Esoteric Survey

Downtown Modernism did not disappoint. There was some great merchandise and word is that attendance was up. I didn't do a very good job documenting it again, but here are some pics. First up is Tomorrow's House from Salt Lake City. The Modern Era with a Knoll+Drake chair by Ladislav Rado and an Alexander Girard table.   Peter Loughrey from LAMA was even set up. He brought Arts & Architecture magazines that all used to belong to A Quincy Jones! I picked up a great lamp from him.  Modern for All  just opened a shop in Claremont Damama and Don. He's actually a happy guy, I'm just not a great photographer. On the other hand, Don Flood is a great photographer. Lisa Cliff trying to hide from me. My space The free bin was fun and thankfully empty by the end of the day. The $10 bin didn't even last long enough for me to take a photo.  Sold out!  I also bought some great things, which will be part of my ne...

Plastic reinforced sphere aquarium that Gilbert A. Watrous designed for the San Diego Children's Zoo.  Yes, it's the same Gilbert A. Watrous (1919-1991) who designed this Heifetz lamp, which won a special prize at the MoMA Lamp Competition in 1951.  Source:  MoMA MoMA Lamp Competition Source:  MoMA Gilbert in 1951   Source: MoMA Back to the zoo... Watrous was part of a San Diego dream team led by Lloyd and Ilse Ruocoo. John Dirks, J. Swiggett, B. Wand, William “Bill” Noonan, and Charles “Chuck” Faust, the Zoo’s designer, worked on the design of the San Diego Children’s Zoo. It opened June of 1957.  Source: San Diego Zoo The zoo was wild back then! Source: Life Magazine Source: Life Magazine In 1959, some new exhibits and features were added to the Children's Zoo, including the Clark Children's Theater. The petting zoo. Source: San Diego Zoo Brian Wilson was there i...

Abel Sorenson and a candle holder by Donald Drumm. I was always skeptical about the Drumm attribution, but it was confirmed by his studio. It was part of a grouping he designed with a partner. They called themselves "Galleries 10" and the designs were sold through Raymor in the early 1950s.

This Sunday! Downtown Modernism  is Sunday, April 28th You don't want to miss it! My junk from last year. 

La Gardo Tackett for Architectural Pottery, Navajo and magazine holder Peter Shire, Jens Quistgaard and La Gardo Tackett NOS Sintesi hangers by Ernesto Gismondi 

W. Earl Wear (1958) Wear (1925-2011) was a Canadian who received his Master's Degree in Architecture from the University of Toronto. He moved to California in 1952 and designed nine homes in Los Angeles. This was his first.  Wear was obviously influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house is essentially Usonian, although Wear definitely put his own spin on it. Soleri bells = In the know Stan Hawk = Really in the know FYI, when the mailbox looks like this, the house is going to be great. 

Smalls: Peter Pepper, Design Line, Doug Ayers and David Stewart Antonio Vitali Herman Miller, 1961 George Rickey

I was in Tucson this past weekend and spotted a school with a series of buildings with thin-shell concrete roofs and breezeblock.  Walter Douglas Elementary School was completed in 1961. John Shaver was the architect.  The structural engineer was Jim Foulds. John Alden Shaver (1918-2010) graduated with a degree in architecture from Kansas State University in 1941. He then did post-graduate work at Stanford. In 1945 he joined his father, Charles W. Shaver, in his Salina, Kansas architecture firm.  John grew the practice into one the largest educational design firms in the United States. There are six hyperbolic flower dome buildings on the campus. Source: Google Maps Montgomery Central High School in Cunningham, Tennessee was designed by John Shaver in 1970. Source: Modern Seeker I wonder how many kids  have been pushed into the water?  High School can be rough! Source: Tupelo Quarterly ...