AIA Central Valley and SacMod Screening of "EAMES: The architect and the painter"

On 12.19.11, AIA Central Valley (AIACV) and SacMod screened "Eames: The Architect and The Painter" to over fifty design enthusiasts.

The event was held at AIACV in Sacramento. SacMod and AIACV took the opportunity to celebrate our native daughter, Ray (Kaiser) Eames. We provided several images from her life in Sacramento.

Ian Merker of AIACV was the best host ever!

Special thanks to Mimomito who brought cupcakes decorated with Ray's fabric pattern to celebrate what would have been Ray's 99th birthday on 12.15.11 and took pictures of our event.

To kick off the film screening, Eames Demetrios graciously Skype'd in and spoke with us about his grandparents and their work.

We are grateful to Miles Treaster & Associates who brought several examples of the Eameses' furniture, an original rare wooden splint developed for WW2, plus several brochures, an Eames coffee table book, and other written materials.

Our friends from Sactown Magazine generously distributed copies of their original Premier Issue from Dec/Jan 2006/2007 (with a well-written and researched article about Ray Eames) and their current issue. Happy 5th Anniversary, Sactown!

Thanks to KVIE for the wonderful gift bag and to Jason Cohn of Bread and Butter Films for printing two film posters for our silent auction.

Last but not least, thanks to those who attended and supported our event! We received great feedback from those who attended. The film provided an intriguing glimpse into the Eameses' creative process and dedication. We highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in their lives and prolific work, which ranges from architecture, furniture, film, textiles, art, industrial design to other intellectual and creative pursuits. This film celebrates their work and humanizes them -- not only highlighting their triumphs but also what went on behind the scenes.

Look for more events in 2012, including the screening of Infinite Space, a documentary about John Lautner -- one of the most revered 20th century architects. We will also be having an event to celebrate a very special residence in Sacramento designed by Terry Waters, an associate of John Lautner.

Merry Christmas from Eichler Homes

Merry Christmas from Eichler Homes! (Circa 1960s ephemera from my collection).

Ghosts of Christmas Past - K Street, Sacramento

 A rare glimpse into life in Sacramento: K Street in its heyday, circa 1954

Here's a neat peek of K and 10th Streets in downtown Sacramento back in the day—from a found slide on eBay, by an unknown photographer. Note various features, such as the Crest Theatre, which I've posted about before here. A wonderful view of the Mayes Clock, which was lovingly refurbished in 2012, is also featured, Also in view are: Roos Bros., Joseph Magnin, Leed's, Green-Hayden Co., Hale's, Hotel Sequoia, Hart's, and others.

 K Street shoppers, downtown Sacramento

Most of Sacramento's retail shopping in the 1940s and 1950s was done in downtown Sacramento - before shopping malls became in vogue.

What K Street in downtown Sacramento used to look like

- via the Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library

Then came the shopping malls. The prevalence of suburban shopping malls slowly took its toll on K Street. See for example, this 1957 public domain PR short, "Shopping Can Be Fun: A New Concept in Merchandising", which chronicles the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, California.

K Street has since gone through several phases of revitalization efforts -- including a pedestrian mall and, more recently, an attempt to reintroduce traffic on K Street. I'll be featuring a post with more information about the history of Sacramento's 1960s pedestrian mall in the future.

What the future now holds for K Street is anyone's guess, though we hope it's a bright one. In the meantime, we can remember its past.

Happy hyperbolic holidays!

The entryway to the Sacramento Zoo, designed by Rickey & Brooks (1961).

The largest building originally served as a concession stand to all of William Land Park.

The City of Sacramento recently hired consultants from Mead & Hunt to conduct a Historic Cultural / Landscape Survey of William Land Park. Per Mead & Hunt's report, these hyperbolic paraboloid structures "meet the National Register, California Register, and Sacramento Register evaluation criteria as individual properties independent from their association with William Land Park."

Further, Mead & Hunt concluded the Zoo entry structures were eligible "in the area of Architecture – Designed by the local architectural firm of Rickey and Brooks, this series of three interconnected buildings are an important, rare, and intact example of Mid-Century Modernism in Sacramento."

On December 7, 2011, SacMod attended the City of Sacramento Preservation Commission Meeting and spoke in favor of Mead & Hunt's report: "We want to thank everyone involved in the Historic Cultural Landscape survey of William Land Park and support Mead & Hunt's findings, especially those regarding Fairytale Town and the entryway concession buildings at the Sacramento Zoo. SacMod highlighted both of these historic assets as 'points-of-interest' during the first Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour last year. These have been a part of the park for 50 years and are historic landmarks.

