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The Usc Experiment in Modern Architectural Pedagogy

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The Usc Experiment in Modern Architectural Pedagogy “WRITING OUR OWN PROGRAM”: THE USC EXPERIMENT IN MODERN ARCHITECTURAL PEDAGOGY, 1930 TO 1960 by Deborah Howell-Ardila A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION December 2010 Copyright 2010 Deborah Howell-Ardila Acknowledgements It would be difficult to imagine a finer group of scholars to have lent their time and expertise as committee members and outsider readers for this particular study. It’s a pleasure to turn to the task of thanking them now. Several summers back, I attended Kenneth Breisch’s summer program in historic preservation at USC, known to initiates as summer “boot camp.” Ken’s knowledge and presentation of the topics, and the caliber of students in attendance, convinced me to enroll in USC’s Historic Preservation program. Ever since, I’ve had a growing list of reasons to thank Ken: for his inspiring lectures on architectural history and historic preservation, for advice and guidance on this thesis and many other projects, and for his never-flagging enthusiasm and sense of humor. I’d also like to thank Ken for suggesting the initial direction of this thesis and for photographing, on short notice, the USC demonstration house that turned up in the course of this research. I also thank Ken for designing and leading a program at USC that encourages students to connect the dots between academic architectural history and the street-level view. I’d also like to express my immense gratitude to Kathleen James-Chakraborty— for defining the gold standard for an academic architectural historian, through the originality and integrity of her scholarship; for always beating the deadline and the odds when it came to returning comments; for the insightfulness and rigor of her critique; and for many enjoyable hours spent attending her architectural history lectures at UC Berkeley back in the mid-1990s. ii My third committee member, Emily Bills, also shared her time and nuanced work on Esther McCoy. I’d like to thank Emily for our productive and enjoyable conversations about the direction of this thesis and SoCal modernism; for her participation in the Oral History Project round table discussion; and for her close reading of this thesis and many helpful suggestions. I am enormously grateful to my outside readers, architectural historians William Littmann and Barbara Lamprecht, whose own work on the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design and Richard Neutra, respectively, represents a standard to which to aspire. Bill and Barbara contributed generously of their time and expertise in sharp, close reviews of this thesis, and I’m grateful to them. Stephen Tobriner, Greg Hise, William Deverell, and Dana Cuff also provided advice and insights along the way. I would be remiss were I not to thank those who have participated in the USC School of Architecture Oral History Project. This thesis only begins to draw on the material provided by the USC alums, local architects, and historians who’ve participated so far: Rudi DeChellis, Ena Dubnoff, Eugene Flores, Frank Gehry, John Grist, Ray and Shelley Kappe, John Kelsey, William Krisel, Randell Makinson, Carl McLarand, Ed Niles, John Reed, Frank Sata, Dennis Smith, Greg Walsh, Eugene Weston III, and Chet Widom. My thanks also go to Dottie O’Carroll, Douglas Noble, and Anjie Emeka of the USC School of Architecture, the Historical Society of Southern California for partially underwriting the Oral History Project, and the Gamble House for hosting two round table discussions. My colleagues at Sapphos Environmental, Inc., in Pasadena, California, each had valuable insights to share about considering, then determining, contextual as well as iii architectural significance (and always on deadline and a budget): our group manager and architectural historian, Leslie Heumann, and architectural historians Shannon Carmack Ciezadlo, Rebecca Silva, and Laura Gallegos Carias. I owe a particular debt to Leslie for sharing her vast knowledge of Southern California’s architectural heritage and for our ongoing conversations about architecture. I’d also like to thank David Lee, Cristina Carrillo Yamasaki, and Sam Ortiz for editing and formatting assistance. A special thanks goes to the founder and principal of Sapphos Environmental, Inc., Marie Campbell, for having the imagination and chutzpah to allow her staff to stretch beyond their comfort zones, in the direction their interests lead them. This study benefited greatly from the assistance of Claude Zachary and Dace Taube of the University of Southern California Libraries; Tony Gonzalez of the USC Architecture and Fine Arts Library; Waverly Lowell, Environmental Design Archives, College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley; Robert D. Montoya, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA; Jennifer Whitlock, Architecture & Design Collection, University Art Museum, UC Santa Barbara; and independent scholar and architectural historian John Crosse. I’d also like to extend a special thanks to John Reed for being the first person to mention Weatherhead’s woefully under-researched role at USC, and Aimee Lind of the Getty Research Institute (by way of her father, John Merritt) for suggesting the same was true for Arthur Gallion. And most of all, infinite gratitude to my family, David and Alejandro, for their support and love, and for being el sol de mis días. