Ennis House

 

Entrance to the Ennis House

 

L.A. is blessed with fabulous architecture: City Hall, Bullocks Wilshire, the Eastern Columbia Building, Disney Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, as well as stunning homes designed by Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Charles and Ray Eames, Julia Morgan, Pierre Koenig, and, of course, Frank Lloyd Wright, who created four “textile block” houses in Los Angeles and Pasadena during the early 1920s. Perhaps the most renown—and elusive—of these is the Ennis House, located in the hills above Los Feliz.

 

 Southwest corner

Cast in concrete, Wright’s textile blocks are a work of art in and of themselves. Designed using indigenous-looking three-dimensional patterns, the blocks interlock and were reinforced internally with iron bars and concrete. Not only does the textile-effect distinguish the exterior of the homes, but also the interior. The result is an unconventional yet glorious architectural design, especially when juxtaposed to the lush landscape clearly visible through Wright’s large signature windows.

 

 Concrete textile block detail

Signs of deterioration

 

We’ve toured the Storer House in the Hollywood Hills, above Highland Blvd., and of course the Hollyhock House, which is open to the public in Barnsdall Park. But opportunities to tour the Ennis House have been few and far between, possibly because it was considered one of L.A.'s “most endangered historic places” for many years. Happily, the house has now been restored and was the main event of a fundraising tour offered by the architectural MAK Center last Sunday.

At 8000 square feet, the Ennis House looked like an ornate bunker as we approached it via impossibly skinny, winding roads on the south side of Griffith Park. Our tour group was small: only ten people, many of whom looked to be architects or photographers. We had open access to the property for an hour, but were not allowed to take pictures inside. No problem, however, as there was plenty to photograph outside, including breathtaking views of Los Angeles.

 

 Entrance gate

Front door

 

Hazy day in downtown L.A.

 

The front door is ground-level off the gated driveway. We entered into a small, dark lobby and then ascended a steep set of concrete stairs to the main living area. Sun poured into the space from all angles. The enormous height of the room and dramatic textile-block walls made the house look very much like a museum or Mayan temple. No one dared sit on the craft-style furniture, designed by Wright.

 

 Peering into the living room from outside

 

Period appliances

 

 Distinctive Frank Lloyd Wright window
 

The home has little resemblance to the dank rooms of Deckard’s apartment, famously depicted in the SF-noir movie Blade Runner, which was partially filmed at the Ennis House. Though the rest of the house is completely futuristic, the kitchen still has its early 20^th-century appliances. Outside are a pool and two ponds, plus patios and several landscaped paths. The chauffeur’s quarters are across the driveway from the house. We relished every moment of our brief tour.

 

 Pool on the northside of the house

 

 

Southern retaining wall, looking west at Griffith Observatory

 

Looking east

 

 Clearer view of the observatory

Tim on the path

 

Koi pond

 

From the Ennis House, the group then caravanned down to a reception at the Sowden House, designed by Wright’s son Lloyd. Located on Franklin Avenue, the house is another fine example of textile-block architecture, but not near as magnificent as Ennis.

 

Sowden House entrance

 

Door detail

 

Interior pool courtyard

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"Meet Me at Third and Fairfax"

 

L.A. landmark: Farmers Market clock tower

 

The L.A. City Historical Society hosted a special members-only tour of the Original Farmers Market yesterday. We were there, even though we've been to (what we call) "the Farmers"—one of our favorite L.A. haunts—a million times.

Since it was an historical society tour, the emphasis was on the history of the market, some of which I never knew or had long forgotten. For instance, I never knew the Gilmores—who owned and developed the land over 100 years ago—were originally dairy farmers. While drilling for water, they struck oil and immediately sold the cows! Soon after, Gilmore became the largest distributor of gasoline, west of the Mississippi, with some 3500 Gilmore gas stations servicing three states. The family built a stadium, a drive-in theater, and Gilmore bank on the surrounding land—all of which are now distant memories. But the market, created in 1934, has survived and is one of the most famous tourist attractions in L.A. We love it.

