Richard Neutra – IAMNOTASTALKER

May 3, 2017May 2, 2017

Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center from “Rosewood”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – stalking begets stalking. While out and about sightseeing filming locales in Orange County last month, the Grim Cheaper and I struck up a conversation with a friendly local couple who informed us that fave show Rosewood (well, it was a fave show until it jumped the shark recently) had just done some shooting at the Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center. So we headed right on over there and were both shocked at what awaited us! The library is one of the most architecturally unique, beautiful, and interesting spots I have ever had the pleasure of visiting!

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The Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center, which took 3 years to construct at a cost of $5 million, was opened to the public on April 2nd, 1975.

The property’s striking design came courtesy of Dion Neutra, son of Richard Neutra, the world-renowned modernist architect who gave us the Los Angeles County Hall of Records, the Ohara House from The Holiday, the Kauffman House in Palm Springs, and the Lovell Health House from L.A. Confidential.

The post-modern structure, which originally measured 74,000 square feet, was constructed out of volcanic rock, stone, wood, glass, and concrete .

Of the airy, light-filled space, which can hold 250,000 tomes, Dion said, “The idea was to place all readers in the outer portion of the floor area and concentrate the bulk of the book collection in a multi-tiered central core, brilliantly illuminated.”

I’d say he succeeded brilliantly with his plan. Dion’s creation is a bright, peaceful, and bucolic respite. I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to read, study or quietly contemplate.

The design could not be more unique – or open. As a 1975 Daily Pilot article stated, “The book stacks are centralized with all activity rooms located on the perimeter of the stacks, removing the cluttered look of most libraries.”

The building also boasts floor-to-ceiling windows on its rear side, which only adds to the site’s overall open aesthetic and affords visitors incredible views of Central Park, which is situated just outside of the library’s doors.

Though with all of its lush foliage, the interior itself almost feels park-like.

The Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center also features skylights, terraced reading decks, and seven interior fountains that Italian magazine Architecttura states “mask normal library sounds and permit conventional levels of conversation.”

The focal point of Neutra’s original design was a massive exterior spiral entrance ramp.

The concrete ramp, situated amidst a fountain, features seating areas, planters, and water displays.

In 1994, the library was expanded to 120,000 square feet, thanks to the addition of a large children’s wing, a 320-seat theatre, and 5 meeting rooms. Sadly, the project resulted in the enclosure of the front ramp and a massive overall of the site’s façade, which greatly altered Neutra’s design. You can see what the exterior of the building originally looked like here, as compared to its revamped state, which is pictured below.

Also altering the appearance of the library’s exterior is the fact that the huge moat-like fountain that surrounds it (which is very reminiscent of that of the John Ferraro Building in downtown L.A.) has been drained, for reasons I am sure have to do with California’s drought.

I can only imagine how stunning the views must be when the fountain is full.

In 2007, the library underwent another renovation, this time to restore Neutra’s original earth-toned color schematic to the interior.

Though the Huntington Beach Civic Center typically stands in for the East Miami Police Department on Rosewood, in Season 2’s “Half-Life & Havana Nights,” the Central Library was used instead. The scene in which Michelle Kelly (Joy Brunson) was brought in for questioning was shot just outside of the library on the pathway adjacent to the property’s large tiered fountain.

Later in the episode, the library’s east side (which I, unfortunately, did not get a photo of) masqueraded as the entrance to EMPD, where Harley (James Harvey Ward) was killed.

Central Park, which, as I mentioned earlier, is situated just outside of the library, was also featured in Rosewood, albeit briefly, in the Season 2 episode titled “Prosopagnosia and Parrot Fish,” in which it masked as a Miami cemetery.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center, from the “Half-Life & Havana Nights” episode of Rosewood, is located at 7111 Talbert Avenue in Huntington Beach.

October 21, 2014September 29, 2017

Los Angeles County Hall of Records

Today’s location is a serious fail on my part. For a couple of years now, I have had the Los Angeles County Hall of Records on my Haunted Hollywood To-Stalk list, not due to its filming history, but because I mistakenly thought the building was where Marilyn Monroe’s autopsy was performed in 1962. I finally stalked the Hall of Records while in L.A. a couple of weeks ago and added it to my blogging calendar. It was not until I sat down to write this post that I discovered my mistake – Marilyn’s autopsy actually took place at the similarly named Los Angeles County Hall of Justice. Whoops! (And yes, I really am that blonde! In my high school’s Senior newspaper, one of my best friends Scott bequeathed me “a clue.” I left him several years’ worth of memories and inside jokes condensed into a witty paragraph and he left me two words: a clue. I still haven’t gotten over that one, though his bequeath seems pretty fitting today. ;)) Because the Hall of Records has a series of rather spooky tunnels located beneath it, though, I figured the place was still Haunted Hollywood post-worthy, nonetheless.

