Atomic Age Alliance

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Home > Archives for HCM

2015

by

Chairperson

Regina O’Brien, 2009-2015

Milestones in the Community

  • ModCom Turns 30

Meeting Locations

Advocacy

Church of Christ Scientist – aka Mosaic Church

Primary support for this preservation in 2015 came from http://www.saveresidentialhollywood.com/ however ModCom lent their support to the initiative.
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/mosaic-church-fifth-church-christ-scientist

Kronish House

1954 Neutra Home in Beverly Hills Saved when it became a HCM in April 2015. Helped to solidy and activate the City of Beverly Hills preservation program.
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/kronish-house
http://www.beverlyhillshistoricalsociety.org/

Norms Las Cienega

After the sale of the iconic eatery in 2014, a nomination was rushed to the city council. 1957 Googie by Armet and Davis received HCM on January 15, 2015
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/norms-la-cienega-coffee-shop

Robinson’s Department Store

Beautiful retail complex designed by Pereira in Beverly Hills Lost

Etc.

The predominance of issues described in the LA newsletter are Modern Issues
https://www.laconservancy.org/sites/default/files/files/documents/Mar-Apr15.pdf

Events

ModCom Turns 30

Thirtieth Birthday party for ModCom on March 28, 2015 at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Slide shows and presentations are given by Peter Moruzzi, Alan Lieb, Chris Nichols and Regina O’Brien

IMG_20150328_201547 20150328_205111

Annual Holiday Party:

December 7

Modern Master Awards:

  • Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr
  • Architectural photographer Wayne Thom

Tangents

MAK Architecture Valley Tour

Tour in conjunction with Dwell on Design on October 18, 2015 featured classic works of architecture in the San Fernando Valley: Van Dekker House (R.M. Schindler, 1939-1940) Goodwin House (R.M. Schindler, 1940) Phineas Kappe House (Ray Kappe, 1956) Barsha House (Ray Kappe, 1959) Struckus House (Bruce Goff, 1982)

John Elgin Woolf Exhibit and Talk

Steven Price lecture on Hollywood Regency style at the Palos Verdes Art Center

Palm Springs Paradise

by Peter Moruzzi – July 1, 2015
https://www.amazon.com/Palm-Springs-Paradise-Peter-Moruzzi/dp/142363991X/ref=llvn-20

Tiki Style

by Sven Kirsten– February 15, 2015
https://www.amazon.com/Tiki-Style-Sven-Kirsten/dp/3836555085/ref=llvn-20

Crestwood Hills: The Chronicle of a Modern Utopia

by Cory Buckner (Author), Amy Inouye (Illustrator) – March 30, 2015
https://www.amazon.com/Crestwood-Hills-Chronicle-Modern-Utopia/dp/1626400245/ref=llvn-20

Shag Store Opens in L.A.

New store on Melrose September 2015

2014

by

Chairperson

Regina O’Brien, 2009-2015

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

Bowlerama Exhibit

Chris Nichols Bowling Exhibit at the A&D museum
DSC00555

Let’s go bowling with Chris Nichols

Advocacy

Norms Las Cienega

After the sale of the iconic eatery in 2014, a nomination was rushed to the city council. 1957 Googie by Armet and Davis received HCM on January 15, 2015

Annual Holiday Party

Richard and Dion Neutra Museum

Modern Master Awards:

  • Richard Bradshaw
  • Raul Coronel
  • Pat B. DeRosa, AIA
  • Ray Kappe, FAIA
  • Malcom Leland
  • Gordon Powers, AIA
  • Kent Twitchell
  • Tom Van Sant

Tangents

MAK Architecture Silverlake Tour

MAK Center celebrated its 20th year by opening a set of exemplary private houses in Silver Lake by R.M. Schindler. May 17 – May 18, 2014 featuring: How House (1925) Elliot House (1930) Bubeshko Apartments (1938/1941)  Wilson House (1938) Falk Apartments penthouse (1939) Droste House (1940)

Southern CaliforniaLand: Mid Century Culture in Kodachrome

Colorful photo coffee table book by Charles Phoenix published June 2014
https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Californialand-Mid-Century-Culture-Kodachrome/dp/1883318424/ref=llvn-20

Eames: Beautiful Details

by Eames Demetrios  (Author), Charles Eames (Author), Ray Eames (Author)– November 1, 2014

Tiki Pop: America imagines its own Polynesian Paradise

by Sven Kirsten– August 1, 2014

Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles’ Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier

by Christopher Merritt  (Author), Domenic Priore  (Author), Brian Wilson(Foreword) July 22, 2014

2013

by

Chairperson

Regina O’Brien, 2009-2015

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

Venice Tour

Architecture of the 1970s and 1980s

Advocacy

Johnies Coffee Shop

Classic building at Wilshire and Fairfax is nominated for Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument (HCM) Nomination on November 27, 2013. Nomination was written with the help of Alan Hess.

