Very much enjoyed this short piece on the addition of LA Case Study homes to the Historic National Registry.
Especially the bit on storage (lack thereof) and the California post-war mindset:
"...They tend not to have attics and basements; places to store junk and to hold on to memories. They are about the present; about living in the moment, as we can do in California..." Edward Lifson
We struggle with storage issues in this house. But we are finding solutions... ( "living in the moment").
Monday, August 26, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
spring planting
These are D's instructions on how to fold paper pots (circa 2009). We use them to start seedlings for our garden, and are busy folding them today.
We are a little late with planting this year - but I think we will make it. I've spent the last couple of weekends contemplating how to keep the chickens out of the raised beds. We have just run chicken wire around in the past - but it was looking a little shabby so I wanted to go with wattle - but would have to purchase the supplies. (Or wait for my friend John's tree to grow up again!) While D was thinning and trying to propagate our bamboo last weekend, he suggested I try a wattle-fashioned fence out of it. Here is what we have right now. I'm not exactly sure about it. But it was easy. And it was free. So we will see how it holds up.
We've got tomatoes, zucchini, persian cucumbers in, and lettuce, basil, cilantro onions seeded. Also trying a go at luffa this year. We will start peppers, eggplant today. Peas and Beans to come... The girls also seeded their cut-flower garden last weekend. The chooks had a go at it, so time will tell.
Happy Spring.
We are a little late with planting this year - but I think we will make it. I've spent the last couple of weekends contemplating how to keep the chickens out of the raised beds. We have just run chicken wire around in the past - but it was looking a little shabby so I wanted to go with wattle - but would have to purchase the supplies. (Or wait for my friend John's tree to grow up again!) While D was thinning and trying to propagate our bamboo last weekend, he suggested I try a wattle-fashioned fence out of it. Here is what we have right now. I'm not exactly sure about it. But it was easy. And it was free. So we will see how it holds up.
We've got tomatoes, zucchini, persian cucumbers in, and lettuce, basil, cilantro onions seeded. Also trying a go at luffa this year. We will start peppers, eggplant today. Peas and Beans to come... The girls also seeded their cut-flower garden last weekend. The chooks had a go at it, so time will tell.
Happy Spring.
Monday, March 18, 2013
all decked out
i'd been looking for a large teak doormat for the backdoor for a while. everything seemed a little more than i wanted to pay - and a little smaller than i wanted to buy.
when d was repairing the deck outside the modern shed over the weekend (we planted a new tree in it and had to cut a section away) we had an "aha!" moment and used the scrap to fashion two doormat / transitions.
i love how it is big enough to keep a pair of shoes dry on (its the length of our extra-wide slider) - and not so precious that i'll be shoo-ing the chooks away.
(i also love the contrast between the weathered redwood and the new on the deck... looking for a natural sealant to try and keep it this way.)
when d was repairing the deck outside the modern shed over the weekend (we planted a new tree in it and had to cut a section away) we had an "aha!" moment and used the scrap to fashion two doormat / transitions.
i love how it is big enough to keep a pair of shoes dry on (its the length of our extra-wide slider) - and not so precious that i'll be shoo-ing the chooks away.
(i also love the contrast between the weathered redwood and the new on the deck... looking for a natural sealant to try and keep it this way.)
Saturday, January 5, 2013
corbin palms 1954
more from the getty archive:
krisel's own home - 6440 Jumilla.
love this look into our neighborhood over fifty years back.
krisel's own home - 6440 Jumilla.
love this look into our neighborhood over fifty years back.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
shelved
This vintage walnut shelving unit came to us via d's mom. Very happy with how this transformed the room. (Can't find a before!) D managed to get all the wires hidden in the wall which also made me very happy. Just need to finish up the baseboards and wiring the stereo. (Yes that is a new television too. Thank you harry hanukah.)
Now looking for a new chair to finish it off. The much beloved "egg chair" has moved in with my niece. (E made her promise that she gets it next.) I wasn't sad to see it go - though it holds many good memories. Nice to know it is still in the family.
(Also saving pennies to have the floor refinished.)
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
phases
Our neighbor Greg has put together the map below of the Alexander/Palmer & Krisel tract showing the five different phases from his research at the Getty:
from Greg...
