Holiday Tour

The 22nd annual West Adams Heritage Association historic architecture tour and progressive dinner will be held Saturday, December 6, and Sunday, December 7.

This year's tour neighborhood, the West Adams Avenues, is a long, narrow slip between Arlington & 13th Avenue, Adams Avenue and the 10 freeway, originally part of the Arlington Heights Township laid out in 1887 and largely developed between 1905 - 1919.

On Saturday, docent led tours through six houses depart on the half-hour, from 3 to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 3:30 to 5:45 p.m.
On Sunday, a food-less, self-guided walking tour is available from noon to 3 p.m*.

A fund raiser to benefit preservation advocacy and programs in West Adams, tickets are $85 (*$30 for the self-guided Sunday option sans grub) and must be purchased in advance. For more information, e-mail: wahaholiday@aol.com, or call 323-732-4223.

On Saturday I'll man my usual post, front porch docent at the "Soup House," pictured top.

Wednesday's Image (2)

The stairs are real brick. More insanity is exhibited in bathrooms than any other room.

Last week's image came from the grounds of the Durfee Mansion (aka Villa Maria).

Halloween 2008

Trick-or-treating ain't what it used to be, and not for mean streets, though fear trumps fact. On Halloween night, most houses present an unlit, non-participatory facade.
The demographics help explain why. Only about one-third of American households include children under 18, down from nearly half in 1950. On my block, only five households in 40 host young'uns full time.

In large parts of the city that sort of simple head count is anything but simple. The children of the well-to-do and middle-class are nearly invisible. Kids are shuttled to far-away alternative learning institutions or activities, where they spend dawn to dusk. Better than 50% are enrolled in after-school programs according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Unstructured outside play has disappeared in all but subsistence level neighborhoods*.

I was asked once by a parent, "if the neighborhood was safe enough for her kids to play outside."
"It's as safe as the next neighborhood," I responded, and in a reckless moment continued, "but since when do kids have time to play outside? Mine's in school till 3:30, with swimming or music lessons thereafter, homework to complete, dinner to eat, and a bath to take. Bedtimes's 8 pm."
"Gee," the parent responded after a moment, "I guess our schedule's about the same. Maybe on a weekend or during the summer, when they're not in camp or visiting relatives?"
"Maybe," I answered, "but with whom?"

*Traditional family values, in many forms, are most alive in the 'hood/barrio.

Wednesday's Image

Incredible masonry detail

More Finials

A bell tower bereft.

Further South on Hoover, a magnificent "turned" finial (note what resembles a series of ice-cream scoops). The late 19th century featured lots of great woodturning. The lathe, a spinning tool not unlike a potter's wheel, was newly motorized; resulting in a stream of wood shaped products: spindles, bead-and-stick designs, balustrades, finials.

By the middle of the Craftsman epoch, finials, roof crests, and the like, had disappeared from the home building lexicon. They were to make a comeback however as weathervanes during America's Spanish Revival craze. Medieval crafts, including metal working and wrought iron techniques (as opposed to cast-iron processes) were re-discovered and marvelously paired with the new vernacular in grilles, railings, door hardware, etc.

Fortifications

The spectator will often associate a preponderance of window bars and metal security fencing with unsafe conditions and high rates of crime. The pattern, as previously discussed in 30th ST Fortifications (12/3/06), is more complex. Metal security bars appear in upscale neighborhoods too, and remain in areas where crime has long ago decreased. In addition, ornamental wrought-iron grillwork was employed in many high style examples of the Spanish Revival (and some homeowners wish to emulate that feature).

A few homeowners mark the transition to private space imperiously, with hacienda-like walls and nearly windowless facades. It allows an occupant to survey a visitor unseen, like the screened oriels of Islamic houses, or the semi-silvered glass of an interrogation room. Others not only bar but block windows with large pieces of furniture. Portals to the outside world are closed, covered with paneling, paper, or drywall. The house is made impregnable, and contact with the outside world is thoroughly moderated. Frequently, this is a sign of severe depression, agoraphobia, or other mental illness.

Here an additional skein of privacy is rendered by peg board.

Frequently the poor, those least able to replace that which could be burgled, engage the most formidable security measures. While the most valued and valuable possession in many low income households is the tv, or other electronic accoutrements, cash is often kept at home as well, due to suspicion or unfamiliarity with banking services.

Defining a District

"Have you seen the new signs," asked the Harvard Heights mob challengingly.
I hadn't, and I tried to redirect, "No, but I sure like what Adams-Normandie did."
The H.H.-ers, young and brimming with Obama-made confidence were in no mood, "cut the crap Janeiro--pay your respects."

Jeez, I intoned, don't they realize I spend days shuffling from one historic district to the next, past all manner of markers and Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired displays?

Historic districts are typically areas of contiguous, concentrated cultural resource. Distinct signage can often help advertise and inform, while reinforcing ownership and an idea of place.

The most "successful" districts are often compact, aided by distinctive geographic features or barriers that interrupt continuity, like a small hill (Melrose Hill, Angelino Heights) or an uncharacteristic grid (Victoria Park, Alvarado Terrace). The Harvard Heights neighborhood boasts some of those attributes, ringed by high traffic streets, and bordered on the East by a cemetery, a large private school campus and the city's most important Greek Orthodox church.

The new signs are playful, yet meaningful, without resorting to tired imagery or cliche font. Bravo!

Finials

Finials (also known as Turret Caps or Roof Caps) are decorative roof top elements, once prominent during the Gothic Revival and Victorian Eras.

Image one, shows a hook-shaped model, inspired by Crockets, a feature common in Gothic buildings. The name Crocket derives from the diminutive of the French 'croc' meaning 'hook'.

Most finials terminate or crown a gable, pinnacle, or spire. An ornament mounted on the apex of a pediment however is called an Acroterion.

The bottom image offers a variety, including those of metal (often copper) and turned timber, plus the popular ball-style.

Pasadena on My Mind

I'm spending a lot of time in Pasadena. It began representing a Craftsman crazed buyer in Northeast Pasadena (see New Frontiers 10/27/2008). Then came Craftsman Weekend, Pasadena Heritage's annual celebration of the American Arts & Crafts movement; and, the various exhibitions devoted to the work of architects Charles and Henry Greene, at the Pasadena Museum of History, Pasadena Museum of California Art, and the Huntington Library.

I fill time between Crown City engagements photographing Shingle Style derivatives, mostly around the Governor Markham and Bellefontaine districts. Kathleen Tuttle's book on Sylvanus Marston, native son and prolific Pasadena Architect, informed my hunting grounds.

The common denominator is my love of wood, the medium through which I like things to be expressed. I appreciate the potential sensuality of plaster and concrete, the attributes of glass, the convenience and intensity of tile, the obvious durability of metals; still, none do I value so much as wood.

I like streets of trees and houses of wood.