https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/johnies-coffee-shop

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/27/news/la-lh-case-study-houses-national-register-historic-places-20130824

Gregory Ain Mar Vista Housing Tract

Successful HPOZ nomination of the. 52 one story homes. Nomination primarily written by Amanda Seward

Case Study Houses

CSH received National Register Status. Eleven original dwellings remained in Los Angeles, Sand Diego and Ventura counties. Work by Charles Eames, Craig Ellwood, Pierre Koeing, Eero Saarinen, and Rodney Walker. Ten of them ended up being successfully nominated by 2013. The eleventh was owner opposed. Volunteers who contributed to the successful completion of this effort include: Steven Kyle, _______________. The Modern Committee is given the Governor’s Preservation Award for its work on the Case Study house nominations.

Annual Holiday Party:

USC Religious Center

Modern Master Awards:

Tangents:

Palm Springs ModCom and Preservation Foundation

ModCom members continue to participate and advocate for preservation in Palm Springs, CA.

palm springs

Sheilah Graham’s Hollywood Drive Tour

Great Autos of Yesteryear produces a self driving car rally tour focused on location and dates of “September 1956”

MAK Architecture Venice Tour

Venice Area tour on June 23, 2013 featured architecture related to Everything Loose Will Land in the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. Houses included: Spiller House (Frank Gehry, 1980) Alan Voo House (Neil M. Denari Architects, house renovation / extension, 2007) Peter Alexander Studio (Peter Alexander, 1999) Petal House (Eric Owen Moss, 1982)
2-4-6-8 House (Morphosis, 1978)

A. Quincy Jones: Building for Better Living

Hammer Museum’s first major museum retrospective of the Los Angeles-based architect’s work. Also included two days of exclusive architectural tours of some of Jones’s most remarkable built projects on June 22 and June 29, 2013.

The book A. Quincy Jones: Building for Better Living by Brooke Hodge is released June 25, 2013
https://www.amazon.com/Quincy-Jones-Building-Better-Living/dp/3791352652/ref=llvn-20

Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990

One of 17 museum and gallery multi-institution collaborative events featured in Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.. Opened April 9, 2013 at the Getty, celebrates Mutual Housing Association in Crestwood, Richard Neutra’s glass box houses in Silver Lake and Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall downtown. Overdrive is what its similar-sounding 2011 counterpart did for art.

2012

by

Chairperson

Regina O’Brien, 2009-2015

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

Millard Sheets – a Legacy of Art & Architecture

Self Driving tour of significant works by Millard Sheets in Claremont and Pomona.

Annual Holiday Party:

DWP Headquarters

Modern Master Awards:

  • Betty Davenport Ford
  • John Svenson
  • A. Sarmiento, AIA
  • Howard Troller

Tangents:

Claremont Modern Symposium and Exhibition

Curated by David Shearer on September 27, 2012 Produced in association with Claremont Heritage
www.claremontheritage.org

Classic Dining: Discovering America’s Finest Mid-Century Restaurants

Book written by Peter Mouruzzi released on November 1, 2012
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Dining-Discovering-Mid-Century-Restaurants/dp/1423607406/ref=llvn-20

Supersonic Swingers: Around the World with the Art of Shag

by “Shag”  (Author), Martin McIntosh (Author) – November 1, 2012
https://www.amazon.com/Supersonic-Swingers-Around-World-Shag/dp/0975107887/ref=llvn-20

Atomic Ranch Midcentury Interiors

by Michelle Gringeri-Brown  (Author), Jim Brown (Photographer) – March 1, 2012
https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Midcentury-Interiors-Michelle-Gringeri-Brown/dp/1423619315/ref=llvn-20

Southern California Out & About

The new, the wacky, and the absurd by John Eng and Adriene Biondo.
https://www.amazon.com/Southern-California-Out-About-John/dp/0764340719/ref=llvn-20

2011

by

Chairperson

Regina O’Brien, 2009-2015

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

Eldon Davis Memorial

On April 22, 2011 Eldon Davis Passes away. The Modern Committee gathersa few days later at Pann’s in Culver City in memorium.

Nichols Birthday Party at WigWam Hotel

Showcase of ModCom talent at Nichols’ annual birthday party.

wigwam piano1 gang

Advocacy:

Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building

Office designed by Paul R. Williams in 1949 is successfully nominated as a HCM I Los Angeles and lobby murals are preserved in situ.

DWP Headquarter

Successful nomination of the Department of Water and Power headquarters designed by Albert C. Martin and Associates in 1965 and seen in so many movies and image of quintessential Los Angeles.

