Pt. Loma Moderne

Although Frank L. Hope, Sr. worked in a variety of styles, he was notable as a pioneer Modernist architect whose streamline architecture of 1930’s influenced the acceptance and rise in popularity of Modernism in San Diego.

To call him Frank L. Hope, Sr. is not quite correct. His father, the actual Frank L Hope Senior was a railroad executive and prominent San Diego resident. His son is the above mentioned Frank L. Hope, Jr.

But then Frank L. Hope, Jr. had a son also named Frank L. Hope, Jr.  It has been suggested we leave Frank L. Hope, Sr. out of the discussion altogether. And refer to the son as Frank L. Hope Jr, the elder. And his son as Frank L. Hope, Jr. the younger.

Frank L. Hope, Jr. the elder, had worked with Requa, Jackson, Lillian Rice and William H. Wheeler before establishing his own firm in 1928. Hope worked on a number of important commissions including designing a number of custom streamline homes in Pt. Loma. He also designed a good amount of streamline commercial buildings including the 1936 Santa Fe City Offices 1200 Fifth Avenue NW corner at B Street, (demolished) and City Motors Ford (demolished last year).

His son Frank L. Hope Jr. the younger, joined the firm in 1955. Hope Jr, the elder, retired in 1965. The Hope Design Group through 3 generations of Hope family architects had a huge part in creating modern San Diego.

The big dumpster out in front is rather ominous, but the work permits applied for relate only to interior remodeling. SOHO is keeping a close eye on this to make sure the exterior character defining streamline elements are not destroyed.

Streamline Moderne is a part of the Art Deco period of architecture. Also in the Deco fold is Egyptian and Aztec Revival. Above, a Deco detail. The mail slot.

The Pacific Style

When I see the twin roof peaks of this house in Point Loma pointing to its view of the Pacific Ocean, I think of the bows of a catamaran. This 1961 custom designed Pacific Style modernist home was once featured in either Life Magazine or Sunset Magazine–research on that is still in progress. But one member of SOHO’s Modernism Committee remembers it.

Those extremely steep peaked roofs brings to mind a Tiki influence but also coincides with Googie or Futuristic Mid Century Modern architecture. 

The landscaping, the lagoon-like pool, the lanai shaded patio area all speaks to a Pacific and Island influence. The strong influence of Hawaii being granted Statehood in 1959 and a nation wide fascination with Pacific Island culture and design, including Tiki craze.

We are learning more about whom the house is built for, but still don’t know the designer or architect.

In its day this house had to be one of Point Loma’s most spectacular modern homes. Clearly the home is laid out for major social function, capable of hosting a large number of guests.

It goes down past a bedroom and private patio…

And then it touches down on the ground. Sadly a lot of the wood is rotting. Also note the private enclosed angled patio wall.

This is horrible to see. Plastic covering the roof. There appears to be deterioration caused by water damage inside. Aside from serious condition issues we’ve learned the interior is spectacular, all original and highly intact–including original furniture.

Unfortunately the property has been subdivided. The former pool house is now a separate residence. An application has been submitted to remodel this building.

Detail of the lanai.

The pool house falls clearly in the Pacific Ranch Style house category with its board and baton siding and exotic roof beam.

913 Cherry Street

Dates listed on this page of the photo album say 1923. Helen graduated from High School in 1921. Helen said she got married right out of high school to Val Rudolph Otto Martin when she was 18. Daughter Jeanne was born September 22, 1923 in Long Beach, presumably at the time Helen and Val began studio work in Hollywood. Note the stack of books and walking stick to her left.

913 Cherry Street, Santa Rosa. Evidently Helen and Val didn’t live here very long.

The house today is in Santa Rosa’s Cherry Street Historic District.

Shadow of a Doubt, Alfred Hitchcock’s Santa Rosa

1942 Hollywood publicity photo for Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. Photo from Santa Rosa Pressdemocrat

Hitchcock was captivated by the play Our Town. His creative mind was brewing a small town story that would become the film Shadow of a Doubt. He sought Thorton Wilder to write the script, and it proved to be a highly successful collaboration. Hitchcock considered a number of sites to represent his idyllic small American town. After careful scrutiny it was decided Santa Rosa would fulfilled his vision.

The Santa Rosa Depot is an important feature of Shadow of a Doubt. At the beginning this is where the murderous Uncle Charlie arrives. Hitchcock uses visual foreshadowing when the approaching train casts darkness over the whole station with a black cloud of smoke pumping from the locomotive’s smokestack. The depot figures prominently at the end as well when Uncle Charlie meets his demise there. The departing train puffs a barely noticeable trace of light smoke as the film ends.

The Shadow of a Doubt house.

Hitchcock and Wilder searched the town for the perfect house to match the one created in their script. The home owner was so proud to have his house chosen, he gave it a fresh new paint job. But that’s not what Hitchcock was looking for.

He got the owner to agree having the house painted again to look dirty! After shooting was done, Hitch made sure the house got yet another sparkling fresh coat of paint.

Hotel La Rose is seen in the film. A great looking historic hotel. Our friends who helped pass the nomination of the Homer Delawie home in Coronado to the National Register stayed here. A perfect choice!

