SILVER LAKE ARCHITECTURE

Increase your website traffic with Attracta.com

Editor's Note: We hope you like our NEW SILVER LAKE ARCHITECTURE PAGE! The page has been reorganized making it much easier to navigate. Entries have been arranged in descending alphabetical and numerical order. -Michael Locke, Editor

The architecture of Silver Lake developed hand-in-hand with the film industry. Like a mighty wave, the creative individuals captivated by the magic of Hollywood were drawn by the thousands to Southern California to 'make their mark' seeking employment but also needing a place to call home. The beautiful hillsides of Hollywood, Los Feliz and Silver Lake were often the preferred locations for these early pioneers. As Los Feliz and the Hollywood Hills became too pricey, homebuyers and renters looked eastward towards Silver Lake. At the same time, as new architectural styles were coming into fashion, the architects who were designing them found greater acceptance for their often avante garde designs in the cultural mix of Los Angeles. As a result, the works of Modernist pioneers like Gregory Ain, David Hyun, R.M. Schindler, Raphael Soriano, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra are literally sprinkled throughout our hillsides. Following in their footsteps, a new generation of architects has emerged in the twenty-first century, including such luminaries as Barbara Bestor, Barry Milofsky, Gustavo Gubel, Sean Briski, Michael Lehrer, John Southern, Ricardo Accorsi, Ana Henton, and many more. These images will help you appreciate our architectural heritage and the new innovators that continue to interpret and exemplify beautiful architectural design.

Highlighting my journey of discovery are two recent additions: the Becker House by Gregory Ain (1938-39) and currently the home of Barry Milofsky, (M2A Architects, responsible for the design of the new Silver Lake Library) and the Hopmans House, by Architect Harwell Hamilton Harris (1951). While Martin Schall (you-are-here.com) and I were saying our "good-byes" to Barry Milofsky, we met two of his neighbors on the street; Architect Richard Liu, who designed the lovely duplex across the street (Liu-Lo House, featured on these pages) and Yoram Roman proud occupant of the Hopmans House with his wife Marylin Friedman, who invited us over for a visit.

Pictured is Architect David Hyun's House on Redesdale Avenue, in a photo taken by Julius Shulman and Juergen Nogai. Hyun gave me the photo as a gift after I interviewed him for "Who's Who in Silver Lake" in 2003.

return to SILVER LAKE ARCHITECTURE

VDL Research House, Richard & Dion Neutra, Architects, 1932 & 1964

The experimental home where the Neutra family lived in Silver Lake, known as the Van der Leeuw Research House (VDL) in honor of Neutra's patron, the young Dutch industrialist, Kees van der Leeuw. In the early 1930s, this home was the workshop for such distinguished architects as Gregory Ain, H.H. Harris, and Raphael Soriano all of whom served their architectural apprenticeship under the watchful eye of Richard Neutra.

The original house, built in the pure International Style, was partially destroyed by fire in 1963, The present structure was rebuilt by Richard's son, Dion Neutra on the original footprint. The house was willed by Dionne Niedermann Neutra, to the College of Environmental Design, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona), which is charged with its restoration and maintenance, as well as a research center.

The VDL Research House is located at 2300 Silver Lake Blvd. in Silver Lake. It was declared an Historic-Cultural Monument in the City of Los Angeles in 1997. (No. 640). To arrange a tour of the Center, call the University at (909) 869-2667.

Silver Lake : Los Angeles, California

SILVER LAKE ARCHITECTURE