With the blizzard now passed and the big dig to begin, I thought everyone could use some pictures from the land of palm trees and no snow: Los Angeles. During the holidays, I went to LA and explored the mid-century modern and modern homes throughout the city. From the ever-present modest dingbats to the stunning mid-century modern homes in exclusive Trousdale Estates, it is always fascinating to see the breadth of modern residential architecture in Southern California. The dingbat is one of the most common housing types in LA–two- to three-story boxy structures built over parking space. They typically have cool names, numbers and Googie adornments.

This dingbat in West Hollywood is a bit more staid than others.

 

Besides the raised dingbats, there are plenty of other modest mid-century apartment complexes.  Here is one of my favorites with the walls of glass surrounding the stairwell and the cool screen block on the right.

This one on North Sweetzer in West Hollywood has an asymmetrical front gable that extends on the right side to cover the balcony.

Here’s a single-family Bauhaus-style home in West Hollywood.

Moving up into the hills above Hollywood, Trousdale Estates is the exclusive neighborhood in Beverly Hills packed with custom mid-century modern homes by  leading mid-century architects, such as Wallace Neff, Paul R. Williams and A. Quincy Jones. Always a haven for the stars, today many of Hollywood’s elite live there and have done restorations or major modern renovations. A numbers of houses have also been lost.

Here are some Venice Beach moderns–and palm trees–to end the trip. Hope this virtual tour helps you as we deal with all the snow. Stay warm and safe.