Wolfe Summer House / R.M. Schindler
Wolfe Summer House, by R.M. Schindler (1928-1931) Catalina Island, CA
Ethel and Charles Wolfe came to Los Angeles, attracted by the boom of the movie industry and the charm of a new world at the frontier of western civilization. In 1920, they opened the Wolfe School of Costume Designing for stage and cinema in downtown Los Angeles. Through Leah Lovell, Ethel was introduced to Schindler and later commissioned him to design several projects, including the graphic identity of her institution, the remodeling of the school lobby, and a residence in Avalon.' In the school catalogue, the house is described as a "studio. home" and "the rendezvous for students during the summer season."?
In Schindler's mind, the Wolfe House was the seed for a new type of architecture on Catalina Island, one which celebrates play, sports and outdoor life, as did his Lovell Beach House.
In 1934, he wrote a letter to Mr. Wrigley, the chewing-gum tycoon who owned the island, to criticize the historical style of most buildings in Avalon: "Catalina should become the playground of the world, the spirit of play together with the climate and the characteristic landscape of Catalina should be sufficient to develop its own style-unique and delightful. "
Text: Wolfe House by David Leclerc
Image: R. M. Schindler papers, Architecture & Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Between 1929-30 Schindler also designed a studio and did graphic design work for the Wolfe's costume school.
Source: R.m. Schindler, Architect by David Gebhard
The Wolfe logo above started to show up in 1929 but I don't know if Schindler had anything to do with it.
Image: LA Times, 1929
The school moved from W. Seventh St to to this space at 724 W Flower St. towards the end of 1929. Theoretically there are some Schindler touches, although it's hard to make anything out in this photo. They were located at this address into the 1950s.
Image: LA Times, 1941
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They also hosted students at their house in Catalina.
Source: LA Times, 1929
The house was three levels with an upper terrace. It was comprised of a living space for Charles and Ethel, a guest room and a servant's living space.
The mezzanine at the street level had a garage, bedroom with full bath, kitchen, terrace, and living room. The floor below had a guest room, with its own entry, kitchen, dressing room, multi-purpose living area and terrace.
Plywood model for the Wolfe House
The composition of the house, as described in the January 1935 issue of California Arts and Architecture: The "house on-tiptoe" is not composed as a mass protruding from the mass of the hill, but as a space composition above the hill. It has avoided the digging down into the earth, and the building of retaining walls, for the sake of a maximum of light and ventilation. The structure of the house interlocks three dimensionally with space. The rooms flow into out-of-door garden terraces, overlooking the sweep of Avalon Bay.
Image: RM Schindler : Composition and Construction
The design emphasis was to show that the structure was not carved into the hill. Schindler described it as “a composition of space units in and of the atmosphere above the hill”.
Source: UCSB
Brett is Edward Weston's son.
Charles Wolfe in 1929. Note the lamps.
Source: Wolfe House by David Leclerc
The years were not kind to the house. David Leclerc, an architect and Shindler scholar, spent time at the house and wrote about it extensively.
Photo: Domus 689, December 1987
Photo: Domus 689, December 1987
Source: LA Times, 1999
Source: LA Times, 2000
It changed hands a number of times. The Wolfe's sold it in 1951. Attorney-skier-yachtsman Tiberio Lizza bought it in the mid-1970s. He claimed to have too many other places to be and didn't have time to visit the house and put it up for sale in 2000. In 2001, developer Richard Flock bought it for $1.5 million. He had the original plans and was intent on restoring it. That obviously didn't happen.
One potential owner who wanted to purchase and demolish it was scared away by Society of Architectural Historians members who threatened to sue. However, in 2001 the new owner was issued a demolition permit by the city of Catalina, and the house was destroyed.
An LA Times article from 2002 goes into more detail: "In the case of the Wolfe House, for example, the current owner, Barry O’Neil, approached the local Planning Commission last June with a plan to demolish it, claiming that the previous owner had tried to restore it but that the process turned out to be too costly. The commission approved the demolition immediately by a vote of 7-0. In a perverse acknowledgement of the house’s significance, the commission then signed off on a new design loosely modeled on Schindler’s original, but double the size. A week later, Schindler’s masterpiece was gone forever."
Schindler's Packard House (1924) in San Marino was also demolished the same year. It was replaced by a McMansion. On and off Schindler friend Richard Neutra’s Maslon House (1962) in Rancho Mirage was demolished shortly after in 2002.
Photo: DCD2005
As mentioned previously, I went to Catalina last November. On the epic descent into Avalon at the end of my bikecamping trip, I rode right past where the Wolfe house was. You can see that here. The new structure is twice the size and is no comparison to the original.
The sorry attempt to replicate the façade is downright insulting. A severe lack of articulation compared to Schindler's design.
Photo: Google Street View
Photo: David Leclerc
A lamp from the house sold at Bonhams in 2014. I went to the preview. According to the description in the catalog, it was acquired directly from the Wolfe House. It sold for $37,500 including the premium. There were also a number of pieces from the Walker House. I did a post about the sale that can be found here.
