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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

THE RESIDENTIAL OF JOHN BYERS AND EDLA MUIR

A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Economics by Margaret Sell ,.y-''"'".>

January 1979 /

The Thesis of Margaret Sell is approved:

ictoria Brinn

California State University, Northridge

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author is indebted to Mrs. Victoria Brinn Feinberg, chair­ man of the committee, Dr. Marjory Joseph, and Mrs. Louise Sutton, committee members on the faculty at California State University, Northridge, who gave counsel and friendship during the preparation of the thesis. Sincere thanks to Dr. David Gebhard and all of his staff at the Art:Museum, Univ~rsity of California, Santa Barbara for their help and guidance in locating plans and drawings and preparation of photographs for the thesis. The staff of the Los Angeles Conserva- tion Bureau and the Santa Monica Department were most courteous and cooperative in locating building permit records. The author also expresses appreciation to Betty Lou Young, author and historian and Elliot Walsh for their help and direction to valuable

I resource material. Most of all, much love and appreciation is ex- pressed to the author•s husband and two sons who helped by being patient and understanding and who encouraged her while she was writing the thesis.

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES v ABSTRACT vii Chapter ~ I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 7 II I. DISCUSSION OF THE ARCHITECTS AND THEIR ARCHITECTURE 30

IV. SU~1MARY AND CONCLUSION 89 BIBLIOGRAPHY 95

APPENDIX 104

iv ' ' .. LIST OF FIGURES Number .. Page 1 Interior of Harry Johnson 35 2 Plan and cross section of Irvine adobe 37 3 of Bradbury house 41 4 of Bradbury house 42 5 Dining of Bradbury house 43 6 The Hunter Robbin•s house 46

7 plan of the Gorham house 48

8 Exterior of Gorham house 49

9 The Del Valle adobe 52

10 The Col. L. French adobe house 53

11 Floor plan of the Kemper Campbell ranch 55 12 Exterior of the Kemper Campbell ranch 56

13 The Merritt house 58 14 The Hamilton house 62

15 The Irwin Cobb house 63

16 Floor plan for Byers• house 65

17 Exterior of Byers• house 66

18 Interior of Byers• house 67

19 The Kerr house 68

20 The Goodrich house 73 21 The McCrea house 74 22 Floor plan of Barrett house 75 23 Exterior of Barrett house 76

v f '

--Number Page

24 The George Temple house 79 25 The Leo S. Bing house 83 26 The Harris house 84 27 The Fallen house 85 28 The Sherman ranch house 88

vi ABSTRACT

THE RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE OF JOHN BYERS AND EDLA MUIR by Margaret Sell Master of Science in Home Economics January 1979

The of domestic architecture and the history of the land can give us an understanding of the development of . An interest in historic domestic architecture motivated this study of the architecture of John Byers and Edla Muir who were practicing at a time of rapid growth. This study documented all extant designed by Byers and Muir in three major categories; adobe, Monterey colonial and period revival. Primary sources were interviews with people who had known the architects, articles about their work, articles written by Byers, public records of building permits for the houses, photographs, render­ ings, original floor plans and detail drawings of the houses. The thesis includes photographs and floor plans of representative examples of the architects• work. The appendix includes a list of the houses in chronological order with the name of the original owner and the style of the house.

vii Chapter I INTRODUCTION

. Throughout history the houses in which people lived have been considered an integral part of the cultural pattern of a society. A building that is recognized to be of artistic or historical signifi­ cance is entitled to be safeguarded as an item of cultural value and as a legacy of the past to the pr~sent and future. The recognition of sue~ significance"depends upon the development of the historical consciousness and the culture of the people involved. In the past decade, the Spanish house has become one of the most desirable styles in California. This phenomenon could be attri­ buted to nostalgia and a desire to pinpoint an architectural style indigenous to Southern California. In the initial research for this study, it was found that the domestic architecture of the Westside of Los Angeles, between 1920 and 1940, was influenced by architects Edla Muir and John Byers. Houses designed by Byers and Muir were valued for their innovative design and quality workmanship. This thesis was an effort to compile data on the extant houses by Byers and Muir, and was initially instigated by a personal interest in historic houses on the Westside. David Gebhard in A Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California has included John Byers as a prominent architect in adobe and the Spanish Colonial styles.

1 2

Statement of the problem. The way an object is perceived is continually changing due to historic development and aesthetic sensi­ tivity of a culture. The fundamental purpose of the research was to encourage appreciation of our cultural heritage in order to motivate preservation of it for future generations. The problem was to describe the contribution of John Byers and Edla Muir to the archi­ tectural development of Santa Monica and the Westside. A second objective was_to ascertain if the work of John Byers and Edla Muir in adobe and Spanish Colonial~styles was representative of the time in which they worked. A further objective was to provide a comprehensive record of the existing residential architecture of Byers and Muir in Southern California. Importance of the study. This research was considered valu­ able because no previous studies of the architecture of John Byers and Edla Muir have been done. There are 67 houses in the Westside designed by Byers and Muir, starting from 1917, but their work has never been documented in a comprehensive manner. The designs of other prominent architects in the Spanish Colonial style, such as George Washington Smith and Wallace Neff have been documented. The purpose of this study of Byers and Muir was to add to our knowledge of the architecture of the period. Edla Muir was noteworthy as one of the few women architects practicing in the thirties. Byers was credited with the revival of the use of adobe brick in his early houses. The research was considered valuable becaase the evidence collected would add to the accumulated research on this period. The thesis was under- 3 taken to bridge a gap in the knowledge of the architectural develop­ ment of Southern California. The research will be of value to the Santa Monica Historical Societys the Pacific Palisades Historical Society, the Historic tSites and Landmarks Commission (who are considering Byers' office at 246 26th Streets Santa Monica for inclusion on thier list), and to the Society of Architectural Historians. Dr. David Gebhard, professor of architectural history, University of California, Santa Barbara has an interest in Byers and this could be an addition to his research. Elliot Walsh, AIA, of Santa Monica is of the opinion that Byers and Muir have been unfairly overlooked in the history of the architectural development of Southern California. {42) Esther McCoy thinks that Byers was a great adapter, particularly in his use of contemporary floor plans in period houses. (103) This study documented the modes of living of the period for the benefit of architectural scholars and showed that Byers and Muir played a major role in the shaping of Southern California's architectural heritage. Procedure. This study documented all existing houses built or designed by Byers and Muir while they were partners. It included historical research into the development of the land and the archi­ tecture of the period. Sources were the Los Angeles Conservation Bureau, Santa Monica Building Department, documentary evidence in shelter magazines of the period which carried Byers designs an~ articles by him, and the archives of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook. Oral histories were taken from Mrs. Harry Johnson, a relative of Byers, Elliot Walsh who 4

worked with Edla Muir, and David Gebhard, an authority on Byers and the Spanish Colonial revival. Details of some of Byers designs are in the archives of the Art Galleries at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which is directed by Dr. Gebhard. This researcher had access to the archives and has been able to examine plans, sketches, render­ ings and photographs of Byers' work. An interview with local historian Betty Lou Young helped locate some of Byers' houses and filled in some background information of significance. An interview with Les Storrs of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook,:who had known Byers since he came to Santa f1onica, helped document the architect's career. Houses have been selected, when available, and categorized in the architect'·s three design styles: adobe, Monterey Colonial and period houses. Limitations of the study. This study was limited to Byers and Muir houses which could be located and documented. Personal interviews were limited to those people who had known Byers or Muir personally or who had first hand knowledge of their work. Floor plans were not available for many of the houses. Definition of terms. American Colonial: gable with central or chimneys at both ends; central doorway flanked by one or two ; floor plan features a central with on either side; shuttered windows with small panes; surface of clapboard. (58) American Georgian: symmetrical floor plan and facade; surface stucco, clapboard or brick; Greek revival details in wood such as split pediment, pilasters, Doric or Ionic ; fan light and shutters. (58) Andalucian: from the town of Andaluci.a in the province of Seville, Spain; two story adobe farm house with asymmetrical facade or irregularly placed windows, wrought iron and tile decora­ tion. (58) 5 ~ '

Adobe: sun dried brick of earth with straw as binder; used in r~exi co and Southwest United States. (110) Bermudan: house style used in tropical climates; large open­ ings with louvers to admit air and subdued light. (58) Bracket: a supporting member for a projecting floor or shelf; some­ times in the shape of an iriverted L and sometimes as a solid piece-ur a rectangular trus~. (109) Churriguera, Jose: creator of a special decorative style with Spanish Baroque fusing Gothic and Baroque forms; common in spain about 1700. ( l 09) Corbel: a bracket form; usually produced by extending successive course~ of masonry or wood beyond the surface. (109) Dormer window: a window in the roof developed as a gabled feature. (109) English Tudor: half timbered house with irregular floor plan, eleva­ tions and roof contour; a vertical emphasis with tall brick chimneys above the high pitched roof line; oriel windows, projecting wings and bays. (58) Finial: a terminal form at the top of a spire, gable, pinnacle or other point of relative height. (109) Fresco: wall painting using a special technique; the pigment is mixed without a binding agent and applied to the freshly plastered wall which has not yet set. (108) Hipped Roof: a roof in which the end is formed by a sloping face enclosed by hips, or angles formed by the meeting of two sloping roof surfaces. (109) Jalousie: Venetian blind of louver boards used in tropical climates to admit air and subdued light. (108) Lintel: the horizontal beam resting its two ends upon separate posts. ( l 09) Monterey Colonial: two story; sometimes with adobe ; stuccoed surface; wood shingled roof; cantilevered second floor with wood railing; symmetrically balanced plan; shutters. (58) Oriel: a projecting window with its walls corbelled or supported on brackets. (109) 6

Pediment: the triangular face of a roof gable, especially in its classical form. (109) Period Revival House: a house built iri one period which emulates the style of an earlier period~ Between 1920 and 1940, Byers and Muir employed a number of period revival styles including American Colonial, American Georgian, English Tudor and the ranch house. · (58) Pergola: an arbour or balcony. (109) Presidios: a military fort or district under Spanish domination in California. (110) Pilaster: an engaged pier of shallow depth; in classical architecture it follows the height and width of related columns, with similar ba$e and cap. (109) Pueblo: a village under Spanish domination in California. (110) Ranchero: owner of a small farm. (110) Ranch House: single story dwelling; low in profile and closely related to terraces and gardens; the classic design mingles Modern with Colonial; informal floor plan; low pitched hip roof with wide ; surface clapboard or stucco; glass sliding to covered . (58) Westside: west side of Los Angeles; from Santa Monica on the west to Beverly Hills on the east; from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north to Venice on the south. (105) Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE The review of literature was divided into four categories as follows. l. Related Studies -a review of books and theses on the conservation ·of historical houses helped to focus on the significance of a thesis on the works of two eloquent architects in Southern California. 2. Southern California Historical Studies - research of the

:= history of Southern California with emphasis on the social and economic changes which affected the residents. 3. Southern California Architecture - a study of the archi­ tecture used by the early Californians such as adobe and Spanish Colonial as well as other styles imported from the eastern states and Europe. 4. Santa Monica History - the study of the city•s history from books and newspapers concerning the development of the residential section. Recognizes structures that merit conservation because of their historical or artistic significance. Related Studies A research study was conducted by Wanda Tully in Oklahoma in 1954. This was An Historical Study of Five Selected as Oklahoma Landmarks and Located in Pottawatomie, Oklahoma. The author, an Indian woman, recorded the religious and cultural influences of the white man on her youth. The study documented five architecturally significant structures in the history of Oklahoma. The most unusual

7 8 building was the Santa Fe Railroad Station wnich was built in Romanes­ que style of handcut stone. The other buildings were a bakery, the remains of the Sacred Heart Mission, the Shawnee Mission, the rebuilt

Sacred Heart Chu~ch and St. Gregory's Administrative Building. The author contended that the buildings represented the heritage and cultural traits of the people who built them. (99) Margaret N. Keyes in Nineteenth Century Home Architecture of Iowa City, 1966, documented all the extant residences in the history of the city,~observing and recording the structural details of each house. The author developed a classification system recording the unique influences in Iowa City architecture. Keyes reinforced the position that houses are carriers of culture and helped to establish the importance of the study of communities. Her research included abstracts of original deeas. Much information was gathered from the State Historical Society of Iowa including an item in the Gilman

Folson collection documenting work done on the house: 11 0ne day's

11 work $.75 • (BZ) The Historical Development, Design and Furnishings of Doheney Hall, The Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Doheney, Now the Campus of Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, California by Sister Irene Mary Flanagan in 1967 documents the history of the mansion and its contents. The thesis provided an accurate description of the mansion and its furnishings including Oriental rugs, valuable oil paintings, a Sienna marble with majestic carved columns and a domed roof of Tiffany glass. The appendix included sketches of the floor plans, memos of contracts taken from Builder and Contractor, 1899, 9

and a study of historic . This mansion had a fortunate history and has been declared a historic-cultural monument. (95) In the Study of Historical and Aesthetic Characteristics of Two Nineteenth Century Houses in Athens, Georgia by Louise James Hyers, 1969, the author documented the physical characteristics of two houses, the Waddle house and the Sledge house. Hyers studied these houses in order to stir public interest in the restoration of old dwellings and to establish the significance of preserving the modes of living of J?ast generatiops. No studies of Federal or Victorian houses had been· done in Athens, Georgia prior to this study, although Greek Revival houses had been documented. (97) A similar study was done by Helen Straw Whitmore in Maryland in 1969. In Jhe Carroll Mansion, 800 East Lombard Stree_h_ Baltimore, Maryland; An Hi sto.ri ca 1 and Arc hi tectura l Stud_y, Whitmore presented an in depth study of a city landmark, the Carroll Mansion. Her study ·documented the structural history of the house and its diverse occupancy; its use as a school, recreation center, a saloon, a tene- ment house and factory. The city of Baltimore was responsible for restoring the dwelling and its opening as a house museum of the 1810-1840 period. (101) A Historical Study of Two Residences in Stillwater, Oklahoma, written in 1970 by Nancy Louise Johnstone described pioneer resi­ dences in what had been Indian Territory, later known as Oklahoma. The Eyler house, built four years after the opening of the territory, had minimal space and satisfied little more than man's need for shelter. Architectural details of the interior were shown vis a vis 10

rubbings of the woodwork decorations and lock and hinge hardware. The thesis clearly illustrated frontier conditions of the 1900s. This approach showed promise for replication in other parts of the country. (98) Another published dissertation was completed by Mabel Cooper

