craftsman

#240: E.A.K. Hackett House (Pico-Union)

#240: E.A.K. Hackett House (Pico-Union)

November 19, 2024

The E.A.K. Hackett House is an intact example of a "transitional craftsman" home, bridging the Victorian and craftsman eras of LA architecture. It once housed a prominent figure in LA's religious life. AND: there's a mysterious research conundrum about its provenance...

#239: Judson Studios (Highland Park)

#239: Judson Studios (Highland Park)

November 9, 2024

In this quirky 1911 building, Judson Studios crafted the stained glass in most of your favorite old buildings in LA. And they're still at it.

#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.

#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.

#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.

#185: Holmes-Shannon House (Victoria Park)

#185: Holmes-Shannon House (Victoria Park)

December 24, 2023

Embodied in this opulent craftsman home are the history of the Victoria Park neighborhood, the legacy of the eminent architects Train & Williams, and the fascinating backgrounds of financier Nellie Shannon, her husband Michael (the first traffic cop in LA) and their son Michael Francis, who once served as Grand Exalted Ruler of the Elks.

#176: Wilton Historic District (Hancock Park)

#176: Wilton Historic District (Hancock Park)

October 16, 2023

Wilton Historic District comprises 63 well-maintained homes, mostly craftsman & colonial revival, built between 1907 and 1925. The neighborhood's unique, due to the weird-ass layout of the streets and unorthodox siting of many of the homes, and how magnificently it's held up over the past century.

#169: Tuna Club of Avalon (Catalina)

#169: Tuna Club of Avalon (Catalina)

August 24, 2023

The Tuna Club of Avalon is an organization of anglers, founded in 1898 and still going strong today, that has had an outsize impact on big game fishing as a sport. And since 1916 they’ve done all their fishy business in this Catalina clubhouse.

#168: Samuel Merrill House (Greene & Greene – Pasadena)

#168: Samuel Merrill House (Greene & Greene – Pasadena)

August 16, 2023

The one-story Samuel Merrill House in Pasadena is one of the coziest homes by Greene & Greene, undisputed masters of craftsman architecture. The client was a rancher-turned-law-clerk-turned-conservationist who knew John Muir from his days in Indianapolis.

#157: Morris Kight House (Westlake)

#157: Morris Kight House (Westlake)

June 14, 2023

This unassuming craftsman in Westlake was the home of the pioneering gay rights activist Morris Kight from 1967-74. But Kight’s house was more than just his residence. It was also a think tank, a clinic, and a meeting place for the LA chapter of the Gay Liberation Front, a group of gay activists with a radical approach to creating political and social change for their community.

#145: Venice Beach House (Venice)

#145: Venice Beach House (Venice)

March 29, 2023

This historic craftsman house has stood in the same spot in Venice since 1911, back when this area was just white sand dunes. It was the summer home of LA Daily Journal editor Warren Wilson, an important early settler of Venice whose daughters married into the family of Venice founder Abbot Kinney. The house was a popular stopover for local politicians, businessmen and the cultural elite. These days it's a posh B&B, beautifully restored with much of the original woodwork and craftsman detailing intact.

#143: Louise C. Bentz House (Pasadena – Greene & Greene)

#143: Louise C. Bentz House (Pasadena – Greene & Greene)

March 17, 2023

This house is a minor marvel from the craftsman starchitects Charles & Henry Greene. It was commissioned in 1906 by Asian art importer John C. Bentz, one of the developers of the fashionable Prospect Park Tract in Pasadena. The house was the very first built on the tract, and it set a sky high quality standard for the neighborhood. It's also a great example of how Greene & Greene could work with more modest budgets and still showcase their architectural mastery.

#140: The Lanterman House (La Cañada Flintridge)

#140: The Lanterman House (La Cañada Flintridge)

March 2, 2023

The unique kinda-sorta craftsman home was one of the first houses in Los Angeles made of reinforced concrete. It was the home of Roy and Emily Lanterman, scions of La Cañada Flintridge's first family. One of their two sons, Frank Lanterman, would establish a legendary career in the California State Assembly.

#130: Jennie A. Reeve House (Greene & Greene – Long Beach)

#130: Jennie A. Reeve House (Greene & Greene – Long Beach)

December 15, 2022

This 1904 commission in Long Beach was a significant one for architects Charles & Henry Greene, because it integrated so many of the creative features that they had experimented with but never harmonized into a single building. Their approach here pointed the way to later masterpieces like the Gamble House, Blacker House and Thorsen House.