If you visit Farmers Market, be sure to look for the exhibits displayed throughout, chronicling the history of the area. You'll leave with a whole new appreciation of Los Angeles.

 

Replica of Gilmore gas station at the Market

 

Gasoline is clear, so Gilmore

added dye to give his fuel color

 

Gilmore mascot atop the gas station

 

Can't leave the Market without a Dupars pie!

 

And, of course, locally-grown produce

 

Can you find us enjoying some late lunch?

 

CBS Television City, the west coast's first TV studio, 

now sits where the old Gilmore stadium stood

Great video about the history of Farmers Market

Sharknado

SyFy's schlocky movie-of-the-week Sharknado was such a hit on Twitter last week that they showed it again last night. I made Tim watch it with me. 

As the title suggests, a tornado off the coast of Southern California sucks-up thousands of sharks, who then terrorize and destroy L.A. Even more ridiculous than the idea of sharks flying through the air and eating people in their swimming pools was the egregious disregard for Los Angeles geography. I'm sorry but Van Nuys is not 10 minutes away from the 6th Street bridge in East L.A. Nor can you see the Hollywood sign from Downtown. For a minute there I thought we were watching an old episode of 24.

Still, it's always fun to see our beloved city destroyed by natural—or, in this case, totally ludicrous—disasters. See for yourself:

By the way, a Sharknado II is already in the works. This time NYC is going to be destroyed (again). What a surprise!

Becoming L.A.

Griffith Park Observatory

We had the opportunity, yesterday, to preview the new permanent “Becoming Los Angeles” exhibit opening today at the Natural History Museum. It presents a solid overview of the history of L.A., but is nowhere near as deep or fascinating as, say, the Getty exhibit we saw last weekend. Still, the curators did a good job examining Los Angeles from various ethnic perspectives and sprinkling interesting factoids throughout, including the unanticipated impact of cow dung and ostriches.

Freeways east of L.A.

Early 20th-century oil rigs on the beach

The centerpiece of the installation is a late-1930s model of downtown L.A., created as part of a Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. We, of course, loved it and spent a long time trying to find and identify several architectural landmarks that are still standing. The exhibit is worth the price of admission if only just to see this fabulous diorama.

The model at ground level—City Hall is upper left

City Hall detail

Los Angeles Public Library (center) and

California Club (lower right) detail

Union Station detail

Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990

A sequel to last year’s wildly successful Pacific Standard Time exhibit is currently running at the Getty Museum. Called “Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990,” the show presents the single best overview of L.A.’s constructed environment we’ve ever seen. Not only are there maps, photos, and blueprints of iconic, as well as lesser known, spaces in Los Angeles, there’s also a terrific video of Edward R. Murrow touring Television City (CBS studios) in the 1950s, an historical look at L.A.’s intricate freeway system, artist renderings of LAX, UCLA and Disneyland, and architectural artifacts from the 1984 Olympics. Also featured are the Case Study houses, Park La Brea, the Century Plaza hotel, Gregory Ain and Joseph Eichler homes, the Chemosphere, Watts Towers, the Capitol Records building, Dodgers Stadium, the Hayden tract, Disney studios, and almost everything else we love about Los Angeles. Karen, Tim and I spent more than two hours pouring over every detail.

This is a fabulous exhibit. But it ends July 21, so get over there quickly. And while you’re there, be sure to stop by the Getty gardens, now in all their summer glory. It’s the perfect L.A. experience.

Getty Gardens from above

Enjoying the gardens

L.A. Olympics

Tim and I aren’t architects nor are we architectural scholars.  We are, however, members of the Southern California chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH-SCC), which celebrates the fabulous architecture of L.A. and its surrounding environs.   Unlike, say, the L.A. Conservancy, SAH-SCC is not an advocacy group.  But its tours and other educational events do a terrific job of bringing together two of our favorite things: architecture and the history of Los Angeles.

