.
Remember this sign in my post from yesterday.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...923/Vy8udW.jpg
skyscraperpage





I just located a photograph of John Woolf posing in front of his office at 8450 Melrose Place.


https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/K4FRuY.jpg
Vanityfair

He is the person responsible for the Hollywood Regency architectural 'style'. (a precursor to post-modern architecture) We have no doubt talked about him previously on NLA)


Here is an abbreviated list of his work.

• Cary Grant, 9966 Beverly Grove Drive, Los Angeles.
• Errol Flynn, 7740 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles.
• Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland, 8850 Evanview Drive, Los Angeles.
• Barbara Stanwyck, 273 South Glen Boulevard, Los Angeles.
• Ira and Leonore Gershwin, 1021 North Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills.
• Fanny Brice, 312 North Faring Road, Los Angeles.
• Bob Hope, 10346 Moorpark Street, North Hollywood.
• Agnes Moorehead, 1023 North Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills.
• Ronald Colman, 1003 Summit Drive, Beverly Hills.
• Charles Feldman and Jean Howard, 2000 Coldwater Canyon, Los Angeles.
• Lillian Gish, Trancas Beach, Malibu.
• Mervyn LeRoy, 332 St. Cloud Road, Bel Air.
• Paul Lynde, 103 Robin Drive, Los Angeles.
• Ray Milland, 10664 Bellagio Road, Los Angeles.
• Ricardo and Georgiana Montalban, 9256 Robin Drive, Los Angeles.
• Loretta Young, 8313 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles.
• Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, 9191 St. Ives Drive, Beverly Hills.


This guy's life is all kinds of interesting. He adopted his gay lover as his son. . .and then later in life, he adopted another gay man as his son. (total: two sons!)


I have only heard of one other gay gentleman who has done this. . .Robert Allerton of Chicago.


An indepth article on John Woolf's life:....Vanityfair

wiki: Robert Allerton



.

Thanks for the info, Lorendoc! That photo is much clearer than what you can see on Google Maps.

I didn't notice the observatory when I visited, but I did visit the disco, and I did see the elevator (though I did not ride in it) - as I noted, I was the only person in the house and was afraid of getting trapped if the old thing broke down. This was before I had a cellphone!

The Frank Gehry of the Hollywood crowd. This architecture elevates the vacuous to new heights. Woolf swiped various elements of classical design and pasted them onto a plain box. In the process, he managed to insult everyone....especially his clients.

I have to admit mid-century modern never appealed to me either. This could be any building from that era: a motel facade, an office building, or a house. And that structure on the right looks like a tacked-on shed. It just lacks individual character.

I know some people appreciate the clean lines, but to me the proportions of the Craftsman era, though simple, are much more pleasing to the eye.

:previous:


"'Course [they're] respectable. {They're] old. Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough."

https://i.postimg.cc/qvR15w7t/noahcross.jpg



On the other hand, re


....it seems that Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland, Barbara Stanwyck, Ira and Leonore Gershwin, Fanny Brice, Bob Hope, Agnes Moorehead, Ronald Colman, Charles Feldman and Jean Howard, Lillian Gish, Mervyn LeRoy, Paul Lynde, Ray Milland, Ricardo Montalban, Loretta Young, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy had the sophistication and imagination to commission Woolf and of course could afford something more than a shitbox in in Alhambra or El Monte and don't seem to have been offended...and obviously these architectural insults are appreciated in the multimillions today.

Sometime in February I watched a PBS documentary titled Hollywood's Architect.

"Nicknamed “Architect to the Stars,” African American architect Paul R. Williams was one of the most successful architects of his time. But at the height of his career he wasn’t always welcome in the buildings he designed because of his race. Hollywood’s Architect tells the story of how he used talent, determination and even charm to defy the odds and create a celebrated body of work."

https://www.pbssocal.org/programs/hollywoods-architect/

The designs of Paul Williams had a sophistication and dignity that have withstood the test of time. Although Paul's designs are largely derivative, I greatly admire his work.

https://15thnation.files.wordpress.c...ng?w=550&h=390 https://founderslosangeles.org/wp-co...x-historic.jpg
USC - Founder's church.org

:previous:

CBD, have you been hiding a previous career as a well-known architectural critic from us? I've heard of Ada Louise Huxtable, Vincent Scully, Paul Goldberger, Martin Filler, Michael Kimmelman...perhaps you used a pseudonym?



The Paul Williams doc is excellent. Here are a few screenshots...