Skjelver in 1971. In Nineteenth Century of ~1arshall, Michigan she described the early development of that city and classified domestic architecture according to style. The book had excellent pictures of the many houses documented with details~of the ownership and structural descriptions of each. The author stated that this architecture exemplified the heritage of the settlers and that succeeding style changes chronicled the east coast following a time lag. Master carpenters interpreted the Builder Guide books, written by English architects and adapted by Americans. This book stressed the importance of homes as one of the chief carriers of culture from one generation to the next and provided further justification for historical research. A similar study was done by Julie Dayvault Donnan at Auburn University in 1972. In her thesis, Restoration of an 1845-1850 West Georgia Dwelling with Emphasis on Combined Aesthetic and Contemporary Interiors, the author was concerned with an historic dwelling being converted for contemporary use. A documented description of the history of .Greek Revival housing was followed by a description of the method of cataloging the Lindsey-Ward house for dismantling and reassembly. (93) 11

Dorothy Karen Erikson in her thesis Restoration? Demolition? An Antebellum Home in 1973 was concerned with the historic importance of an old house. She made recommendations for its continued use as a residence in addition to alternative suggestions for future develop­ ment. The stylistic history of the house was told in a brief and balanced presentation, succeeding influences augmented by photographs of the building in four different eras. The author discussed identi­ fication and architectural dating_to support her argument for pre­

servation and restoration. (94) ~ Historical Study of Victorian and Spanish Architecture of Four Nineteenth Century Homes in Ventura County, California, 1975, an unpublished master's thesis by Doris Jean Weimer included a history of the development of the area and a description of the features of each house. This thesis was well illustrated with photographs of the facades of each house and interior structural details and floor plans of each. The writer consulted primary sources such as deeds, wills and public records of land grants in order to fully document the history of each dwelling. (100) Southern California Historical Studies Charles Chapman's A History of California, the Spanish Period, published in 1923, contained a review of the birth and early years of Los Angeles. The founding in 1781 of a pueblo on the west bank of the Los Angeles river was part of Spanish plans for the colonization of California through the establishment of presidios, missions and pueblos. The site had been chosen by California's governor because of the fertility of the soil ·and the abundance of water for irrigation. 12

Chapman described lifestyles for each period of Southern California history. (51)

Robert Cl~la~d's Th~ Cattle on~ Tho~sand Hills, 1941, described the effects of the early colonists and missions from • Mexico entering California and establishing settlements. This book covered the early social and economic development of the state and the overwhelming effect of the arrival of the Americans. The author dealt with the Mission era and the position of Indians at missions and on cattle ranches. The life of the people was typical frontier. In Los Angeles in 1850 the total population was 3,270 and the out­ lying areas were occupied by rancheros raising cattle. The land grant system under Mexican rule was explained with details of how the land shifted hands to settlers from the east. The ranchos were built on a system of land grants inherited from Spain. Mexican land owners suffered heavy losses to American citizens when California became a state. The author sites the Treaty of Guadalupe of 1848 and further legislative acts which disinherited the Mexicans. (53) California by John Caughey, published in 1953, was a reflec­ tion of California's past which included several epochs. Social and intellectual elements were incorporated and attention given to re­ lations with Spain, the frontier west and the American nation. The newcomers who reached California in the 1800s overshadowed the natives of Spanish and Mexican extraction but certain elements per­ sisted. Adobe was the standard building material until the 1870s when frame building began to take over. (50) 13

A later book, 1957, was Here Lived the Californians by Oscar Lewis who described the architecture of California from the gold rush to the gilded age mansions of the moguls. The book described the changes in California living over a period of two centuries. The author felt that the adobe did not survive because it was not meant to be a permanent structure or sustain adverse climatic conditions. Change came rapidly as new waves of settlers brought their own methods of building. Lewis described the changes in exterior and interior as craftsmen applied their skills. California evolved from frontier living conditions to prosperous farming, mining and lumbering societies during a short span of time. (69) Southern California Architecture Spanish Colonial Architecture in the United States, by Rexford Newcomb described the variations and adaptions of the Spanish style in different states. The author stated that America had two great sources of Colonial architecture; English Colonial and Spanish Colonial of the Southwest. In 1769, Padre Junipero Serra initiated a chain of missions which were the backbone of the Spanish Mexican civilization in California and the principal colonizing agency. The mission program called for the following structures conveniently arranged and easily defended: church, padre house, shops for crafts and trade, store house , , guard room, and quarters for the Indians. The buildings were arranged around a flanked by arcaded cloister~like walks which afforded communication between the buildings. (75:3) The buildings were built of adobe brick, burned brick and 14 stone. The architectural plan was a quadrangle around a patio with a garden and fountain. The walls were solid and massive with piers arid buttresses to resist the lateral thrust of or vaults and to make the walls more stable against earthquake. The walls were • undecorated. The roofs were low and sloping and had wide projecting eaves. The curved pedimented gable and terraced bell tower were characteristic. (75:3) Newcomb described the blending of Yankee -and Spanish styles (Monterey) but felt that wooden New England styles were poorly suited climatically and historically to the southwest. Newcomb stated that the incongruity of attempting to use English forms in the Hispanic domain became apparent to architects. This resulted in a new appre­ ciation of the old Spanish architecture. (75:4) Harold Kirker's book, California's Architectural Frontiers, described the progress of architectural styles in California. The author noted that the styles that California architects were using in the nineteenth century were a regional manifestation of a national phenomenon. Styles migrated across the country from east to west. Kirker stressed that the national origins and professional back­ grounds of the architects and builders who came to California were the of our architectural frontier. The author pointed out that the Monterey style was a combination of Spanish and New England styles. (68) Kirker stressed that the California colonial culture had its roots in its settlers. First the Indians built conical shaped hogans from crude boards over an excavated floor. Grounded planks formed 15

a wall over which a roof of boards was laid, and the exterior wall was decorated with geometric designs. Neither the Americans nor the Spanish accommodated themselves to this dugout. The typical Spanish frontier structure was made of poles set upright in the ground and bound together with leather thongs. It was roofed with earth or thatch and whitewashed with lime from seashells. It was an inferior structure due to the Spaniards unfamiliarity with wood construction, and soon the presidios were rebuilt in adobe. (68:3) Richard Dana wrote about Southern California in 1835 and stated that all the houses were made of clay. The use of adobe was a manifestation of colonialism for at the same time in Spain farm houses were constructed of mud blocks. California's mild climate and the availability of familiar adobe materials made it easy for the Spanish Mexican immigrant to follow traditional architectural practices. In mission architecture the columns of the building were smooth orvfluted with simple capitals. Moorish arches were used and sometimes Gothic pointed arches. Wood was used for window frames and doors. (68:11) In Southern California the adobe tradition was unchallenged until well into the American period. The work of adobe builders is a subject of great misunderstanding. The mud dwellings of the Span1sh Mexicans accurately indicated the primitive level of the society that produced them, but the colonial period is erroneously regarded as a period of Andalucian_ manors. Kirker showed that this myth had no validity and was invented by the 19th century romanti­ cists. To challenge the long surviving legend of a Spanish Manorial 16 architecture in California, the researcher must start with the missions. The features of the missions originated in . Mexico. But the elaborate Churrigl.leresque tradition of Mexican church architecture was not imitated because of lack of.professional architectural knowledge and the primitiveness of Indian building skills. Instead the California missions were built ~long simple line~. (68:6) With the secularization of the Franciscan property in 1833, the missions fell ·into ruin and were forgotten until the l880s when they were rediscovered as a source for the Colonial revival which swept the nation after the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The missions had no effect on the secular adobe ~rchitecture of the presidio, pueblo or rancho. These buildings were in poor repair or had been altered by 1880 and did not serve as a source for the Spanish Colonial Revival. (68:7) The Monterey Colonial did not represent the pastoral life of the rancho but marked the beginning of the dominance of American culture. These two story houses with broad and , brick chimneys, fan 1 ighted doorways, and small paned windows repre- sented the eastern colonial tradition. But they were on land with Spanish names and were associated with local Spanish families so the romance writers took the Monterey Colonial as the characteristic dwelling of the Spanish past. Except for the use of adobe, they represent little that is Spanish. Instead they testify to increased

American dominance in the colony. (68~16) The Bostonian, Thomas Larkin, began the construction of his widely copied house in 1834. The floor plan followed the American 17 precedent of two rooms opening off each side of the central hall. The construction consisted of a redwood frame supporting a second story, a broad , an inside staircase and shingled roof. The house had a , wallpaper and milled doors and windows of double sash design. There was a shortage of saw mills and adobe took the place of wood by necessity. (68:18) The most prominent feature of the Monterey Colonial was its horizontal mass, achieved by a low sloping roof and long double verftnda. The roof was of shingles. Everything about the Monterey Colonial house testified to its New England origins; the symmetrical American Colonial facade, the two rooms on either side of the hall, the double sash windows with 12 panes and the board and batten con­ struction. The single important architectural innovation was the fusion of adobe and wood in the.Monterey Colonial. This compromise was short lived and by the time of annexation, the American frame house was the vernacular architecture in California. (68:22) At the time of American annexation in 1846, the American population numbered fewer than eight settlers for every mile of coastline. The American frame house could not have become a part of the Californian vernacular had it not been for the Mormon and military migration and the gold rush. The pioneer builders con­ stru·cted their dwellings in the historic heavy frame technique, joining together by mortises and tenons a shell of massive timbers.

Building costs during the gold rush w~re uncertain and inflationary. In 1849 a two story house in the Sierra rented for $500 per month and a hotel room for $100. With high demand for living space, 18

many fabricated frame houses were shipped around Cape Horn from Boston to Monterey, San Francisco and San Pedro. These imported frame struc- tures were invariably painted white with green shutters and had adorned with turned wood balustrades. Houses were selected from catalogues and shipped from the east. (68:55) . After the Land Act of 1851, under which much of the property of the Mexicans passed into the hands of the Americans, there was a wide expansion of agriculture and industry in the north but cattle

remained the principal industry in the~south. Less than two per cent . of the 600,000 who came to California in the great immigration settled in the south, and only three per cent of the land was under cultiva­ tion. The development of architecture in the north was dramatic after 1851 because of its increased economic and cultural wealth. Los Angeles, the queen of the cattle country, was a sleepy Mexican village of mud walls. (68:57) In 1869 the Pacific Railroad reached California, Los Angeles

had 6,000 residents and land reached three dollars an acre~ ·Cali- fornians continued to build houses in whatever style was currently

fashionable in the east. Highly ornamented Qu~en Anne-Eastlake houses could be seen throughout the state in the new communities. The American version of the Queen Anne substituted wood for brick and tile and emphasized the picturesque elements. (68:103) A Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California by David Gebhard and Robert Winter was. published in 1977 to aid archi- tectural historians in locating significant architecture. It was weighted towards twentieth century buildings in styles such as 19

An article in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians entitled "The Spanish Colonial Revival in Southern California" by David Gebhard divided the Spanish Colonial style into two phases: l\1ission Revival a11d Mediterranepn. Gebhard con- .. curred with Kirker when he declared that Spanish Colonial archi- tecture was a myth and was not rooted in Southern California's past. (89) An unpublished Master's thesis devoted to Spanish architec­ ture was The Spanish Revival in the United States by George Harrington which included architecture, interiors and furniture. His purpose was to bring together a variety of evidence relating to the Spanish influence in design in architecture, interiors and furniture and to examine the material as a history of the Spanish revival. It was the author's contention that the Spanish revival began in the 1890s, reached its apex during the 1920s but lost its impetus because of the depression in 1929. It was a phase in the recurrent search for an authentic, native American architecture. (96) Charles Lummis, an admirer of Spanish Mexican culture, founded the California Landmarks Club .in 1894. This encouraged the Spanish Colonial Revival and its first phase, the Mission Revival which dates from 1880 to 1915. The Mission Revival was inspired by 20 the missions and conjured up the vision of a mission by relying on suggestive detail; simple arcades, parapeted gables, tiled roofs with bell towers and broad, unbroken exterior surfaces of stucco. The Mission style used the round and the round topped tower as decoration. The Mission Inn at Riverside, started in 1902, was a good example •. (96:24) . ~ Enthusiastic interest in the Mission Revival was amplified by articles in regional publications such as 11 Sunset 11 and the