The Zoo entrance and Fairytale Town are part of Sacramento's collective memory and provide an irreplaceable and distinct sense of place. In particular, the structures at the Zoo entrance are a rare kind of mid-20th century construction – hyperbolic paraboloids – also known as hypars. I have brought an historic postcard image for you to see them as they originally were. There are few remaining examples of hypars left in Sacramento. The Zoo entrance structures are the most easily recognized examples in town.

SacMod supports Mead & Hunt's recommendations and wishes to see our historic assets preserved. We look forward to working with the City and Zoo in this regard."

Celebrating Ray!

Happy Birthday to Ray Eames, Sacramento's native daughter and one of the most important 20th century modernists! See my earlier post about Ray Kaiser Eames for more background on her Sacramento roots.

She would have been 99 today. We'll be celebrating Ray on Monday, December 19, 2011 at the AIACV/SacMod screening party for "EAMES: The Architect and the Painter." Special thanks to our good friends at AIACV hosting this event. And thanks to those of you who RSVP'd via Brown Paper Tickets -- be sure to arrive by 7:30 to ensure seating. Early arrivals get priority Eames chair seating!!

Festivities for the evening will include:
- a silent auction for two posters from the film;
- a furniture display courtesy of the wonderful folks at Miles Treaster & Associates;
- photos of Ray's life in Sacramento;
- vegan cupcakes from the lovely gals at Mimomito;
plus other displays and surprises!

SacMod's 2011 commercial building tour posted on Historypin

 

Thanks to my pal, Amanda B., I was able to easily and quickly post SacMod's 2011 self-guided commercial building tour online on Historypin.

Historypin is a site for posting historic photographs using Google Maps as a base. You can also write additional information about these images and organize them into tours and collections. Historypin is free to use, both as a visitor and user. There is also a free smartphone app that supports iPhones and Android smartphones. I tested it on my iPhone and it worked perfectly (though many more features currently exist on the site versus the app). Historypin's developers are working on adding new features for next year.

The possibilities are endless for historians, architectural buffs, archivists, and anyone who loves vintage images. This is only the beginning; can't wait to add more from SacMod's other tours!

Thinking differently: Apples + Eichlers

UPDATE 2.15.12 - after a 4 month investigation interviewing experts and cross-referencing data, the Eichler Network concluded that the Montain View home referred to in the Isaacson biography was NOT an Eichler home. Jobs' home was a Mackay Home -- likely designed by architects Anshen + Allen (who also designed homes for Joseph Eichler). There was indeed an Eichler neighborhood near Jobs' Mackay home, but three blocks away. Kudos to the Eichler Network for clearing this up!

Original post below:

It appears both Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had strong connections with Eichler homes. The biography, Steve Jobs, written about the Apple co-founder by Walter Isaacson, was released yesterday. It was sad news, as most of you know, when Jobs passed away earlier this month. According to the newly released biography, Jobs lived in an Eichler home.

Per an article from NTDV (special thanks to the folks at the Mid-Century Modern Fresno Facebook page for pointing out this article): "After Steve Jobs anointed Walter Isaacson as his authorized biographer in 2009, he took Mr. Isaacson to see the Mountain View, Calif., house in which he had lived as a boy. He pointed out its 'clean design' and 'awesome little features.' He praised the developer, Joseph Eichler, who built more than 11,000 homes in California subdivisions, for making an affordable product on a mass-market scale." Per Cult of Mac: "Jobs has cited him as a direct inspiration. In fact, he described the clean elegance of those homes as the 'first vision for Apple.'” See Architizer's post for more on this.

I would also like to mention that Apple's other co-founder and inventor, Steve Wozniak (aka Woz), lived in an Eichler Home. For 14 years, Woz lived on Edmonton Avenue in the Fairorchard Eichler subdivision of Sunnyvale. In the Winter 2001 edition of the Eichler Network newsletter (now known as CA Modern), Marty Arbunich interviewed Woz.

According to Arbunich's article, Woz moved into his Eichler home in 1958, after his father got a job with Lockheed. Per Woz, "It was my favorite home ever... my feelings of a perfect home will always rest with that particular home." It was the home in which Woz built his first computer and built a house-to-house intercom with his neighborhood buddies.

Woz further elaborated on his growing up in an Eichler home in his biography iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It
(co-written by Gina Smith): "When I think of that street, looking back, I think it was the most beautiful place you could imagine growing up.... Edmonton Avenue was actually a small Eichler subdivision -- Eichler homes of that period were kind of famous for being architecturally interesting homes in middle price ranges. They stand out as special homes to this day."