Glendale County Building

Modcom keeps a watchful eye out for this 1959 government building along with the City of Glendale and the Glendale Historical Society when the AOC proposed to demolish the existing annex “and much of the existing building.”
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/glendale-county-building

Annual Holiday Party:

UCLA Faculty Center

Modern Master Awards:

  • Robert Burman
  • Victor Cusack, FAIA
  • James De Long, FAIA
  • Edward Fickett, FAIA
  • Harry Gesner, AIA

Tangents

Rat Pack Moment

The Atomic Age Alliance in Las Vegas conducts a bus tour in which one of the highlights is finding the exact location of where the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford) stood for the famous picture of them in front of the Sands Hotel sign on the Strip. Many ModCom members are present.

rat pack moment 2011

John Lautner 100th Birthday Tour

MAK Center partnered with The John Lautner Foundation for a house tour on the occasion of John Lautner’s 100th birthday July 23, 2011. Included the Harpel House (1956), the Jacobsen House (1947), the Schwimmer House (1982), and the Sheats/Goldstein Residence (1963/1989).

AIA “East and West of 405”

Tour on March 2011 – four houses for its first spring Modern home tour.

Dapper Day at Disneyland

Retro fashion event, “Dapper Day” at Disneyland is started by Justin Jorgensen.

Modern Tract Homes of Los Angeles

Modern Tract Homes of Los Angeles touches on the history of modern architecture and explores five housing tracts built between 1948 and 1964. By John Eng and Adriene Biondo.
https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Tract-Homes-Los-Angeles/dp/076433865X/ref=llvn-20

1998

by

Chairperson

Chris Nichols, 1998-1999

Milestones in the Community

  • Modern Committee Website is launched initiated by Mary-Margaret Stratton
    320_983699530
  • Charles Phoenix First “Americana” Slide Show first showed his slides to ModCom members. His first public event, entitled “God Bless Americana: The Retro Vacation Slide Show of the USA”, was held at the California Map and Travel Store in Los Angeles in 1998. What begins as a friendly get-together mushrooms into a phenomenon. His outreach ends up bring Modern kitsch images to the masses
    http://www.charlesphoenix.com/
    _DSC0281

Meeting Locations

Events

A Place in the Sun: Architecture of Wayne McAllister 1928-1961

Exhibit honors the influential work of Wayne McAllister showcasing his career from 1930s drive-in restaurants to Las Vegas hotels in the 1950s

wayne3

Terminal Island Long Beach Tour

 

Ad hoc self-driving caravan tour produced by Daniel Paul

1998 terminal island tour

Advocacy

Albert Frey Gas Station in Palm Springs – check this date

Modcom travels to speak on behalf of the Tramway Gas Station at the PS City Council

Cinerama Done

Pacific Theaters, proposed a project that would have destroyed the theater’s existing plaza, box offices, and marquee. Modcom contributed to the efforts of Doug Haines to save the iconic theater in Hollywood (along with Hollywood Heritage and Friends of Cinerama) which was made an HCM on December 18, 1998.
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/cinerama-dome

Tangents

MAK Center Schindler Tour

Tour on November 6 – 7, 1998 presented: Sachs Apartments (1926-1928, 1934-1940), Grokowsky House (1928), Elliot House (1930), Yates Studio (1938, remodeled 1998), Falk Apartments (1939-1940), Roth House (1945), and Laurelwood Apartments (1946-1949).

May I Take Your Order: American Menu Design 1920-1960

A book which sheds light on many obscure Los Angeles eateries by Jim Heimann  June 1, 1998
https://www.amazon.com/May-Take-Your-Order-1920-1960/dp/0811817830/ref=llvn-20

1994

by

Chairperson

Peter Moruzzi, 1992-1997

Milestones in the Community

  • Downey McDonald’s issue gets ModCom national exposure.
  • First Los Angeles Modern Show. Years later it was bought by Dolphin Promotions who produce the annual Palm Springs Modernism Show.

Meeting Locations

Event

Cruising PostWar Los Angeles

Self Driven tour produced by ______ and _____ of Mid Century Modern landmarks. Tour attracts more than 1000 attendees.

Advocacy

Downey McDonalds

Rallies and protests are created to garner public support to save the oldest standing Golden Arches. Chris Nichols dresses up as the original company mascot, Sir Speedy. John English dresses up at the new corporate mascot, Ronald McDonald. Ronald acts out stabbing Speedy to death. The building designed by Stanley Clark Meston and his assistant Charles Fish in 1953 gets front page coverage in the New York Times and the McDonald’s Corporation makes the decision to re-open the location.

CBS Television City

Fairfax District, Los Angeles (Saved)

Azusa McDonald’s

Original Asuza landmark was demolished

Wich Stand Coffee Shop

Ladera Heights coffee shop was  saved

Tangents

First Annual Tiki Mug Party

Party at Otto Von Stroheim’s home in Venice. Sven Kirsten meets SHAG for the first time.