11 Architect and Engineer 11 and later in national publications such as

11 11 the Craftsman • In 1912, Elmer Grey built his picturesque adaption of the Mission Revival in the Beverly Hills Hotel. The Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe Railroads built their Pacific coast stations in the Mission Revival style to encourage eastern tourism. (98:24) f4ost of the American architects who came west with the rail- roads were from New York or New England. One of these was Bernard Maybeck, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Another was Sumner P. Hunt, a leading exponent of Mediterranean style who designed the Southwest Museum and the Los Angeles Country Club. (96:14) At the Fair in 1915, Churrigueresque, Palteresque, and Moorish details were displayed which created a demand for the Spanish Colonial Revival. The broad white stucco surfaces and deep recesses indicated a style which would reflect the Spanish American heritage and suit the climate. The Craftsman movement in southern California had its center in the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena where exposed beams, shakes and interior panelling were favored. This was also the age of the 21

California bungalow which became high art in the Gamble house by Charles and Henry Greene. The bungalow was a favorite style for summer houses in Pasadena and the beach towns such as Santa Monica. Though the Craftsman style was popular, the Spanish Colonial Revival of the 20s captured the imagination of the residents. (58:20) Santa Monica History Ingersoll's Century History, Santa Monica Bay Cities, written and published by Luther Ingersoll in 1908, devoted a major section

to the Santa Monica area and the founding ~f the city. "Six hundred

years ago the Santa Monica Bay area was a rugged l~ndscape populated by a native people. The Chumash Indians thrived near the stream beds by hunting, fishing and gathering wild fruits. Their settlements were plentiful and there were so many campfires that when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo dropped anchor near Point Dume, he named his discovery "Bahia de Fumos" - the Bay of Smokes. That was on October 8, 1542. ( 63) In 1769, a detachment of Spanish soldiers and Franciscan priests, part of an expedition led by Caspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra to establish missions in California, reached Santa Monica on foot. According to legend, the explorers stopped at the springs where University High School is now located. Noting it was St. Monica's Day and comparing the spring to the tears she shed for her wayward son, later to become St. Augustine, they called the area Santa Monica. Spanish soldiers, .settlers and missionaries from Mexico claimed the land for Spain. Settlers came as cattle and sheep ranchers who had been given land grants by the King of Spain. (63:145} 22

Don Jose Bartolomero Tapia was given Rancho Malibu in 1805. Augustin and Ygnacio Machado and Felipe and Tomas Talamantes were granted Rancho Ballona in 1839, part of which became Ocean Park. Rancho Boca de Santa Monica was granted to Yasidro Rayes and Francisco Marquez in 1839. The land stretched from Santa Monica to Topanga Canyon, and from the sea to the line that is about 26th Street. Francisco Sepulveda was awarded the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica in 1828. The grant incl.uded the land from Santa Monica Canyon to Pica Boulevard, and from the sea eas£ to Westwood Village. The property also included the eastern part of Pacific Palisades, all of Brentwood and extended over Sepulveda Pass to Sherman Way. (63:92) A dispute over ownership of Santa Monica Canyon between Sepulveda and Marquez took fifty years to settle. It was settled when the Board of Land Commissioners, created in 1851 to investigate and pass upon land titles, ruled that Sepulveda would receive Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica with 30,000 acres. To Rayes and Marquez went Rancho Boca de Santa Monica with 6,600 acres. (63:93) The Title Insurance and Trust Company published a number of booklets on the development of Santa Monica such as Santa Monica; A Calendar of Events that Made a City, 1950, which was a history of the title of the land. It included a map of the city as it appeared in 1891. The Company has a collection of 50,000 prints, negatives and books that showed the growth of southern California from its rugged infancy. (79) Santa Monica, Portrait of a City, 1974, by Les Storrs, described the founding of the city, economic growth, early residents, 23

dwellings and public buildings. The era of the ranches came to an end about the time that California became a state in 1848. Santa Monica became a summer camping ground for visitors from Los Angeles and the east. (84) One of these visitors was Col. Robert Baker, a successful rancher, who arrived in 1872 from San Francisco. Upon arrival he bought the San Vicente and Santa Monica y San Vicente ranches from

Sepulveda f~r $54,000. He married Mrs. Arcadia Bandini de Sterns,

daughter of~Juan Bandini; son of a long line of rich Spaniards in California. The Puente and Laguna ranches went to the Baker hold­ ings with this marriage. (84:6) In 1874, John P. Jones arrived in the Santa Monica Bay area. He was born in England, grew up in Cleveland and in 1849 sailed around the Horn to California. He was the sheriff of Trinity County, California, a miner in Virginia City, Nevada and U.S. Senator from Nevada. He arrived in Santa Monica as an established millionaire and instantly invested $150,000 in three fourths of Col. Baker's San Vicente ranch. Together they planned a town, a railroad and a wharf. In 1875, the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad was organized with John P. Jones, Robert Baker and others as directors. {84:6) Under the guidance of Jones and Baker a town site was sur­ veyed. The town limits were Montana on the north, Pico on the south and 26th Street on the east. Though the automobile had not yet been invented, the streets of Santa Monica were given a width to accom­ modate today's traffic. To generate interest in the new city, Jones 24

launched a public campaign to create interest in a mass auction of lots. The subdivision map of the city was filed by the county recorder on July 10, 1875. Jones advertised in San Francisco and Los Angeles newspapers to attract potential buyers. According to the ads, the Zenith City of the Sunset Sea was to be the first commercial city of importance next to San Francisco and would be the ocean terminus for at~ least two con­ tinental railroads. (84:10} The first lots were sold at auction on July 15, 1875. Jones hired Tom Finch to conduct the auction. Finch was a former congressman and prosecuting attorney with a reputation as a silver·tongued orator. Finch stirred up enthusiasm in San Francisco and accompanied prospec­ tive buyers on a sidewheel steamer which arrived in Santa Monica Bay on July 15. The crowd converged on what is now Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue where Jones had set up bleachers facing the bay. Part of Finch•s sales pitch was: On Wednesday_ afternoon at one o•clock we will sell at public auction to the highest bidder, the Pacific Ocean, draped with a western sky of scarlet and gold; we will sell a bay filled with white winged ships; we will sell a southern horizon, rimmed with a choice collection of purple mountains ..• The purchaser of this job lot of climate and scenery will be presented with a deed to a piece of land; the title to the ocean and sunset is guaranteed by the benefit of God who attached them thereto by almighty warranty as an incorruptable hered­ itment to run with the land forever. (84:6) More than 2000 bidders came to the auction. A makeshift

tavern was set up, the 11 Grand Saloon 11 and stocked with kegs of beer. When the bidding started the first parcel, lot Min block 173, now Ocean Avenue and Broadway, started at $250. It sold for 25

$520 to E. R. Zanoyski. Other lots on Ocean Avenue sold for $300-500 and inland for $75. Over 40,000 dollars worth of lots were sold the first day. (84:7} The town map showed only eight blocks from north to south and 25 blocks east to west. Each block contained twenty four 50 by 150 foot lots, a pattern which remains today. Each block was 320 by 600 feet in d.tmension. Events moved fast and by October 1875 the first edition of -the Evening Outlook appeared. This issue reported that 615 lots had been sold and 119 houses erected. On November 15, 1875 the Outlook reported that Santa Nonica had a railroad completed to Los Angeles, two hotels, eight restaurants, two private schools, two clubs and four groceries. .(84: 7) Fred Basten•s Santa Monica Bay, the First Hundred Years, 1974, was a pictorial history of Santa Monica, Venice, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Basten stated that within nine months of its founding, Santa Monica had 1000 residents, a school district organized, a church established and the beginnings of a public library. (46) The wharf and the railroad were of critical importance to commerce in Santa Monica. Baker and Jones had plans to make Santa Monica the harbor for Los Angeles instead of San Pedro. The powerful Southern Pacific Railroad, led by Collis Huntington, opposed Baker and Jones. Santa Monica would have been closer to Los Angeles than

San Pedro and closer by ship to San F~ancisco. Santa Monica lost only because Jones lost his fortune in mining and financial backing for the railroad vanished. Jones sold the Los Angeles Railroad to 26 the Southern_Pacific in 1877 and two years later, the Southern Pacific demolished the wharf, effectively destroying the railroad business and Santa Monica's plans as a commercial harbour. The population dropped by half and many businesses closed~ (46:32) Increased tourism kept the Santa Monica Bay area from finan­ cial ruin through the 1890s. Kinney and Ryan began 1 and developments to the south end of the city near Ocean Park~ The electric trolleys and the Pasadena ~nd Pacific Railway arrived in Santa Monica in 1896, making it easier to get to the ueach, Kinney opened his dream city, Venice of America, complete with Renaissance architecture, canals and real gondaliers in 1905. There were 16 miles of canals excavated to only a depth of four feet. The State Board of Health closed the canals in 1912. (46:77) In 1888,. Senator Jones built his own house, the Miramar on Ocean Avenue at the cost of $30-40,000. It was large and luxurious with seven and seven . The same year the town trustees appropriated $23,000 for the construction of sidewalks, grading streets and.laying gravel over the existing adobe mud. The

Miramar was later sold ~o King C. Gillette, the razor blade manu­ facturer. Jones's son, Roy Jones, became an influential community leader and later became nationally known as a judge of the superior court. He was the trial judge in The People versus Clarence Darrow. In May 1975, the Santa Monica Evening Outlook published a

11 11 Centennial Edition, Santa Monica; an .Outline of its History • Articles covered the history, government, business and industry of the city. One article covered the subdivision of the land. In 1904, 27

large tracts of unoccupied land were opened up for settlement. (1 05:4) The Jones and Baker land, including the San Vicente ranch, . . Boca de Santa Monica ranch and the Santa Monica ranch had been trans- ferred to a consolidated company. It consisted of the Artisan Water Company, the Santa Monica and Sawtelle Water Company, F. Ridge of the Malibu ranch, R. C. Gillis and others. It was decided that the land would be subdivided and put on the market.

Subdi~isions continually developed and found rapid sale as suburban homes became fashionable. Much of the San Vicente and Ballona ranches which had been barley fields were plotted, graded and impnoved to be sold as tracts. Westgate, Palisades, Brentwood Park, Venice, Ocean Park and many others were put on the market. Most of them were on or near the line of the trolley cars from Los· Angeles. All the tracts along the base of the Santa Monica mountains had magnificent views of the mountains and the ocean. Santa Monica's main attraction was the ocean and the fine weather. In summer and winter Santa Monica beaches were the setting for many lively activities for over a hundred years. The Santa

11 11 Monica Bath House was located at the bottom of the famous 99 Steps , leading from the bluff to the sand. The bath house featured hot steam baths, a plunge and facilities for hot water bathing. In 1893, Santa Monica's biggest bath facility, the North Beach Bath House was built north of the fishing pier. The.north beach complex contained a bowling pavilion, shops and a pavilion restaurant and was the main gathering place for tourists and local parties. (105:5) 28

While the bath houses provided for public accommodation, beach clubs provided plush amenities for those with money. The earliest were the Santa Monica Athletic Club, the Beach Club and the Santa Monica Swimming Club built side by side in 1922. During this period the price of beach property reached $2,000 a foot. By 1927, however, the depression hit and many of the beach clubs went out of business. One that survived was the Beach Club which in 1923 had 617 members. The club membership roster was a good indicator of who was who in Los Angeles. Another that survived was the Bel Air Bay Club which was founded by Alphonso Bell, Senior. (105:5) The founders of the Riviera Country Club were the officers of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. In the mid twenties, they began examining sites for a new club and bought 290 acres in Santa Monica Canyon in 1925. The Spanish style club house of the Riviera Country Club was a copy of a design by Byers. Early patrons included Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford who used to drive daily to the Riviera in her 1928 Ford, the first of its kind to be driven anywhere. (105:6) In 1926, Marion Davies bought 750 feet of beach front property and planned to build an unpretentious beach cottage, but by the time it was finished it had cost $1.75 million. The mansion's green and gold.room took workers six months to finish. The two upper were covered with hand blocked wallpaper from the Zuber Works in Alsace Lorraine at a cost of $1,500 and $2,000. The dining room, and reception room cost $90,000. The house was furnished with European antique furniture. (105:5) 29

Movie stars began moving to the beach when the North Beach

11 11 was subdivided in 1921 and established the Gold Coast • This was a row of impressive houses with owners such as J. Paul Getty, Harold Lloyd, Louis B. Mayer and Peter Lawford. The houses encompas,sed a variety of styles from the most luxurious Mediterranean to Colonial and the Art Deco designs of the 20s and 30s. The Getty house was built by John Byers as were the houses for Irving Thalberg and Townsend Netcher. Other architects who designed houses on the Gold Coast were Wallace Neff and Richard Neutra. Louis B. Mayers' house featured a marble pool and onyx and marble bathrooms. (107:18) · Today Santa Monica could be considered as a city whose residential area is highly desirable because of the natural beauty of the area and its stock of high quality housing. Chapter III DISCUSSION OF THE ARCHITECTS AND THEIR ARCHITECTURE John Byers

John ~yers was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1875. He went to school there and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1898 with a degree in electrical engineering. He spent a year doing graduate work at Harvard and then two years with the United States Commission at the Paris Exposition. The United States Army sent him to Montevedi o, Ur:uguay_, where he was a language teacher at the North American Academy. Two years later he purchased part interest in the Hancock Military Academy at San Rafael where he taught for eight years. Byers then came to Santa Monica High School as the head of the language department and took an active interest in the community. He had long been interested in adobe construction and in 1910 had organized a group of Mexicans to make hand made roofing, floor tiles and adobe brick and adapted these for modern construction. He designed and built his own house on Seventh Street in 1915. In that year he married Mrs. Harriet Staley, who was the widow of the New York Philharmonic conductor. (40) In an interview, Mrs. Harry Johnson of Brentwood Park related her first hand knowledge of the life of Byers. Mrs. Staley was a cousin of Harry Johnson who was a geologist doing petroleum explora­ tory work north of Los Angeles. Whil~ working near Ojai he saw Mexican nationals building an adobe church. Johnson had always wanted to build an adobe house so he hired the Mexicans to come

