated after sustaining damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

#202-206: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 2 (Pasadena)

#202-206: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 2 (Pasadena)

April 24, 2024

Pasadena was the birthplace of the bungalow court, a unique form of multi-family housing that flourished between 1910-1930. I visited all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register – batch #2 includes craftsman, colonial revival, English cottage-style and a truly transportive example of a Tudor revival bungalow court.

Inside Richard Neutra’s Jardinette Apartments (East Hollywood)

Inside Richard Neutra’s Jardinette Apartments (East Hollywood)

April 14, 2024

Get a peek inside Richard Neutra's modernist landmark Jardinette Apartments to see how the restoration efforts are progressing.

#201: Beverly Hills Post Office (Beverly Hills)

#201: Beverly Hills Post Office (Beverly Hills)

April 7, 2024

For a Depression-era federal building, the Beverly Hills Post Office is an unusually opulent one, clad in Italianate masonry and terracotta with a lobby awash in marble. After serving Beverly Hillers for over 60 years it was transformed into the beloved Wallis Center for the Performing Arts in 2013.

#200: Lloyd Wright House and Studio (West Hollywood)

#200: Lloyd Wright House and Studio (West Hollywood)

March 31, 2024

This distinctive Mayan-inspired home is where architect Lloyd Wright lived and worked for over 50 years. It was built in 1927 during an important transitional phase that found him flourishing as an independent designer after years of collaborating with others – including his dad, Frank Lloyd Wright.

#194-199: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 1 (Pasadena)

#194-199: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 1 (Pasadena)

March 24, 2024

The bungalow court is a style of multi-family housing that places multiple small dwellings around a central courtyard or walkway. This style of housing flourished in LA between 1910 & 1930, especially in Pasadena, but many of them have been demolished. Here are six of the 30 remaining Pasadena courts on the National Register.

#192: Doctors House (Glendale)

#192: Doctors House (Glendale)

March 9, 2024

The Doctors House is a rare Victorian home in Glendale once occupied by four doctors, a silent movie star and two families of Croatian immigrants. After facing demolition, it was saved by the Glendale Historical Society and moved to Brand Park. It now operates as a house museum.

#191: Gartz Court (Pasadena)

#191: Gartz Court (Pasadena)

March 1, 2024

Built in 1911, Gartz Court is the second oldest bungalow court in Pasadena, and the oldest one still in its original configuration. Gartz stands apart from Pasadena's many surviving courts for its architectural pedigree, its 1/2 craftsman 1/2 Tudor style and its surprising preservation history.