1922 Home Architect’s ‘Thoroughbred’

Modern architecture did not come to Los Angeles in the form of a sleek 1950s office tower, as in most other cities, but in 1922 with a fragile one-story complex tucked away in West Hollywood.

Designed by R. M. Schindler as a double house and studio for himself and a colleague, the striking horizontal structure at 835 N. Kings Road was sited to embrace as much of the grounds as possible, so that rooms flowed out into common courtyards.

The design also featured a communal kitchen for the two resident families and open, covered porches (Schindler called them “sleeping baskets”) on the roof. The resulting informality and flexibility of the structure lent it an air of modernity.

Innovative Methods

But what really distinguished the complex as a modern architectural landmark was the innovative materials and construction methods. These included a concrete pad foundation, poured-in-place tilted concrete slab walls, the extensive use of glass as infill between the slabs and as clerestories, and generally leaving the structure and materials unfinished. “What you see is what you got, which gives the house a refreshing moral simplicity,” observed Robert Sweeney, who, as president of the Friends of the Schindler House, oversees the operation and maintenance of the landmark structure.

Sweeney made his remarks while reviewing with architectural historian Kathryn Smith the first phase of an ambitious restoration of the house and grounds timed to coincide with celebration of the 100th anniversary of Schindler’s birth.

Born in Vienna on Sept. 10, 1887, Rudolf Michael Schindler came to Los Angeles in 1920 to supervise construction of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the Hollyhock House, in what is now Barnsdall Park in Hollywood.

A year later Schindler established his own practice here, designing in time numerous houses marked by a melding of the severe style of the modern movement with a rare sensitivity to the varied sites and climates of Los Angeles. He died in 1953.

Many of the houses Schindler produced are noteworthy, among them the Lovell House in Newport Beach, the Buck House in the mid-Wilshire District, the How House in Silver Lake and the Elliot House in Franklin Hills. But it is the complex in West Hollywood that is considered the most exceptional.

Schindler seemed to have known that. When the structure was near completion in May, 1922, he declared in a letter to a friend: “Architecturally I am satisfied--it is a thoroughbred--and will either attract people--or repulse them--my fate is settled--one way or other.”

Historical Landmark

Attract people it definitely has since being declared a historical landmark in 1971 and opened to the public in 1980, due in large part to the efforts of the Friends of the Schindler House and a grant from the California Office of Historic Preservation.

At present, the house is closed while its roof is being restored, thanks to a $60,000 gift from the City of West Hollywood. A reopening, which will feature an exhibit examining the history and design of the house, is scheduled for Oct. 11.

But one can visit the grounds and from a respectful distance appreciate the complex’s innovative siting and structure, in particular the walls and the distinctive sleeping porches that recently were reconstructed on the roof.

Gala Set Oct. 10

Unfortunately, on view also are cracks in the walls, the ominous shifts of chimneys away from the structure and an obvious need for landscaping. It is with these problems in mind that the support group of the landmark has scheduled a Schindler Centennial Gala Oct. 10 to raise funds for additional restoration work.

The event will feature a dinner cooked by Wolfgang Puck of nearby Spago restaurant, remarks by noted Viennese architect Hans Hollein and no doubt numerous toasts to the memory of Schindler and to the future of his house and studio. Tickets are $200. For information and reservations, call (213) 651-1510.

Rare Public Viewing

Two other Schindler designs, the How and Buck houses, will be on rare public view Sunday, Sept. 20, as attractions on a tour sponsored by the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The tour--also featuring houses designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene, Ernest Batchelder, Richard Neutra and William Kesling--is being offered in conjunction with the current Arts and Crafts and Machine Age exhibits now on display in the museum. Tickets for the all-day guided bus tour, including a buffet lunch at Bullocks Wilshire, are $65. For information, contact the conservancy at (213) 623-2489.

Of course, if you just want to view the Schindler designs from the street, the redwood-detailed concrete How House, constructed in 1925, is at 2422 Silver Ridge Ave., in Silver Lake; the Streamline Moderne-styled Buck House, dated 1934, is at 805 S. Genesee St., in the mid-Wilshire district; the Elliot House, finished in 1931, is at 4237 Newdale Drive in Franklin Hills, and the Lovell House, completed in 1926, is at 1242 W. Ocean Front on the Balboa Peninsula. All look as modern as ever.