30 31

south and build a house for him. Mrs. Johnson related that the Mexicans set up camp, including their families, on the open plain between Santa Monica Canyon and Seventh Street. Their credentials were that they knew how to build adobe. The Johnsons had a newly purchased lot in Brentwood Park and the Mexicans began to build. There was trouble with the workmen from the start because Mr. Johnson did not speak Spanish. The solution was to consult John Byers who had built his own house and could speak Spanish. Byers was asked to supervise the job. He would come to the site before school in the morning, at lunch and again after school. He drew plans for the house and added many stylistic details. At the age of 44, Byers had changed his career to architec­ ture although he had no formal training. For a time he designed and contracted for construction and in 1925 became a licensed architect. Stylistically he favored Andalucian Spanish but event­ ually expanded his style to include Monterey, Tudor, Colonial and Ranch style. Byers was an immediate success. He had a crew who wanted work and he found the jobs for them from which he was able to make a profit. (40) Byers established a kiln and work yard for the Mexicans to make adobe brick because he was not satisfied with commercial brick. In 1"919, he established the John Byers Mexican Hand Made Tile Company as he was well assured of the public demand for everything Spanish. Mrs. Johnson said that they were innundated by sightseers coming to see the house every weekend. Initially Byers lacked knowledge of house plans, drafting and construction methods, but the building 32

department required only rough sketches at that time. His training as an engineer gave him some background in drafting. In the spring of 1922, an adobe house by Byers was featured

in the architectural journal The Architect and Engineer whic~ indi­ cated the rapid growth of his reputation as a designer-builder. The journal was located in San Francisco and the article was written by Irving Morrow, A.I.A., an important architectural journalist of the

day. Morrow said that Byers approache~ his work from the standpoint of craftsmanship. He employed the olc.F methods with"such improve­ ments of detail as the most highly developed industrial conditions of the day rendered expedient and accessible. (18:47) Byers stopped all building activity to concentrate on design when he received his architects license in 1925. The license allowed him to operate with more prestige and financial security in addition to attracting wealthy clients. His reputation spread by word of mouth among families and friends. His high professional status brought him such clients as J. Paul Getty, the Shirley Temple family, Norma Shearer, Irwin S. Cobb and Joel McCrea. Byer's designs became more diverse and he beg~n to branch out and away from adobe. As early as 1927, he was designing Period Revival houses such as English Tudor. According to Mrs. ·Johnson, Byers had a very good relationship with all his clients because he paid great attention to detail from beginning to end of a job. The depression did not effect his practice because his clients were wealthy movie people who were enjoying prosperous times. 33

Edla Muir Edla Muir started working for Byers in 1919 when she was 13. She worked part time after school, Saturdays and vacations. She con­ tinued to work full time after graduation from Santa Monica High School, in 1923. Muir worked as a draftsman and like Byers, had no

formal training. Byers made r~iss Muir an Associate in 1934 when she received her architects license. She remained in this capacity until 1942 when she opened her own office. After 1934, Edla Muir's name began to appear with Byers on client's presentation drawings, plans and renderings. In this partnership, Byers handled the business end of things, solicited new clients, entertained them and supervised buildings in progress. Edla

Muir ~as in charge of all design and ran the office. Byers kept strict control of all design although he executed few of the details or final drawings himself. He would make preliminary sketches of what he thought the client would like to see or he would ask Edla Muir to do a rendering of the style of house the client wanted. After the client's approval, Miss Muir and the staff did the drawings from the sketch stage- followed by Byers' supervision and final approval. It was a good working relationship and lasted until Muir opened her own office in 1942. (42) In an article in Architectural Record, "1000 Women in Archi­ tecture", Edla Muir stated that the first independent commission was hard to get, but after that it was qutte simple. She felt that she had encountered very little prejudice towards women and that the public was most willing to accept women in domestic architecture. 34

( 28:105) Spanish Colonial Archi.tecture Byers' designs were part of the second phase of the Spanish Colonial Revival. By the 1920s the Spanish Colonial Revival had become the architecture of Southern California. Block upon block of Los Angeles and other cities in the Southland abounded with vers­ ions of America's Hispanic heritage. (89:131) It has been demon­ strated that the shingle and board and batten houses were the_ first architectural forms that could be thought of as indigenous t

California~ but it was the stucco sheathed structure--with its broad areas of uninterrupted surfaces--which in fact came to typify the buildings of Southern California. The second phase of the Spanish Colonial Revival could be called Mediterranean, for it assembled architectural elements from Spain, Mexico, Italy and Islamic North Africa. The style had thick walls and deep reveals, exposed beams with bracket supports and wide

overhanging eaves with red tile expo~ed from below. Embellishments were decorative tile, wrought iron and round arches for windows and doorways. Entire communities were planned in this style, such as Santa Barbara, Ojai and Palos Verdes Estates. The Johnson House. Byers' houses were authentic adobe with thick massive walls, sloped red tile roofs and arched doorways. The Johnson house at 201 South Rockingham, Brentwood, built in 1919, was Byers' first adobe house and became his trademark, representing a sophisticated rendering of a primitive style. The lines of the house were low, horizontal and simple. The two story 35

Fig. 1 Interior of Harry Johnson house 36

had a Musicians Balcony with a Baroque carved panel taken from a demolished church in and on the opposite wall was a round window with stained glass. The wooden furniture in the living room was genuine antiques from Spain which were purchased by Mrs. Johnson at auction in New York in 1930. Adding to the ambience in this room were two carved wooden statues, one 16th century and one 17th century. (Fig. 1 p. 35) Mrs. Johnson related that wood was so scarce in 1919 after the war that builders were forced to search several lumber~yards to find enough beams to frame a house. The Johnsons bought a small grove of tall and straight eucalyptus which were used for the roof. The heavy crossbeam over the dining room came from an oil well. There was also a shortage of bath tubs and one was found in San Francisco after weeks of searching. (40) The Irvine Adobe. The clients who wanted adobe construction were idealistic individuals who valued the primitive simplicity of

11 what Mrs. Johnson called .. sweet and gentle living • The Irvine adobe is typical of Byers' first efforts (Fig~ 2 p. 37). It was built 'of adobe, had a sloping tile roof with wide overhang forming a veranda but the floor plan was like a symmetrical salt box with doors opening from either side of a central hall. The adobe bricks for the houses were made on the site. In an article Byers described brick making: The making of adobe brick is simple. A mound of dirt is made with a crater depression at the top, which is filled with water. On the following morning, the crater is broken down and the water runs down on the lower level of the terrace. On this level has been 37

-TYPICAl-- CR0_5)· .)E'CTIOI""I-

-:PI-AN o,- 'f"""IJ2:)T "'F1--00Q.....­ Ar><:un: HOUS-E J<>bn B,...-.._ I>M>ou ._,.j !l"i!

Fig. 2 Plan and cross section of Irvine Adobe 33

spread a level of fine manure. The Mexicans, with their trousers rolled up to their hips, tramp around in this mixture until it is thoroughly worked. The mud is now placed on a stretcher and carried by two men to the mounds on a level piece of ground. The mud is dumped into the mounds, kneaded down by hand and slicked up with a dash of water. The frame is then lifted from the mud which is left to dry. Adobes should be ready for laying in about three weeks. The third day they are turned up on end, •cantear•. (32:16) Byers at this time was working for the people who admired the primi­ tive quality of adobe. He said that adobe made simple, direct and sincere construction, it was picturesque and would last a century. (18:47) Morrow wrote about Byers: It will probably surprise most people to learn that in the midst of our highly developed industrial cul­ ture surrounded on all sides by cement, brick, terra cotta and stone, there is a movement deliberately to revive adobe construction; and that this movement far from being an isolated and transient fad, is quiet, reasoned and widely dispersed in area. (18:47) Byers was a designer who captured the authenticity, picturesque quality and charm of adobe. His houses acquired these qualities because of his sensitivity to form and detail. He was angered by cheap copies of adobe. An attempt was made in a real estate subdivision to commercialize adobe as a building material as 'Cheap as dirt•. This was a most insincere attempt, the adobe bricks being little blocks used only as a filler wall between 2x4 studs, the whole being supported by foundation so shallow that one might dig a hole under them with bare hands. This experiment was given wide publicity and had the effect of stirring up great interest in adobe. The Los Angeles Examiner ran a weekly on adobe and an expert edited a question­ naire with answers appearing every Sunday. (38:29) Articles on adobe construction continued to appear; one such article reported the earthquake resistance of adobe and included quotations 39

by Byers. In 11 Folk Song 11 Morrow wrote that Byers was able to create in the primitive style because he had no formal training. ·Byers continued working with his original team of Mexican workers. These men had built three and four story adobe houses in

Mexico~ had worked on the restoration of the missions and had lived in adobes all their lives. These men could neither read nor write and signed their pay vouchers with a vertical cross (+) and an ordinary X meant one day and P one half day on the pay roll. They were honest, industrious, courteous and loyal to their employer. (40) Barnyard straw, not fresh, clean straw was used in the·making of adobe brick. Byers had ·a contract with a ranch in the Santa Monica Canyon to deliver this straw to the building sites twice a week. Byers used brick 4 in. x 14 in. x 20 in. for the outer walls and 4 in. x 10 in. x 20 in. for the inner non-bearing partitions. In a two story house they laid the brick the 20 in. way for the first floor and the 14 in. way for the second floor, with a 6 in. x 8 in. cement girder to catch the second floor joists. (18:52) An excavation of two feet beneath the floor joists furnished enough dirt to build a house. A six or seven room house would re­ quire four or five thousand adobe. The Johnson house took seven thousand adobe bricks. The adobe required one year to dry and was then· finished with a coat of a mixture of lime, sand and a small amount of cement. (40) Sometimes the rafters were of eucalyptus poles. For water proofing, tar was melted and put on the cement foundation' before any adobe was laid. The result was a solid build- ing, wind proof, sound proof ·and water proof. 40

The Mexicans made the floor and roof tile by hand. They built authentic ovens and chimneys and the typical corner fireplace of old Mexico of adobe. An adobe brick, once dried would withstand water penetration. During construction, the Mexican obrero (laborer) carr-ied forty pound adobe brick ba 1anced on his head up a p1 ank to the brick mason. A type of Spanish Colonial Revival in which Byers excelled was the Andalucian adobe which was inspired by the provincial archi­ tecture of Southern Spain. This form was also used with success by George Washington Smith, Wallace Neff and Reginald Johnson. The characteristics of the Andalucian style included plain white stucco wall surfaces, small informally placed balconies and windows and colored decorative tile. The Bradbury House. Byers• first Andalucian style house was built in 1922 for Lewis Bradbury at 201 Ocean Way, Santa Monica Canyon. This house resembled the style of George Washington Smith which was well publicized. The Bradbury house (Fig. 3 p. 41) was one of Byers• best examples of Andalucian style and demonstrated that he was capable of other interpretations of the Spanish Colonial Revival idiom. The house was high on a bluff overlooking the ocean. It was large, imposing, had eight rooms and three tiled bathrooms. The front facade was asymmetrical with a decorative tiled front entrance to one end and a second story window directly above it opening onto an iron balcony. The roof had lateral ridges which divided yellow field tiles into panels. The raised ridges were 41

Fig. 3 Patio of Bradbury house 42

Fig. 4 Hallway of Bradbury house 43

Fig. 5 Dining room of Bradbury house 44 of gun metal for contrast. There was a two and a half foot Spanish

imported tile border aro~nd the front and one foot of tile around the upstairs window. It was a patio style house but all the :.'. rooms were accessible from the inside, The second floor could be reached by either an outside or an inside staircase. The outside wall of the patio was level with the second floor gallery, and the door from the patio opens into the . (Fig. 3 p. 41) The staircase from the patio led to the second floor bed­ rooms. The stair step risers, the ~atio floor, door frames and wainscot are all of decorative Spanish tile. The patio was sur­ rounded by four stucco pillars with wood bracket entablature support­ ing the second story wood railed gallery. On the ground floor the living room and dining room open onto the patio. The main stair­ case was in a small hall to the right of the entrance. (Fig. 4 p.42) This stairwell follows three walls of the irregular shaped hall. The risers are of imported Spanish tile in blue and yellow and the turned wood banister is of oak. The stairwell walls were panelled in pecan; the other walls are rough plastered. In Fig. 4 one can see a Dante type chair with leather seat and across from it a leather upholstered straight back chair with heavy nail . Across the hall was a double door leading into a dining room which had a heavy beamed with bracket supports. The floor was of hand made Mexican tile and the windows were high and narrow wood framed casement. The furniture included a Spanish trestle table, eight leather chairs with large nails and a corner cupboard with ornate carving. (Fig. 5 p. 43) Two Churrigueresque torch 45

stands decorated the carved wood sideboard. Byers supervised and advised in the procurement of furniture for this house. The Bradbury house was a showpiece for a wealthy client and it enhanced Byers• reputation. The house still stands in excellent condition. · As building materials were scarce in Southern California, Byers was both innovative and a scavanger as well as being ideal­ istic. He used the heavy timbers from the condemned old Long Wharf

in Santa Monica for the Br~dbury house. ~In the Gorman house, he used iron grills picked up at a junk yard. Byers said of himself that unfortunately he was not an academic architect but Morrow, the architectural critic considered that not at all unfortunate because academic architects were inclined to do anything and everything except what is natural. Morrow liked Byers• sound instinct for craftsmanship and respect for means and materials, his logical expression and sincere construction. This simplicity, naturalness

