Julia Morgan opens her own office
Posted by George Snyder at 5/8/2008 7:06 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
in 1904 in San Francisco [link]. Unlike me, Julia really wanted to be an architect and had petitioned the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris to admit her. They refused for two years, but eventually let her in.
The French Connection, continued.
The Style Normandie, ubiquitous in L.A. for reasons I have yet to fathom. Inspired by some swashbuckling silent movie with Douglas Fairbanks [The Three Musketeers (1921), The Man in the Iron Mask (1929)] maybe? Or some Hollywood mogul's wife's trip to France? I don't think you introduce this particular French style to southern California because of the weather. And no, this is not the Chateau Marmont but an apartment building on Grammercy near Wilshire, seen also Here.
Taking a break from the family snapshots. If you haven't, I recommend a visit Here for a comprehensive list of everyone who was guillotined during the French Revolution. Alphabetical, so you can look up your ancestors or those of your friends. Hours of fun.
Also, I've recently joined LibraryThing and I'm already hooked. Go Here for the catalogued libraries of the famous, including Marie Antoinette. Very entertaining.
You don't have to want to be an architect to love the French, but it doesn't hurt. Julia took her inspiration from a variety of styles, of course. And she was guided by the taste and interests of her client, like Hearst. Anyway, here's another one of my favorites, in the neighborhood:
The Du Barry Apartments, Korea Town adjacent. I thought the Maxfield Parrish lighting would bring out the signage against the sky, but alas, not completely. Not enough to give you the full effect. Wish you were here.
The French Connection, continued.
The Style Normandie, ubiquitous in L.A. for reasons I have yet to fathom. Inspired by some swashbuckling silent movie with Douglas Fairbanks [The Three Musketeers (1921), The Man in the Iron Mask (1929)] maybe? Or some Hollywood mogul's wife's trip to France? I don't think you introduce this particular French style to southern California because of the weather. And no, this is not the Chateau Marmont but an apartment building on Grammercy near Wilshire, seen also Here.
Taking a break from the family snapshots. If you haven't, I recommend a visit Here for a comprehensive list of everyone who was guillotined during the French Revolution. Alphabetical, so you can look up your ancestors or those of your friends. Hours of fun.
Also, I've recently joined LibraryThing and I'm already hooked. Go Here for the catalogued libraries of the famous, including Marie Antoinette. Very entertaining.
You don't have to want to be an architect to love the French, but it doesn't hurt. Julia took her inspiration from a variety of styles, of course. And she was guided by the taste and interests of her client, like Hearst. Anyway, here's another one of my favorites, in the neighborhood:
The Du Barry Apartments, Korea Town adjacent. I thought the Maxfield Parrish lighting would bring out the signage against the sky, but alas, not completely. Not enough to give you the full effect. Wish you were here.
Style Normandie? Is that what it's called? Crazy, I was thinking about you yesterday in relation to the Style Normandie question. I think I've narrowed in on the origins of its popularity in the 20s. It's to do with an exhibit put on by the auction house Lenygon and Morant in 1917 that sparked the Regency Revival which included the chateaux style, sez John Harris in
Moving Rooms: The Trade in Architectural Salvages. I am dying to get my hands on that 1917 catalog and wondered if you knew how. I bet it's at the Getty!
[1904 replies: I don't even know if that's the right name for it, but I DO know YOU are the one to write the book -- I'm thinking big-as-a-coffee-table art book style, with loads of fabulous pictures and scintillating commentary! Do it!]
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