The Empire Building in Old Courthouse Square is also in the film. It was built in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and completed in 1910.

There’s a glimpse of the old Kress in the film. Shadow of a Doubt was Alfred Hitchcock’s first full American production.

It sat vacant for years and it took dedicated effort by the community to save this 1937 Art Moderne jewel. It underwent a structural and architectural rehabilitation with a complete restoration of the exterior facade. Originally Rosenberg’s Department store, it is occupied today by Barnes and Nobel and Starbucks. Local businesses occupy the upper floors.

Another example of historic rehabilitation and restoration playing a key role in the revitalization of a downtown area.

Much of what was seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt no longer exists. But through some luck and preservation efforts, a sample of that time does remain.

A fantastic look back is found at Santa Rosa Then and Now.

Pasadena’s La Vista Del Arroyo

The history of La Vista del Arroyo Hotel dates back to 1882 when it was a two-story, wood-frame building, and series of small cottages.

In 1919, hotel tycoon Daniel M. Linnard, associated with such elegant Pasadena hotels as the Huntington and Green, purchased La Vista del Arroyo with the vision of developing the property into an opulent resort. Linnard commissioned the noted architectural firm of Marston & Van Pelt to design a large, two-story Spanish Colonial Revival hotel to replace the original structure. Once the popularity of the Vista had been established, select guests also built bungalows on the property.

In 1926, Linnard sold the resort to former business partner H.O. Comstock. Comstock hired architect George H. Wiemeyer to redesign the hotel and add a grand six-story addition that consisted of a central bell tower and flanking wings set at an angle. The new Vista opened in 1931 with iridescent color, entertainment, and social gaiety. In 1936, Linnard repurchased the property and hired landscape architect Verner S. Anderson to improve the hotel’s grounds by designing formal gardens and adding fountains, tennis courts, and a swimming pool.

In 1943 the U.S. War Department acquired the hotel complex and converted it into the McCormack Army Hospital and offices for the U.S. Army. In 1949, the hospital was deactivated and the old hotel, under the care of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), housed a variety of Federal agencies from 1951 to 1974.

In 1981 the Vista del Arroyo was placed in the National Register of Historic Places and GSA began design work to restore the building as the southern seat of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1995, the building was renamed to honor Judge Richard H. Chambers, whose concept it was to bring a Federal courthouse to Pasadena.

Ding-Ding, Fill’er Up!

This forlorn VERY old Texaco station is in Healdsburg, CA.

In its day it would have looked something like these. Top, a restored Texaco station in Cowan, Tennessee Photo courtesy of SmallTownGems.com. Below, the toy Texaco station from the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. That’s for sure because I had one!

The Texaco stations were the creation of renown industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague. His work is some of the most iconic of the twentieth century.

I am particularly interested in the sign. It seems to me an earlier version of what became their best known sign, as seen in the toy above. This particular style I’ve only seen once or twice in various Google searches.

I believe the sign to be very rare, and I hope the folks in Healdsburg can at least save the sign, if not the station itself.

Here is a restored sign at the R.C. Baker Museum in Coalinga, CA. Photo by Dylan Szoshke.

R.C. Baker Museum

Restored historic gas stations ad color and interest to the fabric of our urban landscape. We learn about the changing look of industrial or commercial design over the decades. It points to the rise and dominance of the automobile in our culture. The need for speed and convenience. These are just a few examples of the teaching that historic buildings provide.

Adaptive Reuse.  SIGNAL STATION PIZZA Located at the historic gas station in St. Johns 8302 North Lombard Street (At North Charleston Avenue) Portland, Oregon

Adaptive Reuse. Packard’s in Ramona, is a popular coffee house.


San Diego Historical Resources Board Designation. Johnson’s Wilshire Gas Station 4689 Market Street, San Diego. The resource embodies the distinctive characteristics and character defining features of Googie architecture and retains a good level of architectural integrity from its 1962 period of significance.

The Appeal of Historic Design Features. This Gilmore Gas Station at the Fairfax Farmers Market in Los Angeles helps make this destination popular to locals and tourists alike.

Keeping Community Character. Mike Burnett (jumping) and Craig Abenilla (kneeling) own the Golden Hill architecture firm, Foun-dationForForm. Their plans to develop the site at 811 25th Street appears to utilize the mid century gas station at the site rather than demolish it. Kudos to you gentlemen!

It was a Texaco station with characteristic mid century design elements. Not nearly as old as Santa Rosa’s, but it is good news it won’t disappear. And we look forward to it it looking great, if not better than ever one day.

It should be illegal to paint over natural rock! Midcentury design elements at play here. A thick rock sign blade with circular cut out. Post and beam. Clerestory windows,  Board and batton wall effect.

The former Texaco Station at University and First is a vintage Walter Dorwin Teague era building. It would be wonderful to see great things happen to this resource as we’ve seen in other cases.


Jesus Saves!


Santa Rosa, CA

Jesus Saves, but apparently not the building’s wooden siding or double hung windows. The rotunda windows still look good, but the windows on the far left and right all have that cheap looking plastic white patio chair look. These windows begin to blotch, deteriorate and become uglier and uglier only after a few years. The life span of vinyl windows is relatively short, regardless of the bogus advertising permeating everywhere.