Scram Magazine

In the era of “zines” one is produced by ModCom friend Kim Cooper with Nathan Marsak as one of the authors
https://www.amazon.com/Scram-Magazine-Family-Reynolds-Division/dp/B00BFLTXTC/ref=llvn-20

1993

by

Chairperson

Peter Moruzzi, 1992-1997

Milestones in the Community

  • Bob’s Big Boy Preservation Win
  • Nickodell – Famous Paramount Pictures adjacent eaterie on Melrose is closed

Meeting Locations

Events

Postwar Commercial Architecture in Los Angeles

Lecture and Exhibition focusing on Armet and Davis, the firm responsible for bringing the Googie Coffee Shop style to a broader American audience.

Advocacy:

Bob’s Big Boy

Designated a California State Historical Point of Interest. Designed by Wayne McAllister in 1949 in Toluca Lake. The process is difficult due to owner opposition. After designation it becomes the top grossing Bob’s Big Boy in the country.

Tangents

House Industries

A new company in Delaware begins that will influence the graphic world in the coming years. This type Foundry and font catalog allows people across the world to utilize fonts initiated by Southern California architects and artists since 1993.

Eichler Network

The Eichler Network begins to support the lifestyle of the thousands of homeowners in Northern and Southern California who own an ‘Eichler’ home. mid-century homeowners in Sacramento and southern California who live in Streng Bros., Palmer & Krisel, Cliff May, and other Eichler-like mid-century modern classics. CA-Modern, a quarterly full-color hard-copy magazine which contains a mix of features on California’s rich legacy of mid-century modern homes and the people that live in them, home maintenance solutions, and other features that focus on the modern home and its lifestyle. CA-Modern Magazine since 2006

Viva Las Vegas: After-Hours Architecture

An influential book on Las Vegas architecture arrives by Alan Hess with a forward by Robert Venturi in July 1, 1993
https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Las-Vegas-After-Hours-Architecture/dp/081180111X/ref=llvn-20

1990

by

Chairperson

Mike Ulander, 1990

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

Yesterday, today and Tomorrow. Case Study Houses Tours

Tour coincided with the MOCA exhibit, Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses held between October 17, 1989 and February 18, 1990

Advocacy

1989

by

Chairperson

Gene Polk, 1987 – 1990

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

 

Advocacy

Modern Database

A very comprehensive 28 page database of Modern Resources is produced, compiled and concluded on September 8

1988

by

Chairperson

Kathleen Leonard, Co-Chairperson 1987-1988

Gene Polk, Co-Chairperson 1987 – 1990

Milestones in the Community

  • First formal ModCom Tour – John Lautner
  • Docomomo International (non-profit organization) is initiated in 1988 byHubert-Jan Henket, architect and professor, and Wessel de Jonge, architect and research fellow, at the School of Architecture at the Technical University in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Docomomo is short for the Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement.
    http://www.docomomo.com

Meeting Locations

Events

John Lautner: Real Architecture

Tour and Lecture

Before I started architecture school in 1988 I had a background in photography and filmmaking. I was a film editor on commercials, documentaries and feature films but I became more and more interested in architecture. I was telling a friend what I was really interested in architecture. He had asked me if I had seen the work of John Lautner? I started to research Lautner’s work and I stumbled on the Garcia House (The Rainbow House). The owner invited me in and said there was going to be a Los Angeles Conservancy Tour on Lautner and he asked if I would like to be his guest. I went inside the Carling House for the first time, the living room was on a hinge and the pool was inside and outside the living room. I saw the Silvertop House, Lautner’s own house and a few other houses, which were on the tour. The owner of the Garcia House said to me, “… you seem so interested in Lautner’s work you should go to Lautner’s office; it’s right on Hollywood Boulevard”. Bette Cohen, Producer of the documentary, “The Spirit of Architecture: John Lautner”
http://www.johnlautner.org/wp/?cat=11

Advocacy

Eames House

Early ModCom members worked with Ray Eames to ensure the Case Study House #8 (Eames House, Studio and Grounds) was nominated as HCM #381 on July 15, 1988

Tangents

Westwood

A series of Historic Cultural Monuments (HCM) in Westwood were accepted in June and July of 1988 – including several Mid Century Modern Richard Neutra designed homes.

1985

by

Chairperson

Tom Gardener, 1984-1987

Milestones in the Community

Meeting Locations

Events

Advocacy

Pierre Koenig Advocacy Class – check this date

In addition to being a Case Study architect, Pierre Koenig was also a professor of architecture at USC for forty years. He hosted early members of ModCom at his own home in order to teach them the ropes of how to nominate a historic building.

Tangents

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