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800.9SAHSCC. (in CA only) (1.800.972.4722) Or write: info@sahscc.org |
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Architecture
in Film SAH/SCC Film
Screening and Talk Saturday, July
11, 2009, Santa Monica
David P.
Gamble house, Pasadena. Photo Alexander Vertikoff Join SAH/SCC on Saturday, July 11th, at 1PM, to
celebrate the newly released major documentary Beautiful Simplicity: Arts & Crafts Architecture in Southern
California. This 86-minute, widescreen production examines the profound
effects of the Arts & Crafts movement on both the physical and cultural
development of Southern California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Filmmaker Paul Bockhorst will be present to discuss the production and his
series on the Arts & Crafts movement in California. The event is free,
and reservations are not required, however seats will be available on a
first-come, first-served basis, at the Santa Monica Public Library (SMPL),
601 Santa Monica Blvd. Beautiful Simplicity introduces viewers
to the work of a dozen notable architects who were influenced by Arts &
Crafts ideals. They include Charles and Henry Greene, Sylvanus Marston,
Arthur and Alfred Heineman, Frederick Roehrig, Sumner Hunt, Arthur Benton,
Myron Hunt, Irving Gill, Frank Mead, and Richard Requa, many of whom worked
in collaboration. The documentary also looks at the influence of John Ruskin
and William Morris, the leading voices of the Arts & Crafts movement in
Britain, and Gustav Stickley and Elbert Hubbard, two major promoters of Arts
& Crafts values in America. The passionate advocacy of local leaders like
Charles Fletcher Lummis and William Lees Judson is also considered. The
documentary features more than 40 important Southland structures: Lummis
House (“El Alisal”) in Los Angeles by Lummis and Hunt; The Mission Inn in
Riverside by Benton; Arturo Bandini, Duncan-Irwin, and Gamble Houses in
Pasadena by the Greenes; Arthur Jerome Eddy House in Pasadena by Roehrig;
Curtis Ranch in Altadena and Volney-Craig House in Pasadena by Louis B.
Easton; St. Francis Court, Sylvanus Marston House, and Henry and Clara Lacey
House in Pasadena by Marston; Bowen Court, Parsons Bungalow, and Hindry House
in Pasadena by the Heinemans; and Polytechnic School in Pasadena by Myron
Hunt and Elmer Grey.
Arturo
Bandini House, Pasadena. Photo: courtesy Charles Sumner Greene Collection,
Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley The
section on San Diego includes several structures by Gill: George White and
Anna Marston House, Cossitt House, Russell Allen House, First Church of
Christ Scientist, and La Jolla Woman’s Club. The important Wheeler Bailey
house in La Jolla, designed by Gill and Mead, is also featured, as are
several projects by Mead and Requa, his later partner. Mead and Requa
projects seen in the documentary include Brackenbury Residence, Robert Winsor
House, Palomar Apartments, and Hopi House, as well as Krotona Institute of
Theosophy in Hollywood. Beautiful Simplicity also highlights
the significance of the Craftsman bungalow, which was the most important
contribution of the Arts & Crafts movement to American architecture.
Bungalows provided comfortable and well-designed housing at a modest price,
thus helping democratize home ownership in the U.S. Beautiful
Simplicity is the second installment in a series by Bockhorst that
chronicles Arts & Crafts architecture in California. The first in the
series is Greene & Greene: The Art
of Architecture (2005), which will screen at SMPL later this summer. As
with Greene & Green, Beautiful
Simplicity was produced by Paul Bockhorst Productions in cooperation with
SAH/SCC. The program was written, produced, and directed by Paul Bockhorst,
and is narrated by Richard Doyle. Principal photography is by Ron DeVeaux,
with original music composed by Paul Morehouse. Principal funding was
provided by The Ahmanson Foundation and the Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R.
Clarke Foundation. SAVE
THE DATE Cliff
May’s Modern Ranch Houses Tour and Book
Signing Saturday,
September 12, 2009, Encino
Photo: courtesy of ICA All
SAH/SCC members are invited to the upcoming Institute of Classical
Architecture (ICA) event celebrating the work of Cliff May and the publication
of the monograph Cliff May and the
Modern Ranch House (Rizzoli, 2008), by Daniel P. Gregory (see SAH/SCC News, May 2008, for Bookmarks
review). On Saturday, September 12th, 4-7PM, watch the sunset in one of May’s
classic California Ranch-style homes on a stunning hillside lot in Encino.
Gregory, former Senior Home Editor of Sunset
Magazine, will discuss the career and life of
this influential figure. Copies of the book will be available and signed by
the author. In addition to a private tour of the home, the group will
view home movies from architect Marc Appleton of his childhood growing up in
a Cliff May home. SAH/SCC has arranged for members to receive the discounted
ICA price of $125 ($50 less than the regular nonmember price). Contact ICA directly
for tickets at 310.396.4379 or diane@classicist-socal.org.
Postcard
From Shoshone
Are we there yet? This
is what was going through my mind as we entered the town of Baker, home of
the Bun Boy restaurant and the world’s largest thermometer. Baker, CA, is
also the turnoff point to travel north up to the town of Shoshone, our
destination. There were still more than 60 miles to go, but the ride was
enjoyable with beautiful desert mountains to gaze at. We were on our way to
the SAH/SCC Modern Patrons event, featuring the Richard Neutra-designed
Sorrells Residence from 1957. As we drove, I wondered how Neutra ever came to
design and build a house in such a remote place. We were soon to find out. The
house was easy to find; there are few streets in the town, and we hit on the
right one immediately. Shoshone is cute, with some cafés and old motels. The
house was easily identifiable as a Neutra—with its long, low profile and
walls of glass—and it looked like nothing else around it. The house was in
original condition, something I love to see so I can get the feeling of what
it was really like when built. After
a look around, we sat down for the discussion portion of the event with our
hostess Susan Sorrells, who grew up in the house when her parents worked with
Neutra. She still lives there and maintains it today. Her parents were not
typical of rural eastern California. They had diplomatic ties and were
interested in art and architecture. Also
in attendance were two architects from Neutra’s office, John Blanton and Don
Polsky, who discussed the process. In those days, they created and presented
a client with a set number and type of drawings (plan, section, perspective,
etc.)—and that was it! Very often the client accepted the design on the spot
and they moved forward. As an architect myself, I found this particularly
interesting, as it is not typical of how we do things today. Neutra’s
youngest son, Raymond, was also in attendance and was full of insights into
the workings of his father and his office. He was very good at asking
stimulating questions that brought out some great stories. One
such story was about Neutra and his wife Dione arriving for a surprise visit
after the house was completed. They stayed for seven to 10 days in the guest
suite. Mrs. Neutra brought her cello and performed in the evenings. Several
ideas popped into my head as I pictured the Neutras visiting with the
Sorrells. I thought that the trip to Shoshone might have been more arduous
back then than now and might have taken many hours. What kind of car did the
Neutras arrive in? I also had the suspicion that Neutra had himself in mind
when he designed the private guest suite for the house. Though
it was a trek, it was well worth it. The opportunities to visit with original
home owners and to experience these remarkable houses are rare and shouldn’t
be passed up. We saw an original Neutra house, met and heard about the owner
and her interesting life, and got a picture of what it was like to work in
Neutra’s office. Got
a great lunch too. Our thanks to the owner for opening up her house to us,
and to John Berley and Sian Winship for organizing this wonderful event. Brent
Eckerman
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