Well adjusted and maintained wooden windows are not nearly as energy inefficient as vinyl propaganda contends. Plus wood is the only truly sustainable window option.

I restored my 75 year old windows. They look great, work perfectly–and they should be good for another 75 years. Unless someone comes along after I’m gone and destroys my good work with crappy vinyl. But hopefully by then most people will have learned the completely awful truth about vinyl.

The tasteless application of stucco over wooden siding as well as the vinyl window craze is doing as much damage to historic architecture as developers and speculators.


Camp Rose

In the year before my mother Jeanne Delano Martin was born (9-22-1923), her mother and father seemed to be enjoying their earliest years of marriage living in Sonoma County. Helen was 18 and Valentine Rudolph Otto Martin was 31.  When Jeanne was born in Long Beach, the couple had come to Southern California to work in the film industry. But in 1922 they traveled quite a bit throughout California including this adventure at Camp Rose near Healdsburg.

Photo, Healdsburg Museum

Since the turn of the century (1900) this area of the Russian River was a favorite summer retreat of locals and visitors alike. But in the 1920’s it was developed into a full blown attraction with lodging, food, drinks and other recreational amenities.

Healdsburg Museum

A terrific suspended sign, apparently neon, directed people to the destination from central Healdsburg. Helen said they made the trip from Santa Rosa by Bus.

The Camp Rose Inn as Helen and Val saw it.

Healdsburg Museum

Another view showing the Inn but also a fair amount of cars and people.

Healdsburg Museum

A tavern and guest cottages were clustered above the river and along the hillside.

Fun on the Russian River. Helen in a rental row boat–but also a rental Camp Rose swim suite!

Val taking in the sun at the river beach. Note the row boat in the background. The beach required some work to maintain. After Rose Camp’s decline the beach took on more of a roughness as a river’s edge.

The Russian River at Camp Rose today. Through the years some of the cabins were demolished, burned down, or remodeled. But the 1970’s brought some new interest in Camp Rose.

The Camp Rose Inn was made into a restaurant and later a dinner theater. The restaurant no longer operates, but there is still the theater, home of The Camp Rose Players.

A number of the old cabins remain and are available as vacation rentals.

Here are a couple of links to the vacation rentals available. The River Rose Cottage, Wine Country Lodges.

Mr. U-Haul, a Wright Desert Home, and Unsolved Mysteries.

The H.C. Price Residence, Phoenix, AZ, 1954. Image courtesy Raymond Carlson.

Frank Lloyd Wright began his never ending love affair with the Arizona desert in 1925. His first camp there was called “Ocotillo,” and was located near Chandler, AZ. He built his own home, studio and school of architecture–Taliesin West–later in Scottsdale.

The desert is sprinkled with some of Wright’s most inspired work as a result of this landscape having captured his imagination.

This house was built for H.C. Price who was one of Wright’s great clients. Wright’s tallest building, the Price Tower in Oklahoma, is an important building in Wright’s legacy. Wright also built homes for the Price children.

This residence is the length of a football field and has 4,781 square feet of floor space.

It was a gorgeous Spring day in April of 1972 when I came a knockin’ at this Wright masterpiece. The gentleman who answered the door was Sam Shoen. He  told me he was head of the U-Haul company–a multibillion dollar cooperation he started on a shoestring just after World War II.

With 11 children Shoen utilized all ten rooms, five master bedrooms and two servant’s rooms.

Wright created this atrium, a large shaded area with a cooling fountain. The “floating” roof captures breezes. It floats two feet above the walls on narrow steel pylons atop massive concrete block columns which end short of the ceiling and taper toward the floor. Wright’s timber burning fireplace keeps the area warm in winter.

The Master Architect’s beloved low horizontal lines blend peacefully with the desert.

Wright lavishly furnished the home–every detail is of his own design. Here are lounge chairs before decorated doors and screens.

Detail of a Frank Lloyd Wright custom table.

The living and dining room.

Built-in seating. This room, which opens to the atrium, can host a massive party.

Atrium lounge chair and door panel detail.

This silhouette visually defines the floating roof.

I won’t even begin to try and tell the story of Sam Shoen and his family. The Phoenix New Times News states “The story of the Shoen family feud is complex and twisted. There is so much intrafamily violence, it could be the basis of a Eugene O’Neill tragedy.”

Image Courtesy Raymond Carlson

It even made an episode of TV’s “Unsolved Mysteries.” A family of murder and mayhem! My day there in 1972 revealed none of that. Shoen was patient and friendly while I invaded his privacy with my camera.

I read a blog recently of someone trying to take pictures of this house and was NOT warmly greeted. The photographer lamented not being able to find any decent views of the home. Such a different world now than when I had this opportunity back in ’72. I doubt I would be able to get into very many homes like I did back in the day.

You can read more about the tragic Shoen family here:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1994-12-01/news/the-u-haul-tragedy/

Copyright Notice: All photography is copyrighted. Getting permission is easy, just ask. Email: danielsoderberg@cox.net
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