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The Los Angeles County Hall of Records was designed by prolific architect Richard Neutra and his associate Robert Alexander in 1962. Neutra was also responsible for designing the Lovell Health House from L.A. Confidential, the Ohara House from The Holiday, and the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs.

The 15 story, T-shaped building was constructed out of glass, concrete, granite and terra cotta tiles.

Employing a similar system to one he used at the Kaufmann House, Neutra outfitted the south side of the Hall of Records with solar-activated aluminum louvers that would move throughout the day in order to keep the interior offices shaded. Sadly, those louvers, which are pictured below, have not been operational in years.

Ceramicist Malcolm Leland brought another unique element to the building’s façade. – an eight-story extuded terra cotta screen that covered the structure’s ventilation ducts. That screen is denoted with orange arrows in the photographs below.

The building’s original purpose was to house the department of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and its records (for which the property was named). To house those records, Neutra designed a a large windowless wing on the south side of the structure (denoted with orange arrows below). In 1991, the department and its records were moved to Norwalk, so “Hall of Records” is currently a bit of a misnomer. Following the move, the windowless wing was converted into office space for county workers.

Today, the Hall of Records is mainly occupied by the District Attorney’s office.

It is what is beneath the building that fascinates me, though. According to Atlas Obscura, eleven miles of underground tunnels run underneath the Hall of Records and its surrounding properties. The passageways connect the structure to the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the Hall of Justice and the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. The tunnels are closed to the public, but are apparently fairly accessible. What I wouldn’t give to see them!

The Hall of Records is also a filming location. For 2011’s The Lincoln Lawyer, the building’s hallways masked as the hallways of the courthouse where Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) defended Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe).

You can check out photographs of some of the areas that appeared in the movie here.

The underground tunnels have also appeared onscreen. The scene at the end of the 2008 thriller Eagle Eye that was supposed to have taken place below Washington, D.C.’s Library of Congress was actually lensed in the Hall of Records tunnels.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Los Angeles County Hall of Records is located at 320 West Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles.

December 21, 2011December 20, 2011

The Ohara House – aka Miles’ House from “The Holiday”

One location that my good friend/fellow stalker Lavonna suggested that I blog about during my Christmas-themed stalking week was the modernist abode where Miles (aka Jack Black) lived in the 2006 Nancy-Meyers-directed flick The Holiday. Ironically enough, just a few days after my conversation with Lavonna, my mom and I happened to catch The Holiday on TV and when a scene showing Miles’ residence popped up onscreen, she said, “Oh my gosh, what a cool house! Lindsay, you have got to find it!” Talk about synchronicity! So I started doing some research and quickly stumbled upon the flick’s production notes, which, amazingly enough, spelled out the property’s exact location. Whoo-hoo! I so love it when that happens! So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there to stalk the place this past weekend.

The Holiday’s incredibly informative production notes stated, “Miles’ house was designed by Richard Neutra, the Vienna-born master of Southern California modernism and is situated on Neutra Place in L.A.’s Silverlake [sic] area, near downtown.” As it turns out, in the 1950s and 60s, the legendary Neutra, who also designed the famous Kauffman house in Palm Springs which I blogged about last December, constructed ten residences on Silver Lake Boulevard and an adjoining cul-de-sac that is now known as Neutra Place. All ten dwellings were built in the Pavilion style – a design characterized by box-shapes, horizontal planes, open floor plans, and large plate glass windows. And towards the very end of that short Pavilion-home-lined cul-de-sac sits the property where Miles lived in The Holiday. In real life, it is known as the Ohara house and it was originally built in 1961 for June and Hitoshi Ohara and their two daughters. Sadly though, as you can see above, not much of it is visible from the street.

Because I was absolutely itching to see the property in person, I just had to climb up the front steps a tiny bit to catch a better peek. And I am very happy to report that the residence did not disappoint! As you can see above, it is absolutely spectacular in person! Even the Grim Cheaper, who is not fazed by much of anything, was impressed with it. In real life, the Ohara house boasts 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,564 square feet of living space, and a .23-acre plot of land, and was last sold in December of 2003 for a cool $1.2 million.

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The exterior of Miles’ house showed up only once, and very briefly at that, in The Holiday. I absolutely LOVE how it appeared in the movie, with its expansive front yard and cantilevered roofline all lit up. Sigh! What I would not give to live in a house like that!

