One might assume if a person has an interest in interior design, the passion would extend to the appreciation and history of architecture. Since what is home decor without the actual physical space the furnishing and decorative items occupy. But in reality, a great deal of the home decor sphere seems mostly disinterested in architecture, except in the cases when newer, glamourous designs are unveiled. Sadly, the people I see at home decor events are rarely the same people I see at historical architecture talks and tours (beyond landmark Midcentury “name” or Dwell-style home tours), with an obvious age/gender gap evident. It’s as if for the majority of people, even those versed in design and art, pre-1940’s buildings no longer matter.
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It’s a shame, since even Los Angeles is still rich with early pre-Modernist architecture strewn throughout the older regions of our city, if not in abundance in the Downtown historic core down all the way down to Long Beach, revealing the remnants of an era where detailed facades, crafted woodwork, and symbolic architecture gave cities a more cohesive identity lacking today.
The screens from the animated feature shown above were illustrated by Chris Ware for This American Life, a sobering reminder that an appreciated for the past is neither taught nor promoted, but possibly an innate characteristic of the few (something notably mentioned in 500 Days of Summer, which revealed a refreshing genuine affinity for Los Angeles’ neglected historical skyline; too bad I felt the rest of the film was too saccharine). We’re now more likely to settle for today’s “new” mediocrity than to stop and appreciate the excellence of yesterday’s craftsmanship, since much of our past lies dormant under the age and wear of neglect under the premise of ever-progress. A shame, since the progress of future designs depends upon an academic understanding of concepts and executions beyond what magazines or blogs show us as the flavour of the month.
Every city has it’s own Louis Sullivan to discover and cherish. For example, Los Angeles may claim John Parkinson and G. Edwin Bergstrom as our oft forgotten architectural heroes, names hardly ever uttered now except from the lips of historical architecture buffs but whose buildings still persevere. I hope some of you make the effort to visit Angelino Heights, the wonderfully quaint Heritage Square, take a walking tour of the Historic Core with the LA Conservancy, journey down for aLong Beach Historic Tour, or maybe even investigate West Adams, a Los Angeles neighborhood This Old House called the best neighborhood in California for old house lovers. Our city’s past is much more rich and glamorous than we could ever imagine…
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