It was interesting to discover that Mrs. Paul Williams was the "del" of the Wilfandel Club, the story of which is here.

https://i.postimg.cc/Qxk0j9V2/prwmrswilfandel-bmp.jpg



Have we seen anything here before about the PRW memorial at the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building?

https://i.postimg.cc/zGvW4VhS/prwmemorial-bmp.jpg



And it's always good to see more of PRW's own house:

https://i.postimg.cc/Bn4HpmSy/prwhouseext-bmp.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/QMD4pQwx/prwint2stair-bmp.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/rphHMdZV/prwintlr.png

Mr and Mrs Williams had a fantastic home. Although I believe his work is mostly poly derivative, he was able to combine various styles with sensitivity and integrity of the whole.
He knew how to make buildings look elegant without being whorish.

Here is a group of travelers having a grand ol' time.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/gJLf8p.jpg
eBay







The writing on the reverse is a bit intriguing.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/JAM5aR.jpg
eBay


Soooo. . .they're in Los Angeles but they didn't know it. ...I can't even begin to figure out where the travelers were when the snapshot was taken.

If the building was smaller I'd say the Ridge Route is a possibility. (but the Ridge Route is outside the Los Angeles city limits)


.

:previous:

I was reading that "snapped before we knew it" part as the person took the shot before they were ready or knew that he took it.

:shrug:

:doh:

.....I think you're correct, Martin Pal.

I read an article on him in the Times several years ago. Among other indignities, he had to become an expert at reading plans and text upside down because his elite white clients wouldn't sit on the same side of the table with him.

He not just read plans upside down, he sketched out his designs upside down.

Speaking of "designers," Bob A had a 1145 Glendon listing. Could this image depict the structure bearing his name on nearby 1131 (or 1139) Glendon Ave.?


https://live.staticflickr.com/4035/4...7964074d_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/4035/4...7964074d_b.jpg

What I remember reading, was that PRW sketched up side down so as to present and unfold his designs in real time to his potential clients. He used this technique as a deliberate attempt to sell his services, and was quite good at it (the sales part). His business acumen was on par with his design skills; a clever and insightful man, he was.

Andys

Isn't this the building that used to be the Gardens on Glendon and is now another restaurant?

https://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org...nt-buildings/#
prw project

Naval Station Long Beach .....Paul Williams, architect.

https://www.signaltribunenewspaper.c...4.51.57-PM.png

The black and white photo of Westwood in the 1930s show the Janss Dome, headquarters for the Janss Investment Company. It is still a landmark building in Westwood. I met Harold Janss, a couple of years before his death, in Westwood and had the pleasure of speaking to the man who helped create the UCLA campus and Westwood Village. All of us who attended UCLA know the famous Janss Steps, named after Harold and his brother, Edwin Janss Sr.

Here is a brief biography of Harold Janss and his family.

Harold Janns was born in 1889 and died in 1972. Harold was the son-in-law of Arthur Letts who owned several acres of land in what is now Westwood, California. Letts had Harold develop the area for housing and with his brother Edwin, the two men ran the Janss Investment Company. Harold and his brother were responsible for moving UCLA from Hollywood to its present location in Westwood. Although Letts wanted the land to be sold to the wealthy for large estates and homes, Harold sold the land to the middle-class of Los Angeles and in 1926, Kelton Avenue was the first street to be developed. Since then, the area has quickly become populated and somewhat congested with apartments, condos, office buildings and several stores and movie theaters.

Still searching for the John Woolf designed 'spiral-staircase in the entryway' mystery house.

I'm glad you pointed this out, Mstimc.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/gXkPV1.jpg
Jean Howard Papers

It appears to be housing utilities. It's beyond me why it's on the front of house!

ON A SIDE NOTE:.... The only way I see that gutter working is if the actual roof, in that particular area, is several feet below the top of the facade.





The following two images were interspersed with the spiral staircase house photographs. I am guessing they're from the same house.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/KLDPBL.jpg
jean howard papers



A backyard sunroom?

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/0TtgxD.jpg
jean howard papers



This is how they appeared in the archives.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...921/Q5Teol.jpg
jean howard papers

I just noticed that last image. I'll add it at the end of the post.*










I still believe the house has a connection with Gary Cooper since his wife 'Rocky' and two other women were photographed in front of it.


Here's a closer look at the three women. Rocky is on the right.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/Prs1aR.jpg
jean howard papers





*Here are the three ladies leaving the property with a good look at the gutter I mentioned earlier.


https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/bdvSvg.jpg



I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here, folks. . .


https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3800/vjtBm8.gif
.