Photo Essay: A Midcentury Church for Googie Worshippers

When you think of Midcentury Modern architecture—or especially the futuristic style known as "Googie"—you probably wouldn't associate it with a church or any other house of worship.



But that's because you've never been to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Redondo Beach, California.



Located just a 20-minute drive south of the ultimate Googie coffee shop, Pann's...



...St. Andrew's is also the work of master Googie architects Armet and Davis.



Though, having been built in 1958, it's a rather late entry in the firm's oeuvre.



By then, the architects had already tried their hands at ecclesiastical architecture, with St. Elisabeth's in Van Nuys (1950), the First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro (1954), Our Savior Lutheran in Westchester (1955), and the New Trinity Lutheran Church in Norwalk (1955), among others.



They'd also dabbled in a few Christian schools and memorial parks. And they had been working with religious institutions since 1947.

Creation of Man

Better-associated with ecclesiastical architecture is Judson Studios, which provided the Midcentury-style stained glass windows.

The Psalms, The Prophets, The Birth of Christ

The project was overseen by Horace T. Judson—grandson of Judson Studios founder William Lees Judson and son of Walter Horace Judson). A former lawyer, he'd given up his practice to run the studio's day-to-day from 1934 until the 1970s.

The Birth of Christ

They're not, however, original to the opening of the church. And while the collection of stained glass is coherent thematically—"The Great Acts of God"—they weren't even installed all at once.

Creation of Man

From "The Creation of the World" to "The Calling of the Disciples" and "The Alpha and Omega," one or two windows would be added at a time, as funds became available, starting three years after the church held its first service. 

The Ten Commandments

The "Windows of Faith" are actually tryptics of three individual window units, each with its own sponsor. "The Burning Bush" is depicted alongside "The Passover" and "The Ten Commandments" (above), and so on.

The Sermon on the Mount

The saturated colors are meaningful here, with red representing passion, zeal, fire, and sacrifice. 

The Resurrection

Green represents hope and new or renewed life (as with the Resurrection, above)...

The Great Commission

...and purple, great suffering and the 40 days of Lent in reparation for Easter.  

The New Law

Although, in the end, I think all anybody is looking for is the color blue—a symbol of truth, constancy, faithfulness, eternity, and Heaven.  

Special thanks to St. Andrew's for sharing its stained glass historical archives for this post. 

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Christmas at the Doctors House, Saved From Demolition and Moved to Brand Park

Some buildings are so historic, so enchanting, that they serve as a touchstone for preservationists to assemble and organize in lasting ways.

Rendering by Edward Alejandre, circa 1981

The Los Angeles Conservancy had Central Library, and The Glendale Historical Society had the Doctors House, a Victorian home in the Queen Anne/Eastlake style built out of redwood, with a square tower. 

Photo: Konrad Summers [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

It's named after not one but four doctors who occupied the Victorian house in succession, when it was located on the northwest corner of Wilson and Belmont (at the time, Third and B Streets, where an apartment building stand now).

The first physician to occupy it after it was built in 1888 was a Chicagoan, Dr. C.V. Bogue. In 1901, Dr. Bogue sold the house and practice so he could move back to the Midwest.



His buyer was Dr. David Winslow Hunt, a Minnesotan who owned the first automobile within Glendale limits, while it was still just a hamlet of 300 residents.



The third doctor to take up residence in the house was Dr. A. L. Bryant, who bought the house from Dr. Hunt in 1907 and then sold it back to him in 1908. Some historical records don't even count him and keep the narrative to just three doctors.



Dr. Hunt turned around and sold it again, this time to Dr. Leon H. Hurtt—the fourth and final doctor to occupy the house and the first president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.



Although it's been restored as a "doctors house museum," replete with tools and instruments and medical tomes...



...it was actually built by a real estate developer and was occupied by others before and after the four doctors...



...including Canadian actress and animal trainer Nell Shipman from 1917 to 1920.



Reportedly, her onsite menagerie included two bear cubs.



The Glendale streets used to be lined with homes like this when they were fashionable—but by 1979, the Victorian style had fallen out of fashion and a demolition permit was issued for this one, while it still stood in its former location.



The newly-formed Glendale Historical Society mobilized and maneuvered a move to Brand Park in 1980. They opened it as a museum four years later and still conduct tours today. Now, it's only one of  couple Victorians left in Glendale.

The saving of the Doctors House is considered the birth of the preservation movement in Glendale—but 40 years later, it's still got a long way to go (especially judging by its complete neglect of the Rockhaven Sanitarium property the city owns and refuses to do anything with).

