Julius Shulman & Architect James Meyer, Nov. 22, 2008

Julius Shulman & Architect James Meyer, Nov. 22, 2008, a photo by Michael Locke on Flickr.

The AIA/Los Feliz Home Tour of 2008 provided the opportunity to visit this recent addition to the architectural heritage of Los Feliz. Architectural Photographer Martin Schall (you-are-here.com) accompanied me on the tour. Connecting with the architect, he later called me and asked if I would be kind enough to introduce him to Julius Shulman. A few weeks later, we were in the Shulman home and studio in the Hollywood Hills, where Meyer proposed a project for Shulman to photograph, the architect's "Cloud House" in the Hollywood Hills.

In the photo, taken at the Cloud House in Los Feliz on November 22, 2008, Shulman explains how the house will be photographed to the architect. Meyer would later recount the experience in an article published in "Southbay Magazine", September/October 2009 paying tribute to the photographer and recounting the experience.

3469 Rowena Avenue c.1928; H&H Design Group, Landscape Design 2011

3469 Rowena Avenue c.1928; H&H Design Group, Landscape Design 2011, a photo by Michael Locke on Flickr.

I have driven by this delightful Storybook style house in Los Feliz hundreds of times, fascinated by its charm. The house has a French Provincial aesthetic with its Normandy tower and steep gables wtih rolled eaves. It has recently undergone a facelift, highlighed by the lovely new landscaping and stone walkway, designed by Nicole Hammacher and David Hamre of H&H Design Group. Nicole writes, "the “Gingerbread-Design” house, built in the late 20s by the Disney Studios, can probably tell stories. As one tale goes, the Disney executives used the house to entertain their “mistresses”! When we removed the pre-existing plants from the front of the house, we discovered long-buried ‘20s ironwork and other charming details hidden behind the towering jungle of junipers and Birds of Paradise that had grown up and over the house. The multi-layered design includes a limestone pathway, courtyard, and driveway…a glass-and-iron, half-moon cocktail bar attached to the courtyard, custom-built by David, as well as horticultural elements of: rare, dwarf peppermint trees; specially selected Malibu boulders; a wide array of ornamental grasses; as well as an antique burgundy birdbath surrounded by butterfly-loving plants".

4340 Melbourne Av. c.1909

4340 Melbourne Av. c.1909, a photo by Michael Locke on Flickr.

The earliest remaining homes in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles date from the year 1900. In fact there are less than 550 homes still standing that were built between 1900 and 1919. The following year there was an explosion of growth with 113 homes, at least that are still around. Most of the homes were designed in the Craftsman or California Bungalow style, and were situated in the vicinity of "Los Feliz Village", (the neighborhood directly south of Los Feliz Boulevard and north of Hollywood Boulevard) and the area designated as "Hollywood Grove", the neighborhhood east of Canyon Drive, west of Gramercy Place, and above Franklin Avenue.

A total of thirty-nine of the homes are located on Melbourne Avenue in Los Feliz Village, between the 4300 and 4600 block.

4426 Melbourne Av., c.1914

4426 Melbourne Av., c.1914, a photo by Michael Locke on Flickr.

The earliest remaining homes in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles date from the year 1900. In fact there are less than 550 homes still standing that were built between 1900 and 1919. The following year there was an explosion of growth with 113 homes, at least that are still around. Most of the homes were designed in the Craftsman or California Bungalow style, and were situated in the vicinity of "Los Feliz Village", (the neighborhood directly south of Los Feliz Boulevard and north of Hollywood Boulevard) and the area designated as "Hollywood Grove", the neighborhhood east of Canyon Drive, west of Gramercy Place, and above Franklin Avenue.

A total of thirty-nine of the homes are located on Melbourne Avenue in Los Feliz Village, between the 4300 and 4600 block.

Julia Faye House, H.P. Siberell, Builder 1922

Julia Faye House, H.P. Siberell, Builder 1922 a photo by Michael Locke on Flickr.

Originally built for Mable F.Farrell by contractor H.P. Siberell in 1922, the Georgian Colonial estate was the home of silent screen star Julia Faye., Cecil B. DeMille's mistress; some say DeMille owned the home and provided it for her to live in. Faye appeared in more DeMille movies than any other actress. including many of his silents and in every one of his movies beginning with "Union Pacific" in 1939. DeMille kept her employed in bit parts long after her career (and their relationship) was over, including his most famous film, The Ten Commandments (1956).

Cedars Estate, Xorin Balbes, Sue Wong & Zoltan Papp, Restoration 2003-2004

Cedars Estate, Xorin Balbes, Sue Wong & Zoltan Papp, Restoration 2003-2004
Originally uploaded by Michael Locke

Originally built in 1926, The 'Cedars' is one of the most storied old Hollywood glamour estates, originally built for film director Marcel Tourneur, and reputed to be the home of silent screen star Norma Talmadge, although never proven. In an interview published in 'Antiques & Fine Art' by Lynn Morgan, Sue Wong, an avid student of history and art claims ' Errol Flynn practiced his 'wicked, wicked ways here; Marilyn Monroe was a frequent guest. Howard Hughes played the grand piano in the solarium, and Johnny Depp lived here to do research for his role in Ed Wood because Bela Lugosi had lived here. The wrap party for Easy Rider was held here; Dennis Hopper shot some scenes for the movie here. It was also a big rock 'n' roll party pad. Arthur Lee of the band 'Love' lived here for a while.'
It is said that the home is a replica of a 17th Century Florentine villa owned by the Duke of Alba. It was last sold in August 2004, setting a record price of $5.3M for the Los Feliz area.

Schrage House, Raphael Soriano, Architect, 1951

Schrage House, Raphael Soriano, Architect, 1951
Originally uploaded by Michael Locke

Schrage House, Raphael Soriano, Architect, 1951
Along with his contemporaries, Gregory Ain, John Lautner, Charles & Ray Eames and Harwell Hamilton Harris amongst others, Raphael Soriano was in important contributor to the 'Second Generation' of California Modernists. Having worked with both Richard Neutra and Rudolf Schindler, Soriano provides a link between the two. Both Craig Ellwood and Pierre Koenig worked for Soriano, and Frank Gehry claims to have been strongly influenced by his work. His first residential commission was the Lipetz House in Silver Lake in 1936, which created a sensation at the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris, winning the prestigious Prix de Rome and establishing his reputation.