Yesterday the Society sponsored a lecture on the continuing impact of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, both of which, of course, were held here in Los Angeles. The program was presented at LA84, a local foundation created with profits from the 1984 games.  The speaker was Wayne Wilson, an Olympics expert and director of the LA84 sports library.

Regretfully, Tim and I didn't go to the 1984 Olympics—we were both living in San Diego at the time—but we avidly watched the games and collected and read everything we could about the various events.  So even though we weren’t there, we do know a lot about the 1984 games.

The 1932 games, on the other hand, are a relatively recent fascination, especially since the Olympic Village—the first housing ever built for the athletes—was located in the Baldwin Hills, not far from our home.  The male athletes had rooms in the Village, while the women stayed at the Chapman Park Hotel near downtown L.A.  The 1932 Olympics also marked the first time the staggered dais was used to honor the medal winners—a tradition that lives on till today.

Map of the 1932 venues

Although very few new venues were built for either the 1932 or 1984 games, daily reminders of the Olympics still very much remain.  Tenth Street, for instance, was renamed Olympic Blvd. in honor of the tenth Olympiad held in 1932.   Then, in 1984, all the streets downtown were changed from two- to one-way to help facilitate traffic to and from the games.  Most interesting, though, was learning that approximately 20,000 palm trees were planted in Los Angeles in the late 1920s/early 1930s to make the city more attractive to Olympic games visitors.  Like Olympic Blvd. and downtown's one-way streets, the palm trees are here to stay.

Because the Great Depression was in full force by 1932, city leaders feared that few people would trek to Los Angeles for the summer games.  So a media blitz was launched nationwide, emphasizing the more romantic aspects of L.A.’s history.  One brochure even claimed that a group of Franciscan monks had, in their early travels, blessed the area as “Holywood”—an inspiring explanation for how Hollywood got its name, but complete fiction!  Hollywood royalty, like Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, did do a lot to promote the Olympics, however, entertaining the athletes in their home and participating in public events.

Another map of the 1932 vanues

Finally, as a librarian, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention LA84’s phenomenal sports library.  Containing some 40,000 sports-related items, the library is open weekdays and by appointment.  Their digital archive of over 100,000 PDF files is also available online for free.  Happy reading!

From our own library at home

L.A. as Subject Archives Bazaar

Looking north to downtown L.A. from USC

With both a master’s degree and doctorate from UCLA, I am a Bruin through and through.  Still, once a year Tim and I venture east to spend the day at UCLA’s rival university USC for the annual L.A. as Subject Archives Bazaar. Dedicated to improving the visibility, access, and preservation of archives that document Los Angeles’s rich history, L.A. as Subject is a group of archival institutions that make their holdings available through the web and other outreach efforts, like the Bazaar.  More than 80 local agencies promoted their collections last Saturday at USC.  Tim and I were completely in our element.

Crowds enjoying the Bazaar

The Bazaar is always a glorious event for me, chatting with former and  current students working in various exhibit booths.  But Tim loves it, too.  A couple of years ago he found a photo of his childhood Little League team on CSU Northridge’s San Fernando Valley History Digital Library website.  This year we connected with the Museum of the San Fernando Valley and talked about possibly helping collect baby-boomer memories of the area when it was still dairy farms and remote subdivisions.  The Culver City Historical Society was also there, selling note cards and umbrellas decorated with images of Culver City.

In addition to the exhibits, the Bazaar offers guest speakers, documentary film screenings and panel discussions of local historical relevance.  We heard Christopher Hawthorne, the L.A. Times architecture critic, discuss 27 essential books about Los Angeles and were fascinated as author John Bengston showed then-and-now photos of downtown L.A., where many early silent films were shot.  Finally, we attended a session with award-winning TV producer Dan Guerrero, who reminisced about his father Lalo Guerrero, the world-famous Chicano songwriter and musician.

It was a wonderful day.  And, oh, did I mention that the Bazaar was completely free?  Yay!

The old card catalog at the Doheny Library

where the Bazaar was held