How much do we have to lose and subsequently regret before we actually learn our lesson?

How many ugly yet utilitarian apartment buildings have replaced historic structures that provide a looking-glass view into the 19th century (or even farther back in time)?

How many more coalitions have to form to fight the good fight?

When does the fighting stop?

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Photo Essay: The Lautner House Built for Jazz, Made of Rainbows and Tears

The Garcia House isn't as famous as its Hollywood neighbor, The Chemosphere, even though they were both designed by architect John Lautner.



But even though I didn't know it by name—or by its '70s-era nickname, the "Rainbow House"—I'm sure I'd seen at least parts of it before in a movie. (Scroll to the bottom to watch a pinnacle scene from Lethal Weapon 2.)



But I've learned by now that if its part of the Lautner oeuvre, I want to see it.



And the Garcia House did not disappoint.



Built in 1962 for jazz musician, composer, and arranger Russ Garcia and his wife Gina, the house leads you in a dizzying spiral of curves and teardrops that makes you question whether you're inside or outside at any given time.



Vacated by the Garcias in 1966—who sold all their possessions to buy a boat, sail the world, and eventually land in Fiji—it was famously occupied by actor Vincent Gallo and later sensitively restored for the greater part of the first decade of the new millennium.



The original and new terrazzo floors join together both distinctly and seamlessly.



The "Rainbow" nickname came not only from the curved shape of the roof (actually two distinct halves that unite as one)...



...but also the array of colored glass windows across the back facade.



Perched up high in the Hollywood Hills off of Mulholland Drive between Briar Summit Open Space Preserve and the north entrance of Runyon Canyon...



...it's one of those gravity-defying houses that are both an engineering marvel and a nailbiter to visit, especially while walking past those V-shaped supports in the house's undercarriage.



One of the later additions to the property was actually part of Lautner's original plan—a teardrop-shaped swimming pool that the Garcias couldn't afford to build at the time.



That's where you get the best view of the house—and of Hollywood below.

But inside (which I can't show you, as photos were not allowed and people live there now), Hollywood practically disappears.

The Hills, however, do not.

Since moving to LA, I've had the pleasure of touring lots of homes that would be a dream come true for lots of other people—but not necessarily me. I can barely envision a life outside of my apartment—or, really, any apartment.

But sitting on the L-shaped couch of the Garcia House, I could really imagine myself living there.

Maybe one day I will.



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Photo Essay: 1000 Lights (Or More) at Sherman Library and Gardens

This weekend, I went to the Sherman Library and Gardens, a fixture in Corona del Mar, California since 1955...



...but I wasn't researching the Southern Pacific Railroad, Tejon Ranch, or even Newport Beach.



I didn't even know what the research library had in its collection.



I just wanted to see the historical adobe architecture...



...and check out the landscaping and gardens, partially the former home of Norman's Nursery.



There's a small window in December when you can visit the library during normal operating hours during the day and see it decorated for the holidays at night, too.



So, I planned my visit accordingly.



This time of year, the season really takes over the garden...



...but you can still visit the orchids in the Tropical Conservatory...



...including the ones featured in Smell-O-Vision...



...that give off perfumes of fruit and chocolate.



But in the Tea Garden and the Central Garden, the horticultural point of interest flips to Christmas trees.



And the library's mascot otter dons a Santa Hat.



Having been to some of the larger garden light displays around SoCal (including ZooLights), I didn't expect much out of the 2.2 acres that the Sherman Library occupies along the Pacific Coast Highway.



But I was impressed with how the Fern Grotto had been transformed into a Disco InFERNo...



...and how the light tunnel offered a colorful respite...



...from the Santa visits, s'mores station, and selfie wall that surrounded it.



The holiday event at this historic site is billed as "Nights of 1000 Lights"...



...but while I was inside of it, it felt more like millions or billions.



From the Noel Bleu in the Sun Garden, right down to the Rainbow Tree in the otherwise dormant Rose Garden.

Norman's Nursery—and eventually all the surrounding lots in the entire city block—were purchased by Arnold D. Haskell, who named Sherman Library and Gardens after his mentor, Moses Sherman.

While working as a bellboy at the Mission Inn in Riverside, Haskell became Sherman's assistant and then his successor after his retirement.

The library's namesake is the same as Sherman Oaks and West Hollywood, which was once known as Sherman.

Moses Sherman was an Upstate New Yorker who headed out West, penniless. After landing in Phoenix and building a streetcar system there, he began to amass some real estate and some serious holdings in railroad ventures.

And then he moved to LA and did the same thing.

For some reason, I had to go all the way to Orange County to learn about him.

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