I - This is the original Corbin Palms (phase I) as shown in the green marketing brochure - 70 homes (tract map #18024). Krisel's notes say 8/18/53 to 9/10/53 but the assessor's recordings say they were all built in 1954, so I suspect those 1953 dates are when he designed it. Most likely, construction began mid-Sept 1953 and finished in early 1954. It only took 10-12 days to build one house (they built several at once). They were advertised in Nov 1953 as "Spacious Modern Bermuda Type Homes" for as low as $14,950 (as low as $2,500 down). Using the Bureau of Labor's Consumer Price Index (CPI), that's equivalent to about $130,000 ($22,000 down) in today's dollars. I've also highlighted (in darker red) Krisel's own house at 6440 Jumilla (the one I sent you photos of), where he lived for 2 years until he moved to his current house at 568 Tigertail Rd in Brentwood (which he designed in 1955 and was built in 1956).
II - This phase was actually called Corval Estates - 60 homes (tract map #19813). Krisel's notes say 2/16/54 to 4/1/54; all were built in 1954.
III - Also called Corval Estates - 55 homes (also tract map #19813). Krisel's notes give only one date: 4/29/54. All built in 1954. You can see the tract map on the Getty's blog from this Tuesday announcing the opening of the Krisel papers: http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/treasures-from-the-vault-william-krisel-southern-californias-architect/ (you can see in the bottom right corner it says Corval Estates).
IV - Again, it's phase IV overall, but called Corbin Palms, phase III. There is some discrepancy in the # of homes. Krisel's notes say 89, but there are actually 91 homes in the tract (tract map #13606). Krisel's notes simply say 1955. I checked the assessor records and all were built in 1955, with the exception of the one in the northwest corner of that tract map (6295 Lubao), which was 1956. Whether his notes are incorrect or whether a couple houses were not built at the same time is unclear. Depending on that detail, there were 287 or 289 houses in the overall development.
V - This phase was called Eastwood Estates (also called the "Contemporary Fieldstone Series") - just 13 homes on bigger lots along Corbin and set further back from the street (also tract #13606). The lots were typically 15,900 sf. Houses in phases I-III are typically 6,800 to 7,500 sf (like ours); phase IV houses are typically 8,700 sf (like yours), except for the irregular ones that are a bit bigger or smaller. All built 1955 (advertised in April, so probably finished in the late summer?). Originally priced between $21,000 and $24,750 (as low as $3,500 down!), equivalent to $180,000 to $212,000 ($30,000 down) in today's dollars.
(Thanks Greg!)
from Greg...
I - This is the original Corbin Palms (phase I) as shown in the green marketing brochure - 70 homes (tract map #18024). Krisel's notes say 8/18/53 to 9/10/53 but the assessor's recordings say they were all built in 1954, so I suspect those 1953 dates are when he designed it. Most likely, construction began mid-Sept 1953 and finished in early 1954. It only took 10-12 days to build one house (they built several at once). They were advertised in Nov 1953 as "Spacious Modern Bermuda Type Homes" for as low as $14,950 (as low as $2,500 down). Using the Bureau of Labor's Consumer Price Index (CPI), that's equivalent to about $130,000 ($22,000 down) in today's dollars. I've also highlighted (in darker red) Krisel's own house at 6440 Jumilla (the one I sent you photos of), where he lived for 2 years until he moved to his current house at 568 Tigertail Rd in Brentwood (which he designed in 1955 and was built in 1956).
II - This phase was actually called Corval Estates - 60 homes (tract map #19813). Krisel's notes say 2/16/54 to 4/1/54; all were built in 1954.
III - Also called Corval Estates - 55 homes (also tract map #19813). Krisel's notes give only one date: 4/29/54. All built in 1954. You can see the tract map on the Getty's blog from this Tuesday announcing the opening of the Krisel papers: http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/treasures-from-the-vault-william-krisel-southern-californias-architect/ (you can see in the bottom right corner it says Corval Estates).
IV - Again, it's phase IV overall, but called Corbin Palms, phase III. There is some discrepancy in the # of homes. Krisel's notes say 89, but there are actually 91 homes in the tract (tract map #13606). Krisel's notes simply say 1955. I checked the assessor records and all were built in 1955, with the exception of the one in the northwest corner of that tract map (6295 Lubao), which was 1956. Whether his notes are incorrect or whether a couple houses were not built at the same time is unclear. Depending on that detail, there were 287 or 289 houses in the overall development.
V - This phase was called Eastwood Estates (also called the "Contemporary Fieldstone Series") - just 13 homes on bigger lots along Corbin and set further back from the street (also tract #13606). The lots were typically 15,900 sf. Houses in phases I-III are typically 6,800 to 7,500 sf (like ours); phase IV houses are typically 8,700 sf (like yours), except for the irregular ones that are a bit bigger or smaller. All built 1955 (advertised in April, so probably finished in the late summer?). Originally priced between $21,000 and $24,750 (as low as $3,500 down!), equivalent to $180,000 to $212,000 ($30,000 down) in today's dollars.
(Thanks Greg!)
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