~nd substance were exactly what Byers• clients wanted in a house. Byers wrote that it was almost impossible to open an Eastern magazine without seeing a California house. Architects were con­ tinually winning prizes and a distinctive style of architecture representative of the state appeared to be emerging. (38:29)

The Hunte~ S. Robbins house, built in 1931 in Flintridge was one of the best that Byers designed in the Andalucian style and resembled the designs of George Wqshington Smith. Byers had mastered the Andalucian style; its charm, form and decoration characterized by wrought iron and tile against wide expanses of 46

,------·-

I I I I I I f

·------

Fig. 6 The Hunter Robbins house 47

stucco. He was skillful in combining the elements of this style into a strong architectural statement. This style was inspired by the architecture of Andalucia in Southern Spain. Byers had a copy of Winsor Soule's Spanish Farm Houses, published 1924, which showed examples of the Andalucian style. The Hunter Robbins House was a freer interpretation of Andalucian with the building broken down into smaller informal

~hapes. It was built of adobe, finished in rough plastered white

~~tucco and had a red tile roof. The entry to the front courtyard was through a rounded archway with a red tile roofed passageway above it. There was a wooden railed second story balcony on wood brackets running all the way along the front. Wrought iron stair rails led to the round arched front door and to the second story balcony. The Mexican tiled courtyard had a fountain in the middle. (Fig. 6 p. 46) The Gorham and Halliday House. More of Byers• work in the Andalucian style was the Gorham and Halliday house at 326 Adelaide Drive, overlooking the ocean. The house was built for the daughter of H. M. Gorham, a cousin of Roy Jones, the son of the founder of Santa Monica. The senior Gorhams lived in the house next door at 316 Adelaide Drive, and Roy Jones lived at 120, the first house on the street which was built in 1907. Adelaide Drive was named for Adelaide Gillis whose father owned the Santa Monica Land and Water Company which owned and developed north Santa Monica.· R. C. Gillis built the house at 406 Adelaide Drive and gave it to his daughter as a wedding present. Other officers of the Santa Monica Land and 48

f·l L-'T FIRST FLOOR PLAN, HOUSE OF MRS. H.. M. GORHAM, AND MISS MARJE HALLIDAY, ~ SANTA MONICA John Bye-n.. Do:-ai~tne-r and Builder

Fig. 7 Floor plan of Gorham house 49

----·----~- ·

Fig. 8 Exterior of Gor-ham house - 50

Water Company were the Bundy brothers who also commissioned houses by Byers that will be discussed later. In the Gorham and Halliday house only the one story central portiori was in the early adobe vernacular. (Fig. 7 p. 48) The facade \'Jas more sophisticated than Byers' earlier adobe houses. The look was less primitive but it lacked the unity of elements of the simpler adobe. The low horizontal central section was flanked by two story wings at the north and south ends. The south wing, which

was the libraryc:; had a round~arched cathedral window decorated witn

fine wrought iron. The front door was surrounded by a row of ~1exican tiles. The door was painted white with large black studs arid an iron in front of it. The arched window of the library was balanced by a large adobe chimney on the two story north wing. A small arched doorway entered into the garden. The front door led directly into the living room and on the opposite were the doors to the terrace and sma 11 formal gardens. (Fig.- 8 p. 49)

- - As Californians reminisced about the state's early traditions and people desired early California architecture, there developed a style which was known as "Spear Head Spanish", in which every window was straddled by two spears supporting an awning. Cheap houses could-be erected and with the addition of spear head awning could be called Spanish. (42) In the mid 1920s Byers-was receiving commissions for Andalucian style and for Monterey Colonial and some of his designs were a transitional step into the latter. Byers' houses continued to show the influence of the·early adobes either in the floor plan, 51

the patio qr facade. Byers felt that most other builders missed the charm of adobe and caught so little of the essential quality. They missed the wide-reveals with deep shadows which gave the effect of mass in thick. walls. In the cheap houses, there was no attempt to round off or soften a line and the worst offense was the skinny shutters nailed to the walls. (29:30) The Del Valle Adobe. The next adobe was the Del Valle adobe in 1927 which was a patio style house with a covered terrace running all around three sides of the patio. The main house was an L shape · on two sides of the patio and the third side was servants quarters which included garages, two maid's rooms with baths, a laundry and chauffer's room. The four bedrooms were on one wing and opened directly onto the terrace. The main wing had a central hall with living room and dining room on either side and a covered terrace all along the front. (Fig. 9 p. 52) The Col. L. French Adobe. In 1929, Byers designed the Col. L. French adobe ranch house in Hidden Valley. (Fig. 10 p. 53) This plan moved away from the rectangular box of the Irvine adobe. The house had two wings; the main house on one wing and the servants quarters in another wing at a 140 degree angle to the first. The kitchen and dining room joined the two wings. At the end of the servants• wing was a pump house and a windmill. The second story was one large master suite with spacious , and fireplace. This was one of Byers•. most innovative floor plans. 52

,------\ l ! I

Fig. 9 The Del Valle adobe 53

Fig. 10 The Col. L. French adobe house ~------~------·---~·-----..------,

54

The Kemper Campbell Adobe. In the same year, Byers built the Kemper Campbell adobe ranch house at Victorville. The Campbell ranch became such a popular place that additions to the main building were needed for the guests. (Fig. 11 p. 55) During the depression many of the Campbell friends came to live at the ranch for a small fee. Additions were made to convert it into a guest ranch in the thirties and forties. The dirt for the adobe came from the site and no admix­ ture of water-proofing material was added. The adobe was left un­

plastered. ~ By this time Byers had been building adobes for ten years beginning with the Johnson adobe in 1919. The Johnson adobe was a compact and strict interpretation whereas the Kemper Campbell adobe was spread out, freer and more spirited. · Byers was more confident of his own ability. It had been ten years since his first adobe, and while his method of construction had not changed, the plan and the elements were assembled with more con­ fidence and maturity. His designs continued to employ certain major elements -thick adobe walls, heavy beams, tile roofs -all part of the simple, primitive style. The Kemper Campbell ranch was located on the crest of a hill overlooking Apple Valley on the edge of the Mojave Desert. The design had an unusual central hall plan with rooms opening off either side of it. (Fig. 11 p. 55) Bedrooms open directly on the front terrace and one has an arched doorway. The wooden terrace posts had carved wooden bracket capitals. from the living room lead to a Monterey style balcony on wooden brackets. The house was furnished with Mission style furniture. Surrounding the exterior 55

, Fig. ll Floor plan of the Kemper Campbell ranch 56

Fig. 12 Exterior of the Kemper Campbell ranch ------

57

were Joshua trees for atmosphere. (Fig. 12 p. 56) The combination of unplastered adobe and wood gave the Kemper Campbell adobe an earthy solidarity and strength against the desert background. This was one of Byers• best works in adobe. The manipulation of rooflines, the shed construction of part of the house, the high quality of detail made this a sophisticated inter­ pretation of the adobe style. The Merritt House. The Edward Merritt house at 12921 · Evanston, Brentwood,was a monumental two story adobe. The hoPizon- . tal roofline was broken by the garage wing at right angles to the house at a lower level. The facade had an adobe staircase running along the front to a second story adobe balcony. (Fig. 13 p. 58) Newcomb wrote that in California the simplest forms were enhanced by a clear and vibrant atmosphere and deep shadows induced by vivid sunshine. (75:6) This adequately described the above adobe; simple yet with a minimum of compelling detail. Byers• adobe architecture gave California an architecture that was frugal, straight forward and as craftsmanlike as the Old Mission houses.

~ Byers felt that.adobe was the predominant factor and the major stylistic influence in the Spanish Colonial revival. This was Byers• justification for his continued work in adobe. Much of his writing was in praise of adobe, the last article as late as 1946 (31 :12). It may have been due to stricter building codes that Byers stopped using adobe. He wrote that: . The city of Los Angeles requires a bond beam of reinforced concrete entirely around the perimeter of the building, with a minimum 17" exterior wall 58

~ ----"---'------I

Fig. 13 The Merritt house 59

composed of two courses of brick 8 11 wide and a P joint between; 18 gauge mesh 111 hardware cloth laid horizontally every fifth course; bond beam with four 3/4 11 reinforcing rods and a 2x6 redwood plate above, bolted with ~ 11 X6 11 bolts every four feet. Besides all tnis, they may require vertical steel flanking door and window openings, anchored into the foundation below and the bond beam above. Also the city of Los Angeles will require that the build­ ing be engineered for earthquake resistance. Los Angeles County is a little more lenient ... The usual structural design of adobe buildings follows the general requirements for any other type of masonry construction. (31:13) The article continued with more technical information about the use of adobe and assured the reader that it was as safe as any other construction. Before this Byers had set his own standards for adobe construction, some of which were: No adobe building should be more than one story or have a height of more than ten feet. Every exterior wall shall not be less than 17 11 thick exclusive of plaster or finish. Adobe brick or units should be composed of a mixture which will give such brick a compression strength of not less than 500 pounds per square inch. (32:16) The Jack Kanastan House. Another house away from the city and the last of the adobes was the Jack Kanastan house in Palm Springs. It too had low simple lines, tile roof, thick adobe walls and sturdy timbers. The interior had whitewashed walls, and a polished tile floor. The fireplace had a copper hood and copper topped the fireside table. The rush seated chairs, painted yellow, came from Cuernavaca and over the fireplace there were two painted Mexican mirrors. The lamps were made of wrought iron with calfskin shades. The bedroom continued with innovative detail. The floor was concrete with yellow pigment and the beds had woven Mexican 60

bedspreads. There was a natural pine chest with nail head trim and the Mayan figures scattered about set the tone. (32:18) Newcomb wrote that the fundamental simplicity of adobe made possible a varied architecture. (75:7) In the mid 1920s, Byers was making a transition into the Monterey style. His houses then were a combination of adobe and wood. The Monterey Colonial style was a mixture of early American Greek Revival architecture from New England combined with the local Spanish architecture of old California. Kirker pointed out that the Monterey Colonial was basically a sub­ stitution of adobe for wood by eastern architects working in the west. (68:17) Byers was meeting the demands of his clients by designing in the r.1onterey Colonial style. Monterey Colonial The Monterey Colonial style was identified by the balcony across the front and the use of Greek Revival details carried out in wood. Every element testified to its New England origin: the symmetrical American Colonial facade, the columns and pilasters but in wood, the traditional floor plan with two rooms on either side of the central hall and double sashed windows with twelve panes. Newcomb noted that there was a blending of the Yankee and Spanish in the Monterey Colonial but he felt that the wooden New England style was poorly adapted climatically and historically to reflect the type of life developed in the semi arid, sunlit west. {75:3) Byers described the choice features of the Monterey Colonial as double hung sash windows, beamed , louvered shutters, Colonial doors, rim locks, white door knobs and irregular eave line 61

with shadows on the wall below. (38:29) The Monterey Colonial was • considered one of the perfect California house styles when built of

adobe bec~use this tied it tb old California and the roots that Californians sought. Although late in the Spanish Colonial Revival, the Monterey Colonial was considered a link in California's search for an architectural past. The Bundy and Hamilton Houses. The C. L. Bundy house at 2153 La Mesa Drive was built in the Monterey Colonial style in 1925 at a cost of $20,000. In the same year Byers designed the Hamilton house at 193 North Carmelina, Brentwood. This house was in the Nonterey Colonial style with the wooden balcony across the front and the roof of red cedar shingles instead of red tile. The exterior wood was painted including the louvered shutters at the windows. One wing of the house ran parallel to the street and another wing was at right angles to it. (Fig. 14 p. 62) The Armstrong House. The house at 1717 San Vicente was built in 1925 by Armstrong and then remodelled in the Monterey Colonial style by Byers for Irwin S. Cobb. It had a Monterey style wooden balcony across the front which joined two gabled wings. The balcony posts.had carved wood bracket capitals. In this house a red tile roof was used with the balcony roof at a lower level than the house roof. In the.front there was a huge pond set away from the house and surrounded by foliage. (Fig. 15 p. 63} The Byers House. Byers• third.and last house for himself and his wife wa~ built in 1927 at 2303 La Mesa Drive, Santa Monica, 62

,.- ....------·------·- - . 1 ~

r I

______:_~------· ----

Fig. 14 The Hamilton house 63

Fig. 15 The Irwin Cobb house 64

in the ~1onterey Colonial style. It was a combination of old California adobe with tiled ·roof and a second story balcony run­

ning along the front and around three sides of the master bedroom~ The living room was one story and the garage had a sundeck on the flat roof. (Fig. 16 p. 65) There was a at the rear of the living room and a sun patio led to a guest apartment. Although the Byers• house was classified as Monterey because of the second story balcony, it had the asymmetrical floor

plan of: an old adobe. Th~ living room was at the north end and ·the entrance directly from the street at the extreme north end of the house. Another doorway on the front wall exits to a front walled patio, which had a gate to the street. Both doorways were framed in Churrigueresque painting. The patio had a fountain in the middle. In the interior it was surprising to find an Adam type fireplace, small bric-a-brac and Vicotrian furniture in John Byers• own California house. (Fig. 18 p. 67) The Kerr House. With the Kerr house in 1929, Byers again used the Monterey Colonial style. The house was at 428 North Carmelina, Brentwood, and was in two wings, one wing parallel to the street and the other at right angles to it with the gable facing the street. It had the second story balcony along the front and the painted wood doors and louvered shutters and a red

cedar shingled roof. (Fig. 19 p~ 68) 65

Fig. 16 Floor plan for Byers' house 66

Fig. 17 Exterior of Byers• house 67

Fig. 18 Interior of Byers• house 68

r~------·------

1 ! I I

Fig. 19 The Kerr house 69

The ZiiTl!ler House. .Byers had experimented with another variation of the Spanish style, known as Cuban. One example was the Zimmer house at 2101 La Mesa Drive, Santa Monica,which he designed in 1924. This house had a red painted columned facade and in the rear court the vigas projected unevenly. The Julian St. John Nolan House. Byers was adept at modify­ ing his style to the environment. In his Monterey style house for Julian St. John Nolan in Palm Springs, he used deep reveals and wide overhanging eaves for protection from the sun. The roof over- ~ hang was 3'6 11 with tiles exposed from below in the Spanish manner. There was a pergola in the court built of eucalyptus branches laid horizontally over posts made of old telephone poles and covered with rough matting woven by Indians. The house was insulated by double walls. The interior was cooled by evaporation of water sprayed through sprinkler heads placed on the roof. The interior were 'of hand made tile and the court and passage were of cobblestones. The living room ceiling followed the line of the roof with exposed purlins supported on ledges and by angle brackets. All the timber and ceilings were treated with lye and stained the color of driftwood. The exposed timbers of the interior were hand hewn. (35: 63) The Monterey Colonial style satisfied a strong need to dis­ cover meaningful historic roots. But by the end of the second decade, it became apparent that the Monterey Ctilonial could not fulfill the desire felt by client and architect for increased opulance. The 70 simple life gave way to the more opulant life. (89:140) The Monterey Colonial was a bridge for Byers from Spanish architecture to the Period house which was his next major phase .

