I have always been a little obsessed with architecture, specifically housing. Growing up outside Los Angeles, everyone continuously referenced the Case Study Houses, and the work of Neutra, or Shindler, or Gehry. How great architects made innovations in residential architecture, most of which seemed to be in Malibu or Silver Lake or scattered throughout the LA area. Yet, I lived in the South Bay. I was desperate for a historically significant piece of architecture near me. I wanted to find something done by an iconic architect in my area.
The World In the Usual Way
There is some architecture of note in the South Bay; structures that were local legends, beautiful manors overlooking the beach, even homes preserved from the 1950s. I was passionate about discovering the architecture around me. So passionate that I would walk a mile from my house, passing two libraries to get to a different one I considered iconic.
So, imagine my excitement when I found out that there were three Frank Lloyd Wright projects, practically in my backyard. I obsessively researched each home and the chapel near them and tried to figure out the best way to visit. I drew and presented them in my classes, proud that I was the only person talking about FLW’s work in Palos Verdes.
And I truly was the only person talking about those three. Every documentary on the man would weirdly skip over his brief time in PV. Everyone fawned over the Hollyhock house; nobody talked about the Bowler house or the Lombardi house or Wayfarers Chapel. But I would! I would bring them up in conversation to convince all of my friends that we had to see these houses that no one else knew existed. Architectural marvels, I harped. Begrudgingly, they believed me, moving hell and high water to visit them.
We’ll Have a Good Time
At one house, a friend and I crashed into a bush, trying to get a closer view of it. Well-placed foliage completely covered the house; all we could see was a couple of blue icicle lights. At the other house, another friend I had goaded into the adventure, got stuck trying to pull out of a driveway nearby because it was much smaller than her truck. The house we were looking for was actually above us with about a third of it visible over the hill. None of us even got to see Wayfarers Chapel; the road was too narrow to stop or pull over and the chapel was tucked behind a hill. We went through absolute nonsense so that I could get a glimpse at all of these fantastic Frank Lloyd Wright originals this close to us.
My fascination with these three went on for a few years, from the beginning of my architecture course until about quarantine started this year. I fully believed that I had visited three of the most secretive projects of Frank Lloyd Wright. I, personally, knew of (and seen) the greatest hidden works of architecture that ever existed, and I was so kind as to share this grand secret with my friends.
My Boy Was Just Like Me
Well, no one who is familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright referenced these structures because they were not designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. They were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr., his son. Every piece of media that covered the work of FLW, Jr. always took care to explain that it was his projects and not his father’s. Those houses and the chapel were never listed in Frank Lloyd Wright’s work because it was not his work.
For a long time, in the middle of the night, my friends and I would drive around town, looking at all of these structures that I was convinced were the designs of an esteemed world-renowned architect, that was instead, the designs of his son. I made such a big deal out of them to convince everyone to drive around with me. I figured no one wanted to drive down narrow roads for a random house, no matter how strongly I felt about architecture. I also really did believe these were projects Frank Lloyd Wright did on the sly.
When You Coming Home?
The revelation (or sudden reading comprehension) did not necessarily change the experience I had with the buildings. I still think they are spectacular; they are phenomenal works of art that continue to inspire me every day. I loved traveling to find these things and doing it with my friends. I am sure none of them appreciate what a fuss made out of the buildings for a completely different architecture to design them. I appreciate their willingness to experience architecture with me, nonetheless.
As future and practicing architects, we have to remember how to appreciate quality design, not just a name. I have seen a few of the actual Frank Lloyd Wright designs in person, and none of them made me feel the way those three pieces made me. Sure, I am embarrassed to have made such a rookie mistake. However, in my excitement, I researched everything I could find about those projects. At any given time, I knew how far away we were from any of them; I became connected to them. The experience taught me to fully appreciate architecture.
I do not know the names of the architects who did many of my favorite homes in the South Bay, yet their work continues to inspire and influence the work I do today. If I never become a household name, I hope my work can drive one promising architecture student to preserve their legacy–even if that means driving backward into a bush or getting stuck in a driveway.