It's an interesting coincidence that both Apple co-founders admired Eichler homes. I'm not suggesting causality; you can draw your own conclusions. At any rate, here's to thinking differently!

So little time, so much to tell!

Busy, busy month! Swinging by the old blogeroo to make a couple of announcements. You can stay better informed regarding Sacramento modernism by joining SacMod's Facebook page. Join us!

Vintage Sacramento Zoo postcard from my Flickr photostream

First, good news for the hyperbolic paraboloid structures at the entrance of the Sacramento Zoo. I've written about these beauties before.

The City of Sacramento hired consultants Mead & Hunt for a Cultural Landscape Survey of William Land Park. (You may download their draft report here.) SacMod has been watching recent developments at the Zoo, particularly those endangering the circa 1961 entrance structures. Mead & Hunt determined that the Zoo entrance and Fairytale Town are eligible for national, California, and Sacramento historic registers. SacMod will continue to monitor and advocate for these structures.

 

Second, Atomic Ranch Magazine has just published the Atomic Ranch 2012 Calendar. We're excited because it features two homes that were on the 2011 Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour! Specifically a home designed by architect Carter Sparks and a Sacramento Eichler home. Atomic Ranch came to Sacramento this summer. Three homes from last year's tour will be featured in separate upcoming issues. I'll be sure to post as the articles and pictures are published.

Finally, AIACV and SacMod are teaming up again -- join us for a free screening of EAMES: The Architect and The Painter. You may recall from my earlier posts that Ray Eames was born and raised here in Sacramento. Join us and other like-minded modernists at AIACV on Monday, December 19, 2011 from 8 - 10pm. Reservations for this free event through Brown Paper Tickets.

Even more things being planned for future SacMod events! Stay tuned!

Some Thiebaud you may not know

Sacramento-area artist Wayne Thiebaud is well known for his vibrant pop art and masterful landscape paintings. Sixty years ago, in 1951, Thiebaud held his first one-artist exhibition, "Influences on a Young Painter" at the Crocker Art Museum. Last fall, the Crocker featured him again in their inaugural re-opening. You may also recall I've mentioned him before in a previous post on mid-century modernists in Sacramento.

In the interest of educating people about mid-20th century art, architecture and design in the Sacramento region, I'm posting some examples of Thiebaud's works in other mediums.

From my Flickr photostream

First, a delightful kinetic water sculpture/installation in collaboration with Jerry McLaughlin from 1952 which was on display at the California State Fair. The installation was featured in the prestigious Arts & Architecture magazine in November 1952:

"This fountain which was done as a part of the Art Exhibit at the California State Fair is an amusing and often rather wild composition in moving water. While its several parts are in motion there is a constantly maintained interest, and within the interplay dazzling confusion becomes part of a very engaging pattern and texture. The devices which are ingenious in material and form take on a lively life and vitality under the compelling movement of the water. The variety and the unexpectedness of the activity, the sometimes frantic, sometimes serene water in motion is fresh and cool and stimulating.

Thiebaud and McLaughlin have freely and playfully used the propelling water itself to move the objects, and in turn this movement within the water creates a beautiful and sometimes hilarious experience."

Next, a series of art education films featuring Mr. Stubby Pencil. These circa 1955 films featured animation by Wayne Thiebaud, Patty Thiebaud and Pat Dullanty. The Academic Film Archive of North America apparently has a copy of one of a handful of short films that they produced.

From the Sacramento Bee: June 9, 1955

The 16 millimeter films, made over hundreds of hours in the Thiebaud's basement on Portola Way, were produced by Bailey Films, Inc. of Hollywood. Two of the films reportedly premiered in the Long Beach Film Festival. How I would love to see these films!

SMUD HQ Building mosaic, "Water City" by Wayne Thiebaud

Finally, here is "Water City" -- a glass mosaic that wraps around the first level of the SMUD Headquarters Building in Sacramento. This piece was originally a serigraph in 1957 that served as a study for the Sacramento Municipal Water Utility Department (SMUD) mural (and a demonstration serigraph at the California State Fair). The SMUD Headquarters building, designed by Dreyfuss & Blackford, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hope you found these images of Thiebaud's lesser known works as interesting as I do! For more images, visit my Flickr set. I'll continue to add to the set as I come across other items.

Help save an iconic Neutra-designed home from demolition!

 via Neutra.org

Hard to believe, but this historic and architecturally significant home is being threatened with demolition. Please take a few seconds of your time to sign a petition supporting the restoration and repurposing of this iconic home into the Neutra Library.

How you can help:
1) sign the petition here.
2) For further actions on how to help, stay tuned on the status of the home here.

 Time is of the essence; do your part and don't let the McMansions win!