. Period Houses The thirties was the decade of the Period House in domestic architecture in Southern California. The term Period House was used to describe a house built in one period which emulates the style of an earlier period. This trend started in the east in the 1920s and was transplanted to Califgrnia by the 1930s. The Byer houses fell into a number of stylistic categories designated by Byers himself. He designed English Tudor, Norman French, Bermudan, Cuban, Colonial, and Monterey Colonial. A review of the Architectural Record during the 1930s indi­ cated that the Period House had overwhelming dominance. This Period House was a more sophisticated example of Revival architecture than that which emerged in the 1920s. It was sophisticated in the sense that there was a definite attempt by the designer to be authentic in the use of details and proportions; this was not always possible in materials. The public sought architects who could interpret revival architecture and synthesize its details into a contemporary exp~ession without overdoing it. The nineteenth century houses did not attempt authentic repro­ ductions of earlier styles but were eclectic in interpretation of . styles. The scale of the building taken from poor drawings was often inaccurate. Due to better source material, these incongruities did 71

not occur in the 1930 Period Revival Houses. Articles promoting the Period House began appearing in the 1930s. "An English Cottage for the PaCific Coas't" appeared in Arfs an-d Decoration in 1931. The cottage had a hipped roof doorway, thatched roof and stone facing and was described as· charmingly reminiscent of the south of England. The bulk of recognition in architectural jOurnals werit to English Tudor and American Colonial. The dch kept ori building Period Revival

houses righ~ through the depression giving commissions to such archi­ tects as John Byers and Edla Muir, Wallace Neff, Paul Williams, Roland Coate and Roy Kelly. Byers and Muir designed free flowing indoor-outdoor relationships, then clothed them in forms that sug­ gested the past - the English half timbered house or the Colonial house. Byers and Muir had a clippings file in the office which was divided into categories, some of which were: bathrooms, balcony, bars, bay windows, brickwork, closets, ceilings, Colonial detail, dormers, doors, entrance details, floors, , Georgian houses, inter~ iors, , plans, shutters, windows, weekend house. The Half Timbered House One of the period styles in.which Byers and Muir worked most was the half timbered house. Half timbered houses were combinations of elements from different countries in western Europe although it was narrowly interpreted as English Tudor. Towns in Gennany, France and the Netherlands all employed this method of construction. Byers and Muir would describe one house as English Tudor and another as Norman French which probably served to meet the requirements of 72

~ commissions. The Roy Goodrich House. Byers' first English Tudor house was built in 1927. In the half timbered houses of the sixteenth century, the wood frame was exposed and the spaces filled in with brick; but the American half timbered house had the space filled in with plaster. The Roy Goodrich house at 333 Copa de Ora Road, Bel Air,was built in the Tudor style, in 1927. It had a high pitched shingled roof which in Europe would have been slate or thatch and a brick chimney reaching

above the roof line. It was heavily half timber~d and the second story windows were dormer and diamond leaded. (Fig. 20 p. 73) The impression was of a rambling country house with irregular shapes.

The Joel McCrea House. The house wit~ the most authentic English Tudor look was the Joel McCrea house, built in 1933 at 245 South Rockingham, Brentwood. It was two story half timbered with one gabled wing on the north front. On the south front there was a decor­ ative Tudor chimney of brick which projected vertically above the wood shingled roof line. The second story overhung the first and was supported on heavy wood brackets. (Fig. 21 p. 74}

The George Barrett House~ The George Barrett house at 1030

Bieneveneda, Las Pulgas Canyon, Pacific Palisade~ was built in 1935 and described by Byers as English Norman. (Fig: 22 p. 75} The focal point was a two story round tower with a weather vane on top. This became one of his favorite devices. The rest of the house rambles and curves at odd angles in either direction. The living room was central, next to the tower, the kitchen, dining room and maid's room were located at one end and the bedroom wing at the other.· A small 73

Fig. 20 The Goodrich house 74

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Fig. 21 The McCrea house 75

f.

Fig. 22 Floor plan of Barrett house 76

I, t I

Fig. 23 Exterior of Barrett house 77 amount of exposed timber was used in this house. The entrance was an arched driveway with the servant's quarters over it. This house was in a magnificent site in the canyon and is now owned by St.

M~tthew's Episcopal Church and used as a parish house. (Fig. 23 p.76) The Whittier House, 10451 Bellagio Road, Bel Air, built in 1935, had the irregular roofline of the English Tudor period and three fanciful chimneys at different heights projected high above the roof line. Byers described this house as Elizabethan; it seemed just another name for his half timbered, dormer windowed style. =-Another artiGle described it as an English farmhouse in Bel Air, but the interior contradicted that. The .library had Venetian blinds with strips of wallpaper applied so that when they were partially open, they resembled tapestry and complimented similar wall panels in the room. Panels on the south wall opened to disclose a completely equipped semicircular bar, the front of which represented a map of the world. On this were accurate scale models of the client's boats as well as famous ships from maritime history. No features of the interior of the house could be called Elizabethan. (13:17) The Woodsworth Clum House. Each of the Tudor style houses was modified to suit the needs of the client. For example, the Woodsworth Clum house, 515 Lorna Vista Drive, Beverly Hills,was built in 1933 and needed privacy from the street. To provide a more private entrance and driveway, a high wall faced the street and the automobiles entered the right gate to the garage or continued to the entrance and then to the exit at the left. The ornamental iron and the railing on top of the brick wall were painted white. Beyond this and the oak 78

trees was a white painted brick and half timbered house with tall chimneys, four dormer windows and a wood framed bay window on the

ground floor~ Sixteenth century influence permeated the interior with . ' ' • . I

the library and di~ing room fully panelled, but in walnut. The large entry hall, stairwell, banisters with turned railings were of oak. Two large wrought iron doors led to the terrace. This house had more

of ~n English fuanor look than thi others. (3:16) The George Temple House. Another was the George Temple house

. which was fo~ the Shirley Jemple family. The George Temple house, 231 Rockingham Drive, Brentwood, was built in 1936 and the client•s name had to be kept secret because the Temple family did not want publi­ city. Again Byers and Muir called this house Norman because of the use of the round tower taken,from farm houses in Northern France. This element was also used in the George Barrett house and the Woodsworth Glum house and added a surprise dimension to Byers• designs.

The use of the round turret showed Byers I adroitness at handling re­ lationships of forms and his concern for detail. (Fig. 24 p. 79) The Wheeler Chase House: Byers• clients were wealthy and wanted typical upper class housing with an emphasis ori English. The

~/heeler Chase house at 829 North Citrus, Azusa, was built in 1936 and

had the same picturesque Tudor f~cade. Byers was innovative in the destgn of 1i vi ng space even though the house style was representative of a period. He said that the house should fit the needs of the owner and the exterior should fit the site. The Chase house had a unique location at the foot of the San Dumas Mountains. With Byers• adroit placement of windows one could see an orange grove on one side and a 79

l I I I I j I I I I I i I I

Fig. 24 The George Temple house 80 view of old live oaks on the other. The floor plan was rambling but

_did h~ve the living room and dining room to the left and right of the central hall.. The spacious second floor had two ample bedrooms each with large bathroom, two dressing rooms and two studies. A rustic country appearance ··w·as given by ir-regular trowel plastering to an uneven finish on the interior walls. (1:20) American Colonial Byers and Muir excelled in the Tudor style house, but their interpretation of the American Colonial house was also in demand. Colonial Revival architecture had to withstand a great freedom of interpretation because so many d.ifferent styles could be ca 11 ed Colonial. The Byers• archives listed a number of variations of the Colonial style: Early American Colonial (Cape Cod), American Georgian, Southern Colonial, Colonial Ranch style. The George Bancroft House. The George Bancroft house, at 1024 Ocean Front, was built in 1929 and did little more than convey the ¥eeling.for a quaint old cottage at Cape Cod. The high value of this beach property compelled a complete coverage of the lot; this problem had to be treated as a street front elevation. Facing the street were two garages and between them a courtyard with doors open­ ing to the kitchen and dining room. At the rear of the courtyard was the main entrance which led into a hallway with a curved staircase and a door to the living room and beyond that the with large windows facing the ocean. One second story room on the ocean front had a banister rail balcony supported on large corbel. This was not a Cape Cod element but the balcony insured enjoyment of the climate 81

and view. {2:34) The J. Paul Getty House. The most authentic Cape Cod style house by Byers was the one he built (or J. Paul Getty at 270 Ocean Front in 1934. Getty lived in it from 1934 until 1952 when he moved to London.· Mrs. Getty Gaston continued to live in the house and it

has been kept the same as when Getty lived there~ Getty wanted a house that would remind him of the old Cape Cod cottages. The living room had portho 1e windows and was dec ora ted 1 ike the state room of an ocean 1 iner at Getty• s request. A vin·e arbour led,. from the busy Pacific Coast Highway to the house) and to the side and back were extens.ive lawns leading to the ocean. The house was two story white painted clapboard with a steep pitched roof and green shutters. The Templeton House. The Templeton House was built by Byers and Muir in 1935 at 530 South Westgate in the Cape Cod style with a gabled roof but this had been altered to a f~ansard roof to provide more space. An old brick facade was added on the ground floor . .The alteration was obvious because the gable faces the street and the add-on room still had a steep pitched roof. The Karshner House. Another Colonial house was that of Dr. Rolo Karshner which was built in 1939 at 1201 Stone Canyon Road, Bel Air. It was built on an irregular site of several acres and although not small, had a quality of intimacy. For the exterior walls Byers used wood, stucco and stone. The stone was a silvery grey from Arizona quarries which blend~d with the grey tones of the sycamore wood. The roof was of thick redwood shakes, bleached. In the interior, one of the living room walls was of stone. The floors 82 were of twelve inch pine planks, fastened with square cut copper nails which made a pattern of parallel lines across the floor. {21 :32) · The Leo S. Bing House at 380 Carolwood, Bel Air, was a two story clapboard with three wings. Between two of the wings was a large bay window with a railed balcony above 1t. One wing had an exterior brick chimney on the gable and the windows had green painted sh~tters~· (Fig. 25 p. 83) American Georgian The Harris House. 43yers designed a few houses using the classical motifs of the Federal period such as columns, pillars and classical pediments; Byers called this style American Georgian. The first of these was the Hqrris house which was built in 1930 while he was still engaged in Honterey and adobe~ It was built of red brick with symmetrically balanced· sashed windows between white pilasters running the full height of the house. Above the front door was a· semicircle of plaster which usually would contain a fanlight. The .second story windows hadshutters. The symmetrical look was accentu­ ated by three boxed plants on each side of theentrance. (Fig. 26 p.84)

The Fallen House~ Another was the Fallen house in Santa Monica, built in 1934. The main part of the house was symmetrically balanced with a Palladian style pediment and pilasters in the center front. There was an addition·to one end with dormer windows and the other end had a car port. The house was surrounded by iron railing between brick pillars with white stucco finials. (Fig. 27 p. 85)

The S. J. Glass House~ Byers designed the house for Dr. S. J. Glass at 768 Holmby Avenue, Holmby Hills, in 1937, in the Georgian 83

Fig. 25 The Leo S. Bing house 84

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Fig. 26 The Harris house 85

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; J

. I

( I '~------~

Fig. 27 The Follen house 86 style. It was a two story house with three dormer windows. The ground floor was brick finished and the second story was white clapboard. The house had the pane 11 ed door of the period, the coach light and was sur­ rounded by a white picket fence. This was a common style of period

.revival house but~one which Byers did ·not pursue~ Bermudan The Ilsley House. Alongside the Tudor style house and the Colonial house, Byers and Muir designed one house in an entirely dif­

