Station Fire

Shot some video over the past week. Descanso Tract is still standing!

August 26, 12:30 pm

August 26, 2 pm

August 27, 9am

September 4, 8am

Lautner's Hatherall House For Sale

Just came from an open house for this amazing property in Shadow Hills. Here's the link for info:

Coldwell Banker Los Feliz

Hoping someone wonderful will pick it up. The price is quite amazing, $1,595,000. Foothill Modern member, Ted Sprague, is the current owner. His taste is exquisite! Please refer to our link on the left for more history on the house.

PUT THE WORD OUT!!!!!!!!!

MCMs for Sale in Tujunga!

Tell a friend!

A handful of MCMs are presently on the market in our area and you know what they say... "Use it or Lose it!". As we know, this style of architecture is scarce enough as it is in our neck-of-the-woods, finding sensitive buyers before insensitive developers ruin them is an ongoing concern.


7109 Summitrose - 1953 Post & Beam.

This one looks like a steal at $429,000!!!
http://jenniemanders.com/index.php?action=listingview&listingID=35

11176 Plainview - 1961 Post & Beam
Price has mysteriously disappeared from the listing. Was in the mid 6's, now it's in the "under 600K" category. Looks amazing from the photos...
http://www.valleymodern.com/forsale/home_details.php?listing=14945&cat=













9831 Pali - 1953 Post & Beam - MLS# G2100006
$475,000 - the southern end of this street are all similar Eichler-esque models. This one looks like it has retained many original features including a kidney-shaped pool!

The Happy New Year Update!

Well, it's been a few months since we packed up the exhibit, something I can't quite believe. It was a tremendous success and from what the Foothill Moderns have heard, one of the most attended events at Bolton Hall. Kudos to all of you who contributed your time, energy, and sweat to make it happen.

Wanted to let you all know that Joseph Mailander's opening talk, "Preserve the Spirit: Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Sunland/Tujunga," is now available on line. It's audio only so shouldn't be hard to listen to or download. Just click on the photo or link below:

Exhibit Opening Event







As a result of this exhibit, Llew Keller Jr. contacted us (refer previous post) and paid his old neighborhood a visit in August with his wife Kathy and daughter Zoe. We threw a neighborhood party for him (Llew commented that he didn't remember the neighbors being so interesting or Tujunga being so green). It was a thrill to have Llew in the house he grew up in. Here's some pics from then and now:




Llew sitting on the edge of the fireplace around 1956. The wall behind him was removed by his parents in 1967 when the carport/storage room was converted to a living room.





Llew and his daughter Zoe, August 19, 2007.








As if this wasn't enough, another original resident, Bill Nakasone (6801 Apperson St.) contacted me in September. He and Llew were boyhood friends. They've been in contact and are planning to get together this summer. Here's the boys in 57 or 58 standing outside Llew's house:



Llew and his family might visit again this summer. I'm hoping to have some time to organize the materials from the exhibit along with the additional audio and video interviews Foothill Moderns conducted. So look out for upcoming announcements, and please let us know if you have any additional info about your house or any of the Foothill Moderns around us.

Llew Keller, Jr. Photos

Here's Llew and his father in the driveway of 6824 Apperson St. taken in 1955. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to receive these photos of the house. They really filled in some missing pieces for me, e.g. there was a storage room between the kitchen and bathroom, there was also a small storage room behind the carport, and then the cars - who knew!

So if you'd like to check out more photos go to: http://www.bampro.com/FM6824App.html

Julius Shulman; Modernism's Witness

Featured in L.A. Weekly's special LA People 2007

MCM Featured on Sunland-Tujunga Home Tour

6818 Apperson St., known as Hummingbird Heaven for the original family’s home-based bird feeder business, is a pristine example of the mid-century Post & Beam style, largely unaltered when its current owner purchased it in 2004. Built in 1952 by local developer and neighbor (on Haines Canyon) Victor Sease, this home design was considered thoroughly modern and cutting-edge in its day.

You will need to go to the Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Avenue, Tujunga, California 91042, (818) 352-3420, to buy tickets, Sunday May 6th from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

See you there!

Our Big Black Book Is Now In The Exhibit!

You can now see the original documentation for the houses included in the exhibit. Thank you Kathleen Travers for putting together this extraordinary appendix. Look up any of the house addresses and you will find the original paperwork from Building and Safety, plus some drawn plans, additional oral histories and much, much more. The book sits on the beautiful wood cabinet along the back wall, in front of the Scott House plans. I only had a few minutes to look through it today, but I will be back for a more in-depth study.

Don't forget the House Tour, Sunday, May 6th, 10:30 - 4pm!

Exhibit Update, Llew Keller Jr, Home Tour

Well, it's been over a month since the exhibit opened and I think we've all finally recovered. It was a tremendous success. Joseph Mailander gave a wonderful presentation at the opening, "Preserving the spirit---Mid Century Modern Homes In a New Century."

We've recently been contacted by Llew Keller, Jr. His parents, Gail and Llew Sr., lived at 6824 Apperson. Stay tuned for his photos of the house from 1954 through the 60's.

A reminder that the Sunland-Tujunga Home Tour is coming up on Sunday, May 6th. One of our houses will be featured, so we're hoping that as many of you as possible can attend and let the organizers know that MCM's need to be included every year. You can contact the Bolton Hall Museum for further info.