The interior of the property, which is also quite spectacular, was featured a few times in the movie, as well.

On a celebrity side-note – While out doing some Christmas shopping in Beverly Hills this past weekend, the GC and I stopped into Madame Chocolat, which I blogged about back in January of this year, and who should be there but Madame Chocolat herself, Hasty Torres. I had met Hasty once before at the shop and did not ask her for a photograph, which I have always regretted. Well, believe you me, I was not going to make the same mistake twice and I am very happy to report that Hasty seemed seriously flattered when I approached her and could not have been more excited to pose with me. Love it! For those not in the know, Hasty is the proprietor of the ever-popular Madame Chocolat and has appeared in such shows as The Girls Next Door and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Ohara house, aka Miles’ house from The Holiday, is located at 2210 Neutra Place in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.

December 8, 2010December 8, 2010

The Kaufmann House – One of the World’s Most Famous Houses

I thought I’d take another break from my wedding blogging today to write about a location that has occupied a spot at the very top of my “To-Stalk” list for over two years now, but had, for whatever reason, eluded me up until this past weekend when the Grim Cheaper and I headed to Palm Springs for a little pre-Christmas getaway. While we were there, I made it a point to finally, finally stalk what is known as one of the most iconic and, perhaps, most famous houses in the entire world; a residence that is as well-known, if not more so, than the White House, the Playboy Mansion, Neverland Ranch, and Fallingwater all put together, architecturally speaking at least – Richard Neutra’s legendary Kaufmann house.

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The Kaufmann house was originally built in 1946 by world-renowned mid-century modernist architect Richard Neutra. Amazingly enough, the residence was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., the very same man who also commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to construct another of the world’s most famous houses – the property known as Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. It is amazing to me that two of the most iconic dwellings in the entire world were constructed for the same man, especially since they were designed by different architects. I can’t even imagine owning one of the residences, let alone both of them! But I digress. Anyway, Neutra designed the International-style Kaufmann House, or Kaufmann Desert House as it is also known, out of steel, aluminum, glass, and stone at a cost of $295,000. Famed photographer Julius Schulman’s 1947 images of the home turned the place into an architectural landmark virtually overnight, but, sadly, after Kaufmann’s death in 1955, the property sat vacant for several years. In the time period that followed, the pinwheel-shaped dwelling went through a succession of different owners – singer Barry Manilow even occupied the place for a few years – and a slew of unsightly renovations. In 1993, the Kaufmann House was purchased for a cool $1.5 million by an architectural historian named Beth Harris and her husband, an investment manager named Brent. The two quickly set about a massive painstaking and costly restoration of the entire property, bringing it back to its original glory. In a mind-boggling-bit of trivia, though, according to an October 2007 New York Times article, at the time the duo bought the residence, it had not only been on the market for over three and a half years, but was being listed as a “teardown”!

The Harrises had not actually originally set out to buy the home, but had been stalking the property (so love it!) when Brent noticed a “For Sale” sign situated among the overgrown foliage. The purchase turned out to be a fateful one, though, being that the couple’s decision to restore the residence is largely credited with setting into motion the massive mid-century modernist restoration movement that Palm Springs is now known for.

The Kaufmann House is not only considered to be one of Richard Neutra’s finest designs, but also one of the most important examples of mid-century modernist architecture in the entire world and one of the most publicized homes in architectural history. The property has been featured in countless magazines and periodicals over its 64-year history, including Palm Springs Life, Time, and Life Magazine, as well as in numerous architectural books. In 1996, it was designated a Class 1 Historic Site by the Palm Springs Historic Site Preservation Board.

When the Harrises divorced in 2007, they decided to sell their beloved property. But a unique house deserves a unique sale, so it was put up for purchase via an auction at Christie’s. Most unusual about the sale, though, was the fact that Christie’s categorized the home not as a residence or a piece of property, but as a work of art! The house sold at auction for a whopping $19.1 million, but fell out of escrow shortly thereafter. It hit the market once again a few months later, this time as a regular real estate sale, for just under $12.9 million, but I don’t believe it ever sold and it looks as if it has since been taken off the market.

The 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom, 3,200-square foot home, which sits on over 2 full acres of land, features floor-to-ceiling sliding (or “disappearing”) glass walls, indoor-outdoor living space, a wall of moveable aluminum sheets that can either be closed to keep out the sun or opened to take advantage of the mid-afternoon breeze, a second-story “gloriette” or outdoor sleeping area, a separate viewing platform, a large pool, a tennis court, and striking mountain views. You can check out some fabulous interior photographs of the Kauffman House here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Kaufmann house is located at 470 West Vista Chino in Palm Springs.