11 11 ferent style - the Bermudan style. This house, called Southridge , was for the artist and landscape architect, Phillip Ilsley and was located at 470 Downs Road, Bel Air. It was built in 1938 and was the only documented concrete house built by Byers. In an article Byers extolled the virtues of concrete; its aesthetic simplicity, perman­ ency, and resistance to fire and pests. The roof of the Ilsley house was of white flat, interlocking tile with replicas of Bermudan chim­ neys reaching above it. Jalousie windows hinged at the top were used on the second story above a pergola of eucalyptus poles. The front steps were of mosaic tile made in Santa Monica. The· 1i vi ng room wa 11 s were of exposed concrete with a light blue wash and a real fresco of banana palms over the fireplace. The above and the use of Chinese Chippendale fretwork furniture gave the room an exotic South Seas look: The library had a fireplace of Oriental Red marble from Africa which was saved from the wrecking of the old Los Angeles Post Office. The house was on six acres, landscaped.with exotic trees and plants by the owner. (33:29) 87

Ranch Houses With Byers• and Muir's appreciation for the California outdoor life, they were able to adapt the eastern salt box, which was built against heavy winters, to a more spread out and open plan. This new style of California house took some elements from the oid adobe and grouped its rooms around a patio. It became the California ranch house, which was more attuned to the California way of life than its more eastern oriented predecessors. This style became popular in the

1950s but Byers and Muir were using it in the thirties~ The Shermari House. In 1937 Byers and Muir designed the Sherman House at 2088 Mandeville Canyori. It was designed in three wings at 140 degree angle to one another and with a covered wood railed terrace along two wings. The house had a low horizontal line against the back..:. drop of the canyon. Byers used some colonial embellishments such as clapboard siding and the bay window which gave it a picturesque appearance. (Fig~ 28 p. 88) The Martin House. Another ranch house was the Martin house at 13160 Boco de Canyon Drive which had what Byers described as a pergola on one side of the living room and a terrace on the other. Doors on either side of the fireplace opened out onto the pergola, and there were sliding doors on the opposite wall to the terrace. An outstand­ ing feature of this house was the large with glass walls and skylight. The loggia joined the living and sleeping areas in differ­ ent wings. The master bedroom-was more sophisticated than other areas of this ranch house. It had a handsome old marble fireplace and

i striped wallpaper. Overall it had the air of a small estate. 88

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Fig. 28 The Sherman ranch house Chapter IV SUNMARY AND CONCLUSION The purpose of this research was to study the architecture of John Byers and Edla Muir and describe their contribution to Southern California architecture in the years between 1920 and 1940. There were 67 houses designed by Byers and Muir but their work had not been documented in a comprehensive manner. Regional studies have shown that domestic architecture is influenced by the culture .of its builders. This evidence was found in Margaret N. Keyes' book Nineteenth Century Home Architecture of Iowa City. (67) and in Harold Kirker•s California•s Architectural Frontiers. (68) Other sources of evidence were interviews with relatives and people who knew Byers and Muir or were familiar with their work. fv1ute records include photographs of the houses designed by Byers and Muir. Changes in the floor plans over the twenty year period show the development of the architect•s style. Byers and Muir were innovative in the design of living space. The floor plan of the Spanish adobe was more conducive to indoor­ outdoor living than any of the styles from the east. Byers• adobes, in the form of a U enclosing a central patio was a form he adapted for other styles. Byers was credited with the revival of the use of adobe brick and for designing functional floor plans in Period Revival houses. Most of the houses are located in Santa Monica and Brentwood but there are individual houses spread throughout Southern California; a few of them are in Palm Springs.

89 90

The Byer and Muir designs were divided into three stylistic categories: Adobe, Monterey Colonial and Period Revival. These styles were representative of the major architectural forms that were in demand during the two decades that Byers and Muir practiced. Sources used to locate the houses were the Los Angeles Conservation Bureau, Santa Monica Building Department, the archives of the Art Gallery at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the arch­ ives of the Santa Monica Outlook.

The Spanish~Colonial Revival started with the Mission Revival thirty years before Byers began to practice. This entailed the round arch, the round topped tower, the massive, white adobe wall surface which was what appealed to Byers. When Byers started building, Southern California was already caught up in the search for an archi­ tectural heritage and was ready to adapt anything Spanish. Byers chose to excel in the Andalucian style from Southern Spain which had a massive, monumental quality with thick adobe walls and deep reveals. Other characteristics were the small informally placed windows and balconies, wrought iron and decorative colored tile. Byers owned a brick yard where Mexican labor made adobe brick, roof and floor tiles. There was a big market for these products as street after street of the towns in California were being built in the Spanish idiom. The Mexicans built authentic ovens and chimneys and the typical adobe corner fireplace of old Mexico. Byers• clients admired the primitive, sincere quality.of adobe and his designs pro­ vided these qualities plus functional bathrooms and kitchens. Entire communities were planned in this style, such as Santa Barbara, Ojai 91

and Palos Verdes Estates. Byers made a transition into the Monterey Colonial using adobe and wood. The Monterey Colonial was a mixture of American Greek Revival architecture and the Spanish architecture of California. The style was identified by a balcony across the front and Greek Revival details carried out in wood. A traditional symmetrical floor plan was used. Other features of the style were double hung sash windows, louvered shutters painted green and the Colonial panelled door. ~Wood shingle£ were used instead of the red tile roof. The balcony posts might have heavy timber brackets for strength and decor­ ation. The single important innovation in this period was the fusion of the adobe and wood building traditions. The Monterey Colonial house was a unique California example of compromise between two immigrant groups. Except for the use of adobe it represented little that was Spanish but it was seized upon as the characteristic dwelling of the Spanish past. Byers sometimes used some of the features of the adobe house in the Monterey style, such as red tile roofs or decorative tile. Often the symmetrical floor plan would be replaced by a more casual arrangement of rooms and would include a terrace or patio. At all times Byers was sensitive to his client's needs and gave attention to every detail. The Period Revival house was Byers' third phase. This was a house built in one period which emulat~s the style of another earlier period. Byers designed the Period Revival house in a number of dif­ ferent categories including English Tudor, Norman French, Cuban, 92

Bermudan, Dutch Colonial, American Colonial and Monterey Colonial. The 1930s period house was an attempt to be authentic in the use of detail and proportion. This was easier to do than in the past because there was better source material available. Byers worked best in English Tudor and American Colonial styles. In the English Tudor half timbered house, the wood frame was exposed and the spaces filled in with plaster or sometimes brick. The house_ plan would ramble with different wings and odd rooms and the roof line would be at different heights with tall projecting chimneys above the roof. Chimneys took a prominent position and were often decora­ tive. A variation of this was Byers' Norman French house, to which he liked to add a two story round Norman tower as the focal point. Another feature was the round arched driveway, usually with servant's quarters above it. Byers built a number of American Colonial or Cape Cod style houses. These were frame board and batten structures painted white with colored shutters and steep pitched wood shingled roof. Byers would conform to the style requirements but would often alter the floor plan to a patio house. Another was American Georgian style in which classical elements were used such as pediments, pillars, pilasters and fan­ l"ights. These were frame houses with clapboard, pl~ster or brick finish. The facade was symmetrical with an equal number of windows on either side of the centered front door. Chimneys were not impor­ tant in this style. 93

At the end of his career Byers was designing Ranch houses which looked like the conversion of the eastern salt box to a patio house to meet the needs of the California indoor-outdoor life. These were one story houses with stucco or clapboard finish and wood shingled roof with wide overhang to provide shade. As custom design architects, Byers and Muir were prolific, having built 67 houses over a twenty year period. They were innova­ tive in the use of adobe brick and in the use of functional floor plans in period style houses. They did 1lot have one recognizable style, but their different styles would be representative of the period in which they worked. Conclusion. The compilation of the data on the designs of Byers and Muir supports the contention that these two architects con­ tributed to the architectural development of Santa Monica and the surrounding area. The thesis provided a comprehensive record of the achievements of Byers and Muir and substantiated the claim that they were innovative and prolific in their work. The research has identi­ fied innovative aspects of Byers• work, such as his use of adobe brick and use of contemporary floor plans in period style houses. The research has identified the prolific nature of the work of the two architects in three categories of design: Adobe, Monterey Colonial and the Period Revival house. They built 67 houses over a twenty year span. In studying the work of Byers and Muir, it became clear that the aesthetic appeal of their design executions was very strong. 94

They showed strength in a number of design areas such as in the use of materials, the use of mass, the use of good proportion, the use of historic details, and the use of the play of light and shadow on adobe walls. This they contributed to the architectural heritage of Southern California and are worthy of a place in history. .. BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. PRIMARY SOURCES

Periodicals

1. "Azusa, California Residence of Wheeler Chase." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 55, (March 1939), p. 20-21.

2. "Beach Houses." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 37, (March 1930), p. 34-41.

3. "Beverly Hills Residence of Woodsworth Glum." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 45, (February 1934), p. 16-18.

4. "Brentwood Park Hot:Jse of A. t4. Chaffey." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 58, (January 1941), p. 24.

5. "Four Houses with Excellent Sites." Architectural Record. Vol. 8, (March 1952}, p. 172-178.

6. Forbes, Frederick B., "Earthquake Resistance to Adobe Con- struction." Architect and Engineer. Vol. 99, (November 1929), p. 49.

7. Goodrow, Marc N., "Ancient Adobe for Modern Houses." Archi- teet and Engineer. Vol. 99, (November 1929), p. 35-46.

8. , "California Country Houses." Architect and Engineer. Vol. 105, {IV!ay 1931), p. 27-52.

9. Hardman, B. Reede. "A Modern Adobe House." The Architect and Engineer. Vol. 118, (April 1934), p. 23-28.

10. "House in Santa Monica Canyon." Architectural Forum. Vol. 9, (August 1943), p. 90-91. 11. "House of Walter Armacost in Los Angeles." Architectural Record. Vol. 74, (September 1933), p. 219.

·12. "House of Larry Crabbe." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 57, (September 1940), p. 35.

13. "Los Angeles English Farmhouse." California Arts and Archi- tecture. Vol. 48, (December 1935), p. 17-20.

14. "Mandeville Canyon Residence of Hugh B. 1VIartin." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 57, (June 1940), p. 30.

95 96

15. Martin B. Darbyshire. 11 Living in an Old Ranch House. 11 Arts and Decoration. Vol. 43, (December 1924), p. 75-93.--

16. Maclay, Mira, "A Survival of Spanish California, the Historic Castro Adobe ... California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 38, (August 1930), p. 19-21.

17. MacMillen, Mary. "The Governor's House was Adobe ... California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 55, (March 1939), p. 16-17.

18. Morrow, Irving F. 11 A Revival of Adobe Building. 11 Architect and Engineer. Vol. 69, (April 1922), p. 47-58~

19. , "Folk Song. 11 Architect and Engineer. Vol. 81, (December 1924), p. 75-93. .

20. Newson, Archie T. "Style California Colonial. 11 Arch{tect and Engineer. Vo,-. 123, (October 1935), p. 10.

21. Newton, Douglas. 11 A House that takes the Line of the Hills. 11 Arts and Decoration, Vol. 50, (April 1939), p. 32-34.

22. Oyer, Dorothea. 11 El Paseo de Los Angeles is restored, the Avila Adobe saved and now 01 vero Street teams with Life. 11 California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 38, (October 1930), p. 46-47.

23. Raiguel, William 0. "The Cradle of California Architecture." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 41, (January 1932), p. 30 ..

24. "Residence of H. W. Lewis. 11 California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 69, (January 1952), p. 29.

25. 11 Residence of Mrs. Zo 1 a Ha 11. 11 Ca 1 i forni a Arts and Architec- ture. Vol. 69, (January 1952), p. 29.

26. 11 Santa Monica House of C. E. Vesy. 11 American Architecture. Vol. 149, (August 1936), p. 48.

27. 11 Santa Monica Residence of Irvin S. Cobb. 11 California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 49, (March 1936), p. 12-14.

28. Smith, C. 11 A Thousand Women in Architecture. 11 Architectural Record. Vol. 103, (March 1948), p. 105-113. Includes biographical sketch of Edl~ Muir.

29. The Architect and Engineer. Vol. 99, (November 1929), p. 34. Biography of John Byers. 97

30. "Up to date Ranch House in the California Hills." Arts and Decoration. Vol. 45, (February 1937), p. 17.

Articles by Byers

31. Byers, John. 11 Adobe Houses." Architect and Engineer. Vol. 167, (October 1946), p. 12-26. 32. , "At Home in the Desert." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 52, (October 1937), p. 16-17. · 33. , "Bel Air Residence of Phillip Ilsley ... California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 35, (April 1929), p. 29-33.

34. , . 11 House of Arthur Rossen, Santa Monica." Architectural Record. Vol. 73, (April 1933), p. 266. 35. , 11 House of Julian S. Nolan, Palm Springs." American Architect. Vol. 143, (March 1933), p. 63-66. 36. , "House of J. Derry Kerr. 11 Architectural Record. Vol. 72, (November 1932), p. 135.

37. , "House of r~r. and Mrs. J. D. Kerr, Brentwood Park ... American Architect. Vol. 148, (June 1936), p. 78. 38. , 11 The Influence of Adobe in California." California Arts and Architecture. Vol. 35, (April 1929), p. 29-33. 39. , "What I like about this House ... House and Garden. Vol. 60, (July 1931), p. 66.