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments ii List of Figures vi Abstract x Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Milestones: Arthur Weatherhead and the USC 19 College of Architecture, 1919 through 1945 Section 1 Department of Architecture, 1919 to 1930 19 Section 2 College of Architecture, 1931 to 1939 33 Section 3 Transitional Years, 1939 to 1945 39 Chapter 2 Beaux-Arts to Modern: Weatherhead’s The History of Collegiate 46 Education in Architecture, in Context Section 1 The Beaux-Arts: A Brief Sketch and Early Critiques 47 Section 2 Pioneering American Departures from the 52 Beaux-Arts System, 1919 to 1935 Section 3 Art versus Pragmatism: The Debate on 62 Architectural Education Chapter 3 The USC Experiment: Core Ideas behind the Curriculum, 75 1930 to 1944 Section 1 The Philosophy behind the USC “Experiment” 76 Section 2 Contemporary Architecture and “California Living”: 115 Local Press Coverage in the 1930s and early 1940s Chapter 4 The USC Experiment: Curriculum, Faculty, and Projects, 131 1930 to 1960 Section 1 Pre- and Postwar Snapshot: 1937 and 1957 132 Section 2 Design Curriculum 134 Section 3 Traditional Methods and Historical Precedent 177 Section 4 Pragmatism: Bridge between Classroom and Office 184 Section 5 Social Responsiveness 190 Section 6 Allied Fields: Industrial Design 214 Chapter 5 “The Challenge of the Postwar World Is Here”: 224 Arthur Banta Gallion and Continuity and Change, 1945 to 1960 Conclusion 244 Bibliography 251 v List of Figures Figure 1 Thompson/Moseley House, Buff, Straub & Hensman, 1959 3 Figure 2 Thompson/Moseley House, Buff, Straub & Hensman, 1959 3 Figure 3 Frank House, Buff, Straub & Hensman, 1957 4 Figure 4 Plan, Frank House, Buff, Straub & Hensman, 1957 5 Figure 5 Case Study House 22 (Stahl House), 1960, Pierre Koenig 6 Figure 6 Case Study House 22 (Stahl House), 1960, Pierre Koenig 7 Figure 7 Plan, Case Study House 22, 1960, Pierre Koenig 7 Figure 8 Arthur Clason Weatherhead, 1939 20 Figure 9 Courtyard of USC Department of Architecture, circa 1926 30 Figure 10 USC Department of Architecture, 1928 32 Figure 11 Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity and USC Staff and Faculty, 1935/1936 36 Figure 12 Harris Hall, USC College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1940 40 Figure 13 Harris Hall, USC College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1940 41 Figure 14 School of Architecture, 1930, El Rodeo Yearbook 77 Figure 15 College of Architecture, 1933, El Rodeo Yearbook 78 Figure 16 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1934, El Rodeo Yearbook 79 Figure 17 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1935, El Rodeo Yearbook 80 Figure 18 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1936, El Rodeo Yearbook 81 Figure 19 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1937, El Rodeo Yearbook 82 Figure 20 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1938, El Rodeo Yearbook 83 Figure 21 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1939, El Rodeo Yearbook 84 Figure 22 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1940, El Rodeo Yearbook 85 vi Figure 23 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1941, El Rodeo Yearbook 86 Figure 24 College of Architecture and Fine Arts, 1943, El Rodeo Yearbook 87 Figure 25 College of Architecture, 1946, El Rodeo Yearbook 88 Figure 26 College of Architecture, 1947, El Rodeo Yearbook 89 Figure 27 School of Architecture, 1958, El Rodeo Yearbook 90 Figure 28 William Lee Judson, circa 1910, College of Fine Arts founder 93 Figure 29 USC School of Architecture Goes Hollywood, 1928 103 Figure 30 Bullocks-Wilshire Building, Parkinson & Parkinson, 1929 121 Figure 31 “Home Nestled Amid Foliage,” Proto-Ranch House, 1931 123 Figure 32 Raymond Kennedy and College of Architecture, 1937 140 Figure 33 “Architects to Finish Santa Ana Rejuvenation,” 1938 142 Figure 34 Editorial Cartoon, “Santa Ana Bound,” 1938 143 Figure 35 Planning Hollywood, 1940, USC Design Project 145 Figure 36 Planning Hollywood, 1940, USC Design Project 146 Figure 37 Planning Culver City, 1942, USC Design Project 148 Figure 38 “Class at S.C. Designs Cabins to Suit Landscapes,” 1941 152 Figure 39 Gordon Drake, USC Class of 1941, Presley House, 1947 158 Figure 40 Gordon Drake, USC Class of 1941, Presley House, 1947, Plan 159 Figure 41 Gordon
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