Los Angeles Architecture 101: Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Featured image credit: mbtrama As our Architecture 101 blog series has strived to illuminate, California has often stood at the forefront of America’s architectural development. But this arguably became most obvious in the 1940s with the introduction of today’s featured design movement. Since the mid-1950s, the term “mid-century modern” has been bandied about. But it […]

There’s No Place Like Dome: Why Isn’t the Dome House a More Popular Design Model?

It’s unfortunate that the dome house never really caught on as a viable alternative to boxier living. At first glance, dome houses seem like they’d be more trouble than they’re worth. We’re just too accustomed to more traditional home designs. But after reviewing the benefits and drawbacks of dome home life, it seems that it […]

LA Home Spotlight: Hollyhock House

Featured image credit: Codera23 Perched inconspicuously atop the 36-acre hilltop of Barnsdall Art Park, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House is a zenith of Los Angeles architecture. Wright designed the home at the behest of oil heiress Aline Barnsdall with construction beginning in 1921. Following a tense couple of years of design and construction, Barnsdall expressed […]

Absorption Rate Analysis – November 2024: Four Neighborhoods Start a Significant Trend… Will They Keep It Going?

After October’s near-unanimous surge deeper into the seller’s good graces, it’s no surprise that November offered more divisive absorption rates as neighborhoods evened out. Sure, four neighborhoods started a streak of two consecutive months marching further into seller territory. But we saw seven communities rise higher in the seller’s favor and five drop closer to […]

You Could Call the Nethercutt Collection a Museum for Rare Cars. You’d Be Half Right.

Featured image credit: ZR1748 Southern California is spoiled by its automotive museums. We of course have the Miracle Mile’s Petersen Automotive Museum. Then there’s the Mullen in Oxnard. But one that enthusiasts frequently overlook (likely because of its out-of-the-way Sylmar location) is the Nethercutt Collection and Museum, a breathtaking collection of classic, antique automobiles with […]

Is There a Reasonable Solution to the Onslaught of Hostile Architecture in Los Angeles?

You know things are bad when even the architecture is against you. Yet, most Angelenos express at least a passing familiarity with a concept called “hostile architecture.” Alternatively known as hostile urbanism or, by those supporting its use, defensive architecture, hostile architecture strives to use streetscapes and designs in public areas to put up some […]

From Venus with Love: The Integratron Brings Cosmic Peace to the Mojave Desert

Featured image credit: Jessie Eastland What is it about the isolation of the desert that drives people to search with such determination for profound, meaningful communication? It’s the conditions that birthed the Mojave Phone Booth: a remote payphone that inspired togetherness amongst lonely people at the end of the 1990s. And the Amargosa Opera House: […]

The Astonishing Floss Silk Tree is LA’s Strangest Plant. Is It Right for Your Yard?

Featured image credit: Mauroguanandi If you gave your three-year-old a box of crayons and told them to make up a tree, it might look a little like the floss silk tree. Appearing like flora from an alien world, the floss silk tree is characterized by its prickly trunk, cotton-bearing seedpods, and bountiful blossoms of pink […]