Personal Interviews 40. Johnson, Mrs. Harry, 201 South Rockingham, Brentwood Park. Relative of Byers and lived in Byers• designed house. September 29, 1978. 41. Storrs, Les, 252 21st Street, Santa Monica. Writer and historian. August 11, 1978. 42. Walsh, Elliot, 818 26th Street, Santa Monica. Architect. May 19, 1978. 98

B. SECONDARY SOURCES

Books

43. Allsopp, Bruce. The Study of Architectural History. New York: Praeger Publications, Inc., 1970. 44. Baer, Kurt. Architecture of the California Missions. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1958. 45. Banham, Reyner. Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. London: Penguian, 1971. 46. Basten, Fred. Santa Monica Bay, The First Hundred Years. Los Ange,les: Douglas West Publishers, 1974. 47. Beacham, Hans. The Architecture of Mexico, Yesterday and Today. New York: Architectural Book Publishing Company, 1969. 48. Bell , Horace. Reminiscences of a Ranger. Santa Barbara: Wallace Hebberd, 1927. 49. Carr, Harry. Los Angeles, City of Dreams. New York: D. Appleton Century Company, 1935. 50. Caughey, John Walton. California. New York: Prentiss Hall, Inc., 1953. 51. Chapman, Charles E. A History of California--The Spanish Period. New York: MacMillen Company, 1923. 52. The Founding of Spanish California. New York: MacMillen Company, 1916. 53. Cleland, Robert Glass. Cattle on a Thousand Hills. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie Press, 1941. 54. Dana, Richard Henry. Two Years Before the Mast. Clinton, Massachusetts: Airmont Classic, 1965. 55. Early, James. Romanticism and American Architecture. New York: A. B. Barnes, 1965. 56. Fitch, James. American Building: The Forms That Shape It. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1965. 99

57. Furneaux, Peter. A Concise History of California Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, Limited, 1969. 58. Gebhard, David and Robert Winter. A Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California. Santa Barbara: Peregrine Press, 1977. 59. Gebhard, David and Susan King. A View of California Architec- ture, 1960-1976. San Francisco Museam of Modern Art, 1976. 60. Gowans, Allen. Images of American Living. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1964. 61. Hill, Lawrence. La Reina, Los Angeles in Three Centuries. Los Angeles: Security Trust and Savings Bank, 1929. 62. Hunter, Paul Robinson. Residential Architecture in Southern California. American Institute of Architects, California Chapter, 1939. 63. Ingersoll, Luther. Ingersoll's Century History, Santa Monica Bay Cities, 1542-1908. Los Angeles: Luther Ingersoll, 1908. 64. Jencks, Charles. Modern Movements in Architecture. New York: Anchor Books, 1973. 65. Johnson, R. J. Urban Residential Patterns. New York: G. Bell, 1971. 66. Kennedy, Robert Wood. The House and the Art of Its Design. New York: Progressive Architecture Library, 1966. 67. Keyes, Margaret N. Nineteenth Century Home Architecture of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1966. 68. Kirker, Harold .. California's Architectural Frontiers. Santa Barbara: Peregrine Smith, Inc., 1973. 69. Lewis, Oscar. Here Lived the Californians. New York: Rinehart and Company, 1957. 70. Marquez, Ernest. Port of Los Angeles, Phenomenon of the Railroad Era. San Marino: Golden West Books, 1975. 71. McCoy, Esther. Five California Architects. New York: Reinhold Book Company, 1960.

.. 100

72. McGroarty, John Steven. Los Angeles, From the Mountains to the Sea. Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1921. 73. McHenry, Paul. Adobe, Build it Yourself. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1973. 74. Nelson, Maidee. California, Land of Promise. Idaho: The Caxton Press, 1962. 75. Newcomb, Rexford. Spanish Colonial Architecture in the United States. New York: J. J. Augustin, 1937. 76. Pierson, William. American Buildings and Their Architects. New York: Doubleday, Vol. 1, 1970. 77. Rand, Christopher. Los Angeles, the Ultimate City. New York: Oxford Unfvers~ty Press:, 1967. 78. Regan, Michael. Mansions of Los Angeles. Los Angeles: Regan Publishing Company, 1965. 79. Robinson, W. W. Santa Monica, A Calendar of Events that made a City. Title Insurance and Trust Company, Los Angeles, 1875-1950. 80. , Ranchos Become Cities. Pasadena:· San Pasquel Press, 1939. 81. Rosengarten, A. A. Handbook of Architectural Styles. New York: Charles Schribner•s Sons, 1895. 82. Scully, Vincent. The Shingle Style. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971. 83. Spalding, William Andrew. History of Los Angeles City and County. Los Angeles: J. R. Finnell Company, 1931. 84. Storrs, Les. Santa Monica, Portrait of a City. Santa Monica: Santa Monica Bank, 1974. 85. Young, Betty Lou. Rustic Canyon. Santa Monica: Casa Vieja Press, 1975. 86. Webb, Edith Buckland. Indian Life in the Old Missions. Los Angeles: Wa~ren Lewis, 1952.

87. Whiton, Sherrill. Interior De~ign and Decoration. New York: J. B. Lippencott, 4th Edition, 1974. 101

88. Workman, Boyle. The City that Grew. Los Angeles: The Company, 1936.

Periodicals

89. Gebhard, David. 11 The Spanish Colonial Revival in Southern California." Journal of Society of Architectural Historians. Vol. 26, (May 1967), p. 131-147.

90. Skjelver, Mabel R. 11 The Historical Method for Research in Home Economics." Journal of Home Economics. Vol. 63 No. 2, (February 1971), p. 107-111. 91. Who Was Who in America. Vol. V (1969-1973), p. 106, Biography of John Byers .

Theses

92. Davis, Ruth Ann. 11 The Relationship of Art Deco Design to Contemporary Furniture Design." Unpublished Master's Thesis, Iowa State University, 1974.

93. Donnan, Julie Devault. 11 Restoration of a 1845-1850 West Georgia Dwelling with Emphasis on Authentic and Con­ temporary Interiors ... Unpublished r-'laster's Thesis, Auburn University, 1972.

94. Erikson, Dorothy Karen. 11 Restoration? Demolition? An Antebellum Home ... Unpublished Master's Thesis, Kansas State University, 1973.

95. Flanagan, Sister Mary Irene, C.S.J. 11 The Historical Development, Design and Furnishing of Doheney Hall, the Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Doheney Now the Doheney Campus of Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, California ... Unpublished Master's Thesis, San Jose State College, 1967.

96. Harrigan, James. 11 The Spanish Revival in the United States ... Unpublished Master's Thesis, South Illinois State University, 1969.

97. Hyers, Louise, James. 11 Study of the Historical and Aesthetic Characteristics of Two Nineteenth Century Houses in Athens, Georgia ... Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Georgia, 1969. 102

98. Johnstone, Mary Louise. 11 A Historical Study of Two Resi- dences in Stillwater, Oklahoma ... Unpublished Master•s Thesis, Oklahoma State University, 1970.

99. Tully, Wanda. 11 An Historical Study of Five Buildings Selected as Oklahoma Landmarks ... Unpublished Master•s Thesis, Oklahoma State, 1954. 100. Weimer, Doris Jean. 11 An Historical Study of Victorian and Spanish Architecture of Four Nineteenth Century Houses in Ventura County ... Unpublished Master•s Thesis, California State University, Northridge, 1975.

101. Whitmore, Helen S. 11 The Carroll Hansion, Eight Hundred East Lombard Street, Baltimore, Maryland. An Historical and Architectural Study. 11 Unpublished Master•s Thesis, University of Maryland, 1969.

Personal Interviews 102. Gebhard, David, professor of architectural history and director of the Art Galleries, University of California, Santa Barbara. June 2, 1978. 103. McCoy, Esther, architectural critic and author. May 3, 1978. 104. Young, Betty Lou, 550 Latimer Road, Santa Monica; author and historian. May 19, 1978.

Newspapers

11 11 105. Santa Monica; An Outline of Its History , Santa Monica Evening Outlook, May 17, 1975, p. 3.

106. 11 Trees of Santa Monica. 11 Santa Manica Evening Outl oak, July 19, 1975, p. 8.

11 11 107. The Gold Coast , Santa t4onica Evening Outlook, May 18, 1978, p. 18.

Dictionaries 108. Peglar, Martin. The Dictionary of Interior Design. New York: Bonanza Books, Copyright f4CMLXVI. 103

109. Saylor, Henry H. Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1963. 110. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language. New York: The World Publishing Company, 1974. APPENDIX List of Byer and Muir Houses for which there are Addresses, Dates, Plans, Renderings, Photographs and/or Detail Drawings at University of California, Santa Barbara Art Gallery.

St~le Date Owner Address Adobe Monterey Period 1916 Byers 547 7th St., Santa Monica Maybecki an 1919 Johnson 201 S. Rockingham, Brentwood * 1920 Fuller 304 18th St., Santa Monica * 1921 Irvine 215 Amalfi, Pacific Palisades * 1921 Flint 701 Ocean Front, Santa Monica * 1922 MacBennett 404 Georgina, Santa Monica * 1922 Arthur Del Mar * 1922 Bradbury 102 Ocean Way, Santa Monica Andalucian 1922 Rossen Santa Monica Adobe 1923 Peck San Fernando Valley * 1924 Ahern 1707 San Vicente, Santa Monica * 1924 Carillo 1602 Georgina, Santa Monica * 1924 Gorham 326 Adelaide Dr., Santa Monica *

104 li .Sttle Date Owner Address Adobe Monterey Period 1924 Zimmer 2101 La Mesa Dr., Santa Monica Cuban ~·1924 Bowland 12322 23rd Helena Drive * Off Carmel ina, Brentwood 1925 Barel ay 1425 Monaco Dr. , Pacific Pa 1i sades * 1925 Bundy 2153 La Mesa Dr., Santa Monica * 1925 Armstrong 1717 San Vicente, Santa Monica * 1925 Hamilton 193 N. Carmelina, Brentwood * 1925 Stedman 363 N. Carmelina, Brentwood * 1925 Murray 436 N. Carmelina, Brentwood * 1926 Merritt 12921 Evanston, Brentwood * 1927 Tuttle Los Tunas, Hidden Valley, Calif. * 1927 Kirk 342 N. Rockingham, Brentwood Cape Cod 1927 Goodrich 333 Copa de Ora Road, Bel Air Tudor 1927 Schneider Tudor 1927 Del Valle 13515 D'Este Dr., Pacific Palisades *

1927 .. Byers 246 26th Street, Santa Monica * 1927 Byers 2034 La Mesa Dr., Santa Monica *

105 St~le --.--Date Owner Address Adobe Monterey Period lj . 1928 Bundy 1018 Ocean Front, Santa Monica * 1928 Netcher 1022 Ocean Front, Santa Monica Italian 1928 Sunday 2091 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood * 1929 French Hidden Valley * ' ,, 1929 Campbell Victorville * 1929 Bancroft 1024 Ocean Front, Santa Monica Cape-Cod 1929 Nolan Palm Springs * 1929 Kenaston · Palm Springs * 1930 Kerr 428N. Carmelina, Brentwood * 1930 Harris Federal 1930 Thalberg 707 Ocean Front, Santa Monica French Normandy 1931 Hasbrouck 524 Bon Hill Road, Brentwood French Normandy 1931 Robbins 717 Hillcrest, Flintridge Andalucian 1931 Kirkpatrick Apple Valley * 1932 Smith Vancouver, British Columbia Ranch 1933 Clum 515 Lorna Vista Dr., Beverly Hills Tudor

l 06 t

.II

Style Date Owner Address AdOoe Monterey Per16d 1933 McCrea 245 S. Rockingham, Brentwood Tudor 1934 Fall en Santa Monica Federal 1934 Getty 270 Ocean Front, Santa Monica Cape Cod 1934 Schuster Encinal, off Broad Beach, Malibu Cape Cod 1935 Barrett 1030 Bieneveneda, Pacific Palisades Tudor 1935 Cox 517 Greencraig Road, Brentwood Tudor 1935 Whittier 10451 Bellagio Road, Bel Air Tudor 1935 Templeton. 530 S. Westga~e, Brentwood Cape Cod 1936 Temple 231 N. Rockingham, Brentwood 11 English Norman I Farmhouse" 1936 Chase 829 N. Citrus Avenue, Azusa Tudor 1936 Wanger Delfern, Holmby Hills Tudor 1936 Kenas ton 914 Corsica, Pacific Palisades * 1937 Glass 768 Holmby, Westwood Federal 1937 Gross 738 Sorbonne, Bel Air Tudor 1937 Harrison Birchwood Drive, Los Angeles Tudor 1937 Herbert 620 San Lorenzo, Santa Monica Canyon Tudor

107 't

,.!:".:. ,. ~~'·· Sttle Date Owner Address Adobe Monterey Period 1937 Il sl ey 470 Down Road, Brentwood Bermudan 1937 Sherman 2088 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood Ranch 1937 Young 2441 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood Tudor 1938 King 1429 Stone Canyon Road, Bel Air Tudor 1938 Baker 2257 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood Tudor 1938 Martin 13160 Boca de Canon Lane, Brentwood Ranch 1939 Manni ere 220 Bentley Circle, Bel Air Cape Cod 1939 Parkford. 2401 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood Cape Cod 1939 Cromwell 11257 Pi:ckford, Los Ange 1es Tudor 1939 Chaffey 26 Oakmont Drive, Brentwood Tudor 1939 Karshner 1201 Stone Canyon Road, Bel Air Cape Cod 1940 Pavetti 2020 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood Cape Cod

1940 Bing '380 Carolwood, Bel Air I( . Cape Cod

108