For Immediate Release: 1/26/2016

California State Historical Resources Commission Considers 18 Properties for Federal Historic Designation

Contact:

Jay Correia

Jay.Correia@parks.ca.gov

(916) 445-7008

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California State Historical Resources Commission (Commission) will consider 18 nominations for federal historic designation this Friday, January 29. The Commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in Sacramento’s City Hall Council Chamber located on 915 I Street, 1st Floor. 

Properties being considered at this meeting include buildings and structures significant to the history of California, such as the Alameda County Building and Loan Association Building. This partially, steel-framed building is significant for its architecture and its role as one of the earliest buildings constructed in central Oakland following the 1906 earthquake. All properties being considered for federal historic designation include:  

Multi-County

Residential Architecture of John Lautner Multiple Property Submission

Identifies historic contexts and property types identified with master architect John Lautner, identifying themes and property types associated with his iconic residential home designs.

Alameda County

Alameda County Building & Loan Association Building – Oakland

A five-story residential-over-commercial building that is in downtown Oakland. Designed by Harry Cunningham and Matthew Politeo and completed in 1907, this partially steel-framed building is significant for its architecture and its role as one of the earliest buildings constructed in central Oakland following the 1906 earthquake.

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

Foster Carling House

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

Located in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, the house was constructed in 1948. Dense foliage obscures views of the building from the street. The wood and steel frame home has an irregular plan, a hexagonal volume and an L-shaped wing wrapping three sides of a terrace with a swimming pool that enters the main living space via suspended sliding glass walls.

Douglas & Octavia Walstrom House

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

Located in the Beverly Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles, the home was constructed in 1969. It is late modern in style with an asymmetrical trapezoidal plan and a steeply pitched shed roof. The Walstrom House is exceptionally significant as one of Lautner's most celebrated designs, described as "a sculptural work of art" by his clients.

John & Mary Lautner House

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

Designed by architect John Lautner as his family residence, the house is located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The house's design reflects the architectural influences of Lautner's past association with Frank Lloyd Wright.

J.W. Schaffer House

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

Located in Glendale, the house was constructed in 1949. The building has a V-shaped plan and is mid-century modern in style, retaining some influences of Frank Lloyd Wright and exhibiting Lautner's fascination with new shapes and structures.

Leo M. Harvey House

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

The house is located in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. Constructed in 1950, with several additions designed by Lautner in 1962-1965, the building is mid-century modern style with some influences of organic architecture.

Willis Harpel Residence

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

The residence is located in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. Mid-century modern in style with a J-shaped plan and a flat roof, the house is constructed of round, reinforced concrete columns and wood beams set in a pattern of interlocking equilateral triangles. Constructed in 1956, the home is characteristic of Lautner's approach to architectural experimentation.

Riverside County

Arthur Elrod House - Palm Springs

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

The home was constructed in 1968 and modified by Lautner in 1971 and 1974. The reinforced concrete home's circular plan, shallow conical roof, and integrated pool, terrace, and glass walls make the Elrod House one of Lautner's most iconic and recognizable homes. It is extensively documented in the architectural press and even was utilized as a movie set for a James Bond film.

Carl & Agnes Pearlman Cabin – Idyllwild

(Residential Architecture of John Lautner MPS)

Composed of reinforced concrete and timber frame, the most prominent façade consists of a broad conical roof supported by a ring of cedar tree trunks. The 1957 building combines contemporary architecture with rustic materials and natural setting and Lautner's characteristic design aesthetic.

 Dr. Franz Alexander Residence - Palm Springs

Designed by architect, industrial designer, inventor and builder Walter S. White in 1956 for Hungarian-born Dr. Franz Alexander (1891-1964), who was one of the country’s leading psychoanalysts. The residence embodies an important tenet of modernism in exploring the untapped potential of humble materials.

Sacramento County

American Cash Apartments/American Cash Store – Sacramento

A diminutive example of the commercial style that was developed by the Chicago School starting about 1875 and popular for commercial buildings through 1930. Constructed in 1909, it was among the first local purpose-built apartment buildings with ground-floor retail, and as such introduced a new type of residential building to Sacramento.

San Luis Obispo County

Monday Club of San Luis Obispo - San Luis Obispo

Designed by master architect Julia Morgan and constructed by prominent local builder James Jepson, the club has been a vital and enduring presence in the cultural and civic life of San Luis Obispo from its construction in 1934 to the present day.

Paso Robles Almond Growers Association Warehouse - Paso Robles

Rehabilitated and converted to a winery between 2010 and 2014. Constructed in 1922, the building symbolized the success of the almond industry in Paso Robles and promoted the Blue Diamond brand. The diamond-shaped relief borders on each side of the tower are the original borders from the Blue Diamond sign.

San Mateo County

William A. Whifler House - Burlingame          

This home draws upon a delicate floating masonry and steel structure to hang a curtain of glass creating a masterwork of Modernism that is in part a re-imagination of the architect’s boyhood Craftsman home located on the adjacent lot. The home’s well-crafted, cohesive use of wood, steel, masonry, and glass, interior rooms and improved outdoor spaces, including the Japanese garden in the house’s front yard, coexist with one another through the extensive use of floor-to-ceiling planes of transparent glazing.

Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Building - Santa Barbara                                                                

This building was remodeled in 1937 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style from a 1927 building. Military insignia are painted around the top of the lobby walls and on the main entry doors to the large auditorium.

Sutter County

West Butte Schoolhouse - Live Oak (vicinity)

A 1908 schoolhouse located near the Sutter County community of Live Oak. Designed by architect James T. Narbett, this schoolhouse brought modern pedagogical theory into practice for students in this rural community, administered by schoolteachers Verona and Eleta Hill.

Yolo County

TB-9 – Davis

A military surplus modular building that is located on the campus of the University of California at Davis. It is associated with the Funk Figurative Ceramics movement due to its use by UC Davis art professor and Funk Art icon Robert Arneson as a ceramics studio and classroom.

Information on these properties, including photographs can also be viewed online at www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/pending.

The public may present oral statements at the hearing at the appropriate time. Written comments about any subject on the agenda may be submitted to Julianne Polanco, State Historic Preservation Officer, Office of Historic Preservation, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, California 94296-0001. Inquiries may be directed to Recording Secretary Twila Willis-Hunter by phone at (916) 445-7052, by fax at (916) 445-7053 or by mail to the State Historical Resources Commission, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, California 94296-0001.

The National Register is the official federal list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. National Register properties have significance to the history of their community state, or the nation. Nominations for listing historic properties come from State Historic Preservation Officers, from Federal Preservation Officers for properties owned or controlled by the United States Government, and from Tribal Historic Preservation Officers for properties on Tribal lands. Private individuals and organizations, local governments, and American Indian tribes often initiate this process and prepare the necessary documentation. A professional review board in each state considers each property proposed for listing and makes a recommendation on its eligibility.

Notices and agendas for Commission meetings are available online at .

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