Exhibit Opening and Home Tour Info

Foothill Moderns: Innovative Architecture in Mid-Century Sunland/Tujunga, at Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga, from March 10—August 28, 2007, pays tribute to the innovative architecture of internationally renowned architects and explores their daring clients who enthusiastically embraced their vision and the iconoclastic spirit of the time.

The exhibition kicks off on Saturday, March 10, at 1:00 p.m. with the presentation "Preserving the Spirit: Mid-Century Modern Homes in a New Century" by Joseph Mailander, a Los Angeles-based writer. Admission is free; seating is limited.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the 12th Annual Sunland/Tujunga Historic Home and Garden Tour will feature a newly-restored Descanso Tract home. This year's tour is Sunday, May 6, from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.; tickets are available through Bolton Hall in advance and on the morning of the tour.

Foothill Moderns: Innovative Architecture in Mid-Century Sunland/Tujunga, March 10—August 28, 2007 at Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Ave., Tujunga, CA. Admission is free. Hours: Sun & Tues: 1 – 4 p.m., 2nd Sat of the month: 1 – 4 p.m. Open by appointment for Group Tours. Bolton Hall Museum: (818) 352-3420.

Local Schools

Our Lady of Lourdes School, 7324 Apperson St
Tujunga, is one of the local schools we're looking for info on. The building in this image was built in 1949. It's still there, anchoring the mid-century modern complex! Drive by and take a look.

Please let us know if you have info about this school, the Apperson Street Elementary School or the Pinewood Elementary School.

FM Event a Tremendous Success!

Friends, neighbors, historians and cultural critics gathered in one of the Descanso Tract houses on January 15th. A fabulous time was had by all. Many of us live in this tract and were eager to hear about and see recent updates to these structures. The discussion was very lively and inspired many to find photos and documents for our upcoming exhibit. Stay tuned for exhibit updates, and please let us know if you're interested in helping out.

DWP Buildings

You might have passed this wonderful example of modern architecture located at 7240 Valmont, and not noticed it! DS48 was built in 1968 by DWP personnel. DS72, located at 8636 Foothill, was built in 1960 also designed by DWP. Let us know if you see any additional buildings in the area appropriate to include in the exhibit. Thanks Marsha for doing the research on this.

Sease-Weston Connection in Haines Canyon

Thanks Steve for all your research on the Sease-Weston Connection. Everyone should go to the Descanso Tract link and the Manzanita Slope Development link for further info and pics on this topic. Also check out Andy Coburn's photos and Eugene Weston's bio.

St Estaban Houses, Tujunga, California by Eugene Weston

Eugene Weston designed two hillside spec houses for Victor Sease in 1951. The houses located at 6646 and 6648 St. Estaban, Tujunga, California were designed with two bedrooms and one bath in the post and beam style. In an effort to retain as many trees and surrounding hillside as possible, a small shelf six to eight feet wide was graded on the uphill side of the building site....

For more info, architectural drawings and photos go to the new St. Estaban Houses link.

Post Card Return Address Mix-Up

We just found out that our "mailman" decided to return mail addressed to Hummingbird Heaven, since he thought this was a former business address. The post office has been alerted that this is in fact the name of the house at 6818 Apperson, so... if your post card was returned please re-send it to Marsha Perloff, Hummingbird Heaven, 6818 Apperson St., Tujunga CA 91042. The mailman said he returned around four or so. Please let us know if your card was returned, thanks.

Koenig, Lautner and Neutra in Sunland-Tujunga

Who knew? Isn't it interesting that three of the most famous mid-century architects are right here in our neighborhood? Thanks to Steve and Martin for info on the Lautner Hatherall House. Along with links to these wonderful examples of MCM design, we've also posted the letter we're sending out to neighbors, inviting all to participate in our project. We look forward to hearing from anyone interested in helping us.

New Links Posted

We've listed links to the exhibit proposal as well as some current research including photos of the Sease tracts in Tujunga, an oral history from former Apperson St. resident Andy Coburn, and some photos from the San Fernando Valley Digital Library at Cal State Northridge. Some of the photos listed are not pertinent to what we're doing, but most of them will give you an idea of what Sunland-Tujunga looked like around the mid-century mark. If you have any additional links let us know.

MCM Exhibit at Bolton Hall March 10-August28

We are very excited to announce that Bolton Hall in Tujunga has accepted our proposal to mount an exhibit on MCM architecture in the Tujunga-Sunland area. There will be an opening reception on March 10, as well as a guest speaker that day. We are looking for help. If you would like to contribute to organizing this exhibit please let us know. We'll be posting more info shortly.

Welcome to Foohill Moderns!

We're a new group interested in creating awareness of the fabulous Mid-Century Modern architecture in the foothills around Los Angeles. So far we've had one meeting to get some ideas going. (We're scheduling another meeting for next month, will post here as soon as we have the date and location) We would love to have you join us. Projects include: organizing an exhibit, creating an index of architects represented in the area, recording oral histories of MCM residents, identifying houses and people to get involved, creating a contact list.

Are you one of these people we should know about? Let us know and stay posted for updates.