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Harwell Harris Houses
A group of Angelenos finds a common link: They live in the small, distinctive homes designed by little-known Modernist architect Harwell Harris. "Harris could be considered the grandfather of California Modernism."
(LATimes)
1 Comment
How unfortunate that Harwell Harris’ own diminutive 1935 home was not featured in this story. Situated in the Fellowship Park area of Echo Park this still standing icon was described in 1944 by the Museum of Modern Art as: “A capacious low-hipped roof shelters a tiny hillside house of extraordinary freshness and charm.†The neighbors still refer to it as the Tea House for its Japanese sensibilities. The home clings to a 40-foot high sandstone shelf above wild landlocked lots below – where Harris’ own studio stood until it was accidentally set afire in the early 70s by a pot smoking hippy.
Just below Harris’ home was his 1942 Meier House that my wife and I were privileged enough to have rented some 13-years ago; a small redwood shed of a house with large wood and glass sliding doors that looked out onto a wildlife filled hillside and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond. Both homes were located along a narrow earthen trail some 600-feet from the nearest city street which made for rustic living, unfortunately the unbearable sound of the San Gabriel and Glendale freeways below us forced us from this home after a too short stay.
Another thing not mentioned in the story is that unlike Schindler and Neutra homes the vast majority of Harris homes have been treated like family heirlooms, this most likely can be credited to the subtle qualities imbued by Harris, but also with proven constructions techniques that still allowed for varied spatial experiences while keeping the buildings plumb rather then melting, warping and eroding like most Schindler constructs.
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