Esoteric Survey

The Lovell Health House by Richard Neutra was designed starting in 1927 and completed in 1929. It was built for Philip Lovell. The Lovells had just had a beach house built for them by RM Schindler . Philip Lovell, a physician and naturopath, had an LA Times column, “Care of the Body.” He promoted vegetarianism, exercise, nude sunbathing, drugless healing, and a healthy sex life. Neutra and Schindler were both trying to get the commission for the family's second house. Obviously, Neutra won out. This probably made things pretty uncomfortable considering Neutra was living and working at Schindler's Kings Road house and studio. The house brought a lot of attention to Neutra and was a huge boost to his career. With the exception of Frank Lloyd Wright, Neutra was probably the most prolific architect of the time. Schindler continued to get commissions, although mostly smaller projects in Los Angeles. The Lovell house is thought of to be the first residence with a ste...

Peter Shire Ceramics, late 70s and early 80s New little Ray Eames Ephemera and Carl Aubock  Stuff

There was a great house for sale in Fresno. It was designed in 1970 by Fresno architect Robin Gay McCline as his personal residence. He must have been friends with Stan Bitters because there sure is a lot of  his work in the house. It was listed for $450,000 and went fast. According to the listing, McCline was a prolific watercolor artist, architect and educator who worked with the likes of Jim Oakes, Robert Stevens and Gene Zellmer during Fresno's burgeoning years.  More information  here .

David Cressey for Architectural Pottery Peter Shire, 1980 You know I love my little wire accessories. Here are baskets by Sol Bloom and a tray by Archie Kaplan , both for New Dimensions. All this belonged to the  Frank Bros  family and the toys were shiow at Frank Bros. : The Store that Modernized Modern exhibition that was held at the University Art Museum at CSULB. Here's the Finn Juhl ice bucket when it lived in the Frank's Case Study House 25 , which was designed by Edward Killingsworth.  Source: Photo: Julius Shulman, Getty Research Institute Bruno Munari Polariscop

Downtown Modernism Show  in Los Angeles Sunday, October 28th It only happens twice a year. This really is the best market around.

Nevada City Firehouse No. 1 (1861) Discovery of gold in 1848 brought people from around the world to California. By 1850, Nevada City, California was home to 10,000 people. The town grew quickly and became an important city in the state. With the gold mining industry dwindling, population decreased and the town was struggling financially.   In the 1960s and 70s hippies and back-to-the landers moved in and brought new attention and commerce to a sagging Gold Country downtown that was half full of empty stores. At the same time, city leaders were early in recognizing that historic preservation could be the foundation of a strong tourist trade. The entire gold rush era downtown district is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Nevada City Downtown Historic District is the largest and most representative collection of downtown commercial buildings in the area of the Northern Mines and is noted as the